Margret E Short Fine Arts Blog

Fumed Silica Gel Stays Where You Put It

Left - Fumed Silica Gel mixed with linseed oil

Second from Left - Red Iron Oxide mixed with linseed

Second from Right - Red Iron Oxide mixed with Fumed Silica Gel

 

Far Right - Fumed Silica Gel dry

There are basically two ways to paint with oil paints. One is oil only, and the other is using solvents. These days many people are rejecting the strong odors of solvents such as turpentine and other varnishes. Many have developed allergies. The smells can sometimes be overpowering in a studio unless you have a good ventilation system. Because this medium is mixed only with oil, there is virtually no odor.

Fumed Silica Gel is a medium that is new to me, and after putting my mad scientist to work experimenting with it, I find it quite splendid.  It is an absolutely weightless
dry powder and must be handled with great care. As you can see from the image above, just by moving my sample across the room to the window for photography, the powder shifted across the paper effortlessly. A good respirator must be used until it is suspended in the linseed oil.

The powder is made at very high temperatures and has the same properties as quartz. The medium is made by simply mixing with linseed or any other drying oil and will instantly create a gel and can be used right away. It is best to use as little as possible for your desired effect as you mix it into your colors. It has a similar feel and look to the popular mastic gels, but without the solvents and resulting stickiness.

Have any of you tried this medium? What were your results?

Close Ups

 

This detail shows how the fumed silica gel changes the consistency of the paint. On the left is pigment mixed with linseed oil. On the right is the same paint mixed with about 1/4 part silica gel. The workability of this is just magnificent. It is fluffy and lightweight, has no odor, and stays where you put the brushstroke. It does not level out or run in any way. As far as I can tell it does not alter the appearance of the paint surface such as a medium with a varnish would. The benefits are bulk and  excellent handling of the paint.

 

In this detail of a pomegranate from my Greek 5th century BCE painting, you can see how the seeds stand out. I layered the paint/silica gel mixture one on top of another to achieve the appearance of seeds as they are on the fruit. Then by changing the color, values, and consistency the texture built up across the surface of the canvas.

Again, it would be interesting to hear from any of you who have experimented with this medium.

 

 

Strasbourg Medium

Robert Massey's Canada balsam and sun thickened oil medium recipe resembles closely the legendary but no longer available, olio d'Abezzo.

Strasbourg Medium

Canada balsam, 4 parts, sun thickened linseed oil, 1 part, turpentine, 2 parts.

Combine and warm the ingredients either in hot sunshine or over a double boiler, and stir them until they mix completely. This is a very viscous, fragrant, water clear, medium. I make it on my deck using a double boiler. A few drops mixed right into the paint will speed drying and create a splendid enamel like surface.

Have any of you made and tried this medium?

Hemlock and Lead White

 
 

 
One of the most important events that took place at the very end of the 5th century BCE was the death of Socrates. I wanted to incorporate this into the composition of the painting without actually painting the flowers. The white flowering plant above is the blossom of the hemlock which I replicated across the surface of the focal piece of white cloth, shown at top.

Socrates was convicted of two ambiguous charges: corrupting the youth and impiety. He was forced to drink the hemlock liquid, and died in 399BCE. A new book about these events has just been published, The Hemlock Cup by Bettany Hughes. 

To achieve the actual look of the flower on the cloth, a mid-value white was applied, using white+yellow ochre+black. Then a lighter quite sticky mixture was applied in the shape of the circular petals. One of my favorite mediums is the Venetian Medium. Paint it onto a dry surface and couch the upper layer into this for a wet on wet technique. By mixing a few drops of a more liquid medium such as the Strasbourg medium right into the paint, it forms a nice sticky workability. This maybe sounds counter-productive, but it works well for this application. 

