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Materials and Techniques Syllabus
Materials and Techniques Supply List
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MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES OF PAINTING
CLASS SYLLABUS AND WHAT TO BRING EACH CLASS
This multi-level course will introduce students to all the major and several of the minor painting media and techniques, with a focus on good studio practice, archival and permanent materials and construction, and awareness of health and safety issues. Oil, acrylic, alkyds, fresco, egg tempera, watercolor, and several eccentricities, such as "technique mixte" and egg-oil emulsions will be covered, as well as canvas stretching, chalk gesso, acrylic gesso, oil grounds and varnishing. Techniques will include blending, glazing, scumbling, washes, optical mixing, and layers. Examples will be taken from various historical periods. A materials list will be supplied. Please don't buy paints until after I have had a chance to talk to you at the first class.
Some useful books:
Ralph Mayer, The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques (Viking, 1991)
Monona Rossol, The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide (Allworth Press 2001)
Michael Wilcox, The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolor Paints (Colour School Publications, 1995)
In the "Introduction" I will discuss safety precautions and equipment; introduce materials, including what paint is, how to read a paint tube, and Material SafetyData Sheets; the importance of knowing your materials and best procedures; and a discussion of priming and an introduction to grounds for the next week's class.
In "Grounds and Priming" you will learn how to prepare stretched canvases and masonite panels as painting surfaces and will prepare some for painting on in oils and egg tempera later on. Linen and cotton will be compared and rabbitskin glue explained, as well as the hazards and benefits of lead. Chalk gesso and oil grounds will be used. (We will discuss acrylic priming, but will not prime with acrylics until the acrylics lesson later.)
For "Oil Priming", bring:
* Notebook and pencil (bring to all subsequent classes for notes)
* Stretcher bars, 4@18" and 4@24" or your favorite sizes
* Cotton artists canvas, unprimed, 1 yard (or 6 inches wider and longer than your stretcher bars)
* Linen artists canvas, unprimed, 1 yard (or 6 inches wider and longer than your stretcher bars)
* Magnetic-headed canvas tack hammer
* Copper plated canvas tacks
* An 18" x 24" unprimed masonite panel
* Sandpaper, medium grit
* Prepared rabbitskin glue (described in first class)
* Dust mask
* Latex or neoprene gloves
* Protective apron or smock (bring mask, gloves, and apron to all successive classes)
* Small jars with airtight lids
* Priming brushes (hardware store bristle brushes are fine)
* Titanium White Oil Primer
* Odorless paint thinner
* Brush cleaning soap (I recommend Murphy's Oil Soap)
For "Gesso Priming" bring:
* 3 18" x 24" unprimed masonite panels
* Sandpaper, medium and fine grit, mounted on a block recommended
* Dry titanium white pigment
* Powdered chalk, whiting, or marble dust, about 8 oz.
* Prepared rabbitskin glue (described in first class)
* Large glass jar (such as an applesauce jar), well washed/boiled, with airtight lid
* Priming brushes (hardware store bristle brushes are fine, but these should not be the same ones used for oil priming)
* Gloves, dust mask, apron
* Brush cleaning soap (I recommend Murphy's Oil Soap)
In "Pigments and Fresco" you will be introduced to simple pigments in water (pigment pastes) and their application to wet plaster to make a permanent, durable artwork. Class members will copy an image taken from ancient Egypt or the Renaissance.
For "Fresco" bring:
* Gloves, mask, apron
* A shallow disposable aluminum pan, which will be the size of the fresco
* Plaster of Paris
* Pigments: Titanium White, Mars Black, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Mars Red, Mars Orange, Mars Yellow, Terre Vert
* Distilled water
* Eyedropper
* Small jars, well washed/boiled, with airtight lids
* Watercolor palettes (I prefer Japanese ceramic ones with a circle of small cups)
* Tracing paper, pencils and eraser, charcoal and a pin
* Paintbrushes, including some sable-type and some cheap nylon imitation sable
* Palette knives
* Brush cleaning soap (I recommend Murphy's Oil Soap)
In "Egg Tempera" students will mix their pigment pastes with yolk of egg to produce classic egg tempera, which is applied to chalk gesso panels. Techniques of the Italian Renaissance, Russian icons, and modern tempera artists will be covered.
For "Egg Tempera" bring:
* The gesso panels prepared previously
* Pigments: Titanium White, Mars Black, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Mars Red, Mars Orange, Mars Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Terre Vert, Ultramarine Blue
* Gloves, dust mask, apron
* Distilled water
* Eyedropper
* Small jars, well washed/boiled, with airtight lids
* One egg, preferably organic and very fresh
* Watercolor palettes (I prefer Japanese ceramic ones with a circle of small cups)
* Tracing paper, pencils and eraser
* Paintbrushes, including some small sable-type and some cheap nylon imitation sable
* Palette knives
* Brush cleaning soap (I recommend Murphy's Oil Soap)
In "Oil Glazing, Technique Mixte, and Egg-Oil Emulsions", elaborations of egg tempera will be taught. Linseed oil and egg yolk media can be combined in interesting ways, and some of the experiments of the revival of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries will be covered.
