The Secret Mediums of Old Master Oil Paintings

[@janeart9161]

Hope you will be doing more videos on egg tempera, egg tempera with oil, and glair. Thanks.

[@gingersam851]

I am an amateur painter and most the talks on this channel are above my head, but I still find them fascinating.

[@RublevColours]

Thanks!

[@rossmcleod7983]

I’m so thankful for discovering Natural Pigments and yours and Tatiana’s good work. Horrified to think of what’s become of my earlier paintings. I’m now in the process of swapping out all my tubes to Rublev, ditching my ridiculous concoctions and looking forward to a whole new, more considered approach to the craft. Many thanks for this.

[@mard9802]

Me too - I love their paint.

[@Divertedflight]

"When Sir Joshua Reynolds died, All Nature was degraded; The King dropp'd a tear into the Queen's ear, And all his pictures faded." William Blake.

[@chrisgriffith1573]

You are SPOT ON the mark about educational system being far behind in actual knowledge of materials use in art education. My sophomore level class "Introduction to Oil Painting 101" gave no technical information to myself. The teacher simply told us to buy these things then show up on Monday and "play with them"... he was in the classroom less than most of his students. I am hearing a lot of advice to NOT use certain materials for things, but I would REALLLLY want to see a list or video outlining the materials TO use, and what they are used for- say, what is best for glazes, what is best to mix colors generally? How to mix things to get the best results for in Fat over Lean method? Generally, a good guide to make art with no fear of yellow and delamination, crying or other ill effects 50 years out! This is enlightening, I have for the last year been experimenting with alkyds, and now am reconsidering the longevity in them.

[@chrisgriffith1573]

As a craftsman, I am also a wood worker of 40+ years, and I now make all my own panels. Solid wood panels are subject to many different causes of warping, cracking and issues regarding their demise- all are related to the way in which they have been chosen, milled and cured, stored or prepared, so many things... It all starts at the log, and the section of wood cut from it. Some boards are cut from much better sections than others to stand the test of time for various reasons due to the orientation of the lignin within the wood grain. Next is the way in which the board has been dried, or cured out. Is it pressure treated, does it have chemicals in it? What are those and how much? They might prevent rot now, but in one hundred years will they crack the wood or weaken the lignin in the wood fibers? Today's real wood panels might be worse than some newer products today that employ urethane glues to hold wood fiber together such as MDF products. Wood today is "fast grown" meaning the trees has been grown at an accelerated rate, chopped down young, and this means far less ring development than what was found in old growth forests naturally around anytime before the 1970's and this is a huge problem for old school craftsmen that are trying to preserve their craft and find quality wood to work... obtaining quality wood is EXPENSIVE, and craftsmen are having to look up to the more exotic of woods to find quality wood grain density and interest. I have resorted to impregnating lessor quality 1/4" panels rather than spending money on 1/4" birch ply. I cover all my panels with fine linen using PVA wood glue to add an extra layer of stability to the entire ground. This has served me well for a number of years... and I know that the life of the piece is tied to the glue and the linen, not the wood.

[@teddyofparis]

Wonderfully presentation! Thanks a lot!

[@indanthrone]

Invaluable, Thank you very much

[@chrisgriffith1573]

This expands on a lot of what I have had to research for years to figure out, and is an amazing outline of artist's historical facts as it applies to both their craft, and the industry surrounding the artist. Great resource! (Just wish the sound was better synced) :(

[@thequantifiedweb]

This was great! I would have really appreciated if the discussion was extended further into modern times as these days everyone uses / recommends / is recommended some form of alkyd additive rather than pure linseed oil, and it seems as though we have entered a brand new era of mixtures. It is so hard to tell fact from fiction, especially if we want to paint in a layered fashion where the paint needs to dry between layers.

[@burak5601]

You guys are killing it! I enjoyed watching this documentary and the fountain of knowledge. Thank you so so so much for your efforts, really appreciate it! I’ve a question about stearates if you allow me: I’m an amateur artist who makes his own oil paints. Until recently I used only pigment and different kinds of drying oils to make paint (mostly linseed oil but sometimes safflower and walnut oils as well), and didn’t need to add any additive but some paints became weird after I finished mulling them, like ultramarine blue. It was fine and smooth and silky first, I mulled it and put it in a tube however oil and pigment separated rather quickly and paint became somehow more oily and soggy. Same happened faster to venetian red with a much worse separation rate, after only a month later almost all of the pigment and oil was completely separated in the tube. For other colors like titanium white or cadmium yellow, no problem occured and paints showed no significant changed after they are made. Back to the subject, I was searching necessary additives that I can add to my paint to prevent them separating and came across to stearates, especially aluminium stearate. As far as I can find it’s the most common paint additive and the slightest bit of it helps a lot, but it is near impossible for me to find any aluminium stearate where I live and I couldn’t get my hand on it, however I can find magnesium stearate easily. I’m a bit confused as magnesium stearate is less mentioned in the articles I could find so far, most of them focuses on aluminium stearate and mention magnesium stearate as an alternative second choice to aluminium, so I’m a bit suspicious that magnesium stearate might be an inferior quality additive with somewhat similar but less effective properties compared to aluminium stearate, although I haven’t find any particular information on that either. They both are used to disperse pigment-oil and to prevent oil separation, but I have no idea why aluminium stearate is more widely prefered over magnesium stearate in the market and again, I couldn’t find enough information. The only thing I know is that magnesium stearate is also mainly used in pharmaceutical industry for jelling agent. Now there are two questions: what are the main differences between aluminium and magnesium stearate? Should I expect any downside effects of using magnesium stearate instead of aluminium stearate? What should I be aware of while using it? Can you suggest any acacemic article or research paper to read on that matter? Other question is that it appears to be two main types magnesium stearate available in the market: vegetable and technical grade. What are their characteristics and which one do you recommend for artistic use?