Naturally Red

Shown here is my favorite red, cinnabar. It is a pigment found as a mineral in nature and can have a wide variety of hues from bright fire red to a more subtle coral red. The principle property is mercury. It can have striations of opal, quartz, calcite and other minerals. According to Anita Albus in her book, Art of Arts, it is a Greek word, kinnabari, which derives from the Persian. In Theophrastus' (a pupil of Aristotle) book, History of Stones (ca. 372-287) cinnabar is the oldest of all European lapidaries.

It is absolutely my favorite red due to its subtle delicate beauty. There is no risk of this pigment overpowering any other color in a mixture because of the nature of low intensity. I will be using both cinnabar and vermilion in this Greek painting commission and will be showing details of the painting as it progresses. Squint and compare this color with the 2 colors in the previous entry, vermilion and cadmium red. Can you see the natural beauty in the cinnabar over that of the other two pigments?

 

Rublev Cinnabar, mixed with linseed - left, dry pigment - right

 

Modern vs. Historic

 

Shown here are two reds used by contemporary artists. The color on the left is vermilion straight from the tube on the top, mixed with a little white on the bottom.

The color on the right is a very modern pigment, cadmium red. As you can see, the vermilion has a slightly more subtle tone to it, whereas, the cadmium is very shockingly bright. To my eye, it is almost garish. I have used it in the past always feeling compelled to tone it down with a little green or umber or something. Many of the modern pigments have that same characteristic. They can be so powerfully tinted that they can take over a color mixture. This is the reason I find the earths and historical pigments so much more appealing. They are naturally beautiful as they come from the tube or as you mix them.

A Discriminating Palette

Greek painters, especially those from the 5th century BCE, were remarkably skilled and created many hundreds of vases and other paintings. The many varieties of surfaces include terracotta plaques, walls, ceilings, panels, wood, marble, ivory, leather, parchment, and ceramic slabs. They used some of the most beautiful natural and synthetic pigments available at that time. From China, they imported the manufactured variety of vermilion. Egypt was the source for Egyptian blue and green frit, which were also synthetically made.

There will be no shortage of any color for my project, as the Greeks had a wide variety of colors for their palettes. I am most thrilled to learn they used natural cinnabar and synthetic vermilion, both splendid reds. These were two pigments I sorely missed during all of my Egyptian painting. The closest was red iron oxide bumped with madder. That was adequate, but cinnabar and vermilion are much more intense and exciting to use.

The Wedding of Thetis and Peleus

About 470-460 BCE, the Wedding Painter painted this stunning vase. It measures 7 1/4" high by 5 1/4" wide. This one is actually quite small and many measured as much as 30" high or more. Many of the artists signed their pieces and historians can now identify the style characteristics of each artist.

 

The Wedding of Thetis and Peleus, Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities in the Louvre, Sully first floor, room 39, case 11. Fauvel Collection.

Courtesy Wikipedia, public domain 

It's All Greek

Quite unexpectedly and yet happily, a new pigment project has come my way. Some months ago, a client came to me with a request to paint a commission with the theme of 5th century BCE Greece. Specifically, he wants the focus to be black/red figure vase painting that  was in its apogee at about 480-430 BCE. Again, I have delved head first into history searching for objects, pigments, myths, events, and the always present gods and goddesses of that period. And again, the subject matter is endless and utterly fascinating.

Like Egypt's history, Ancient Greek history has never been a top priority for me, but after in depth reading over the past weeks I am hooked. If Greece were not in such financial turmoil, I would plan a trip there. At least our dollar might be worth something. For now, I will just have to be satisfied doing my research vicariously through books and film.

One splendid bit of information unearthed is that the Greeks had many pigments available to them, several more than the Egyptians. Not only did they have the usual earth pigments such as umbers, ochre, and red iron oxides, but also vermilion (from China), and Egyptian blue and green frit imported from Egypt. Natural cinnabar was in use too. Who knows......now with all the subject matter at my fingertips along with so many amazing pigments, this one-painting commission might just evolve into an entire multi-painting project.