For "Oil Glazing, Technique Mixte, and Egg-Oil Emulsions" bring:
* Materials listed above for "Egg Tempera" plus:
* A small bristle paintbrush
* Oil paints, artist grade, a basic palette of transparent colors. Suggested: Zinc White, Ivory Black, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Quinacridone Violet (PV19), Transparent Red Ochre (or Transparent Oxide Red), Yellow Ochre, Hansa Yellow, Viridian (or Phthalocyanine Green), Prussian Blue, Ultramarine Blue
* Disposable paper palette (comes in a pad)
* Linseed oil
* Odorless paint thinner
* Small glass jar with lid for paint thinner
* Brush cleaning soap (I recommend Murphy's Oil Soap)
In "Oil Painting" students will learn the classic handling properties of oil paint, the most popular of painting media.
For "Oil Painting" bring:
* Gloves, apron
* Oil-primed canvases and board from first session
* Oil paints, artist grade, as for previous class plus: Titanium White, Venetian Red , Cadmium Yellow Light, Ultramarine Blue
* Paintbrushes, including some bristle-type
* Palette knives
* Disposable paper palette (comes in a pad)
* Linseed oil
* Stand oil
* Damar varnish
* Odorless paint thinner
* Small glass jars with lids for paint thinner and mediums
* Brush cleaning soap (I recommend Murphy's Oil Soap)
In "Synthetic Paints" students will become acquainted with modern synthetic media. First they will deal with alkyd paints, which are a synthetic resin related to oils but faster drying; then with acrylics, a water-based plastic paint which is easy to deal with and clean up.
For "Synthetic Paint: Alkyds" bring:
* Gloves, apron
* An unprimed masonite panel or stretched canvas (your choice)
* Acrylic "gesso"
* Priming brushes (hardware store bristle brushes are fine)
* Paintbrushes, including some bristle-type
* Palette knives
* Alkyd paints (Winsor & Newton is the only brand): Titanium White, Ivory Black, Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Burnt Umber, Cadmium Red Medium, Cadmium Yellow Light, Phthalo Green, Phthalo Blue, French Ultramarine
* Disposable paper palette (comes in a pad)
* Odorless paint thinner
* Small glass jar with lid for paint thinner
* Brush cleaning soap (I recommend Murphy's Oil Soap)
For "Synthetic Paint: Acrylics" bring:
* Gloves, apron
* An unprimed masonite panel or stretched canvas (your choice)
* Acrylic "gesso"
* Priming brushes (hardware store bristle brushes are fine)
* Paintbrushes, including some bristle-type
* Palette knives
* Acrylic Paints, artists grade, in a basic palette. Suggested: Titanium White, Ivory Black, Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Burnt Umber, Cadmium Red Medium, Quinacridone Violet (PV 19), Yellow Ochre (or Yellow Oxide/Mars Yellow), Hansa Yellow (PY3), Phthalo Green, Phthalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue
* Disposable paper palette (comes in a pad)
* Water/paintbrush jars
* Brush cleaning soap (I recommend Murphy's Oil Soap)
In "Watercolors" you will be introduced to the subtleties of painting on paper.
For "Watercolors" bring:
* Gloves, apron
* A watercolor block (a pad of watercolor paper glued together around the edges)
* Watercolor paints, artist's grade, a basic palette. Suggested: Titanium White, Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Quinacridone Violet (PV19), Cadmium Red Light, Hansa Yellow Light (PY3), Phthalocyanine Green, Phthalocyanine Blue, Ultramarine Blue
* Paintbrushes, soft, including some small sable-type and some cheap nylon imitation sable
* Watercolor palettes (I prefer Japanese ceramic ones with a circle of small cups)
* Pencils and eraser
* Water/paintbrush jars
* Brush cleaning soap (I recommend Murphy's Oil Soap)
In "Varnishing" you will learn how to finish and protect oil paintings. Principles of acrylic varnishing will also be covered, as well as when and why not to varnish.
For "Varnishing" bring:
* Gloves, mask, apron
* A dry oil painting
* Varnishing brush (a wide, flat, *good* bristle brush -- not hardware store)
* Damar varnish
* Glass jar with lid, wider than the varnish brush, for varnish
* Odorless paint thinner
* Brush cleaning soap (I recommend Murphy's Oil Soap)
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