[@RublevColours]

For hand-made paint, we actually recommend not using any additives, since these have been linked to issues, such as water sensitivity, haze, and phase separation in combination with certain pigments, such as zinc oxide. Please contact our technical support at [e-mail] to answer these questions more completely.

[@josephsnyder9186]

I have a painting that is 47 years old. And used the standard medium linseed and mineral sprits and there are some evidence of cracking. Should I varnish this piece?

[@RublevColours]

Varnish is a protective coating, mooslty from abrasion and dust, but it will not mitigate cracking.

[@josephsnyder9186]

@@RublevColours thank you .is there any thing to stop it ,or i guess enjoy the process of seeing my work

[@josephsnyder9186]

And how the paint reacts over time.

[@RublevColours]

@@josephsnyder9186 If the painting is on canvas, you should remount the canvas on a rigid support.

[@sword-and-shield]

Exactly, what is that xxxxxx dollar painting purchased going to look like in even 10 20 30 yrs of personal ownership? How is it going to change in look over that time? Will it even be worthy of continued display anymore to your own personal standard? let alone long term in some museum conditions. I saw a knife oil painting recently sell with paint at least 6mm high thorough out the painting, wonder if that buyer even considered longevity.

[@RublevColours]

For this reason, better painting practices will help to increase the longevity of the work.

[@victoralosi1461]

Love the video very informative . Yet I keep hearing this word oldmasters. . It's not very specific as to who and when or toward specific painting s .

[@RublevColours]

Old masters are those painters who worked from the Renaissance to the middle of the nineteenth century.

[@etienne7774]

Who said lead white preserves the integrity of the oil painting? Lead white is extremely toxic. Your painting with a toxic substance that can potentially cause havoc in every part of you. So are you willing to take that risk? Secondly, the waste of lead white tubes, rags, etc.... that cause havoc in nature. Are you willing to take that risk? Someone pointed out its not Zink white paint that cracks, its rather a acrylic Gesso ground that should not be used. Neutral artist PVA for best sizing, then titanium/Zink oil ground, then your oil paint. There were few great artists like Rembrant in the past who only had lead white. The average artist these days cant paint that way, they lack artistic talent, but they want to go and mess around with a highly toxic substance because an old master used it? Show me an artist these days with real artistic skill these days? I don't see any. [If Rembrandt lives in our day he would be able to produce the same quality of paintings with a mixture of Titanium and Zink white. Actually, W@N makes such a lead substitute.] The only way someone should be allowed to use lead white is if they can prove they have the skill of a Turner or Rembrandt. Creating kitsch does not warrant using lead white.

[@RublevColours]

It is very shortsighted to believe that there are no artists alive today that do not possess the same skills as Turner or Rembrandt. While it is true that Rembrandt could execute a painting with the same virtuosity without lead white, his paintings would not be in the same condition today if he had. Scientists have long known about the film formation properties imparted to oil paint by lead white, and this has been verified within the past 30 years in dozens of scientific papers. There is no pigment available that imparts the same film strength and flexibility as lead white. It is possible to employ a hazardous substance, such as lead white, by professional artists without personal exposure to the hazard. This is done all the time in many different industries. Only a person with limited understanding and skill could not appreciate such fact.

[@etienne7774]

@@RublevColours Anyone like yourself who makes excellent paint deserves my utmost respect. If you want to change the art world, it wood be fantastic to open a paintmakers guild where artist can learn their materials, not simply play around with them at home. Paintmakers are very secretive about how they produce their paints, which can greatly help artists. Producing great paint is an intellectual, technical act. I can learn a lot from you. Producing great art is a a spiritual plus intellectual act. With all due respect, the facts that you would say there are artists in the same league as turner or rembrandt showes that you dont quit understand art. Im just being honest. Show me such an artist and i will show you a pig with golden teeth. When it comes to toxicity, people working in factories with lead which is a closed system. And yes, the artist Can use the lead white safely painting with gloves cause lead is absorbed through skin, but what about the rags, tubes that ends up in the envirenment? Also, who said painting painted with zink/titanium wont last 500 years? If that is the only real positive concern regarding lead white, then the risk isnt worth it. But you do have great expertise regarding paint making. I would like to talk to you in the future.

[@chrisgriffith1573]

I am shocked by this blinder mentality you seem to hold dear, I have had the honor to have studied next to teachers and students alike whom are now today's finest artisans and craftsmen of our time, and though this age is a far cry from what was popular centuries ago, all this means is that what pays today and employ's our finest artists is not the direction that you look to find today's finest artists.

[@etienne7774]

@@chrisgriffith1573 Finest artists, like whom? There are no great painters, like Rembrandt. If you cant see the difference, then youre artistically unskilled.

[@chrisgriffith1573]

@@etienne7774 You assume first they are using paint these days, and also assume that you speak for the majority of humanity when it comes to "valued art". I submit that our most talented artists are employed in digital means of production of images and forms, animations and creations. Sadly, these are the ones that make the money, not those that work of the Pope and Kings and Nobelmen...