Thinning WMOs for details

[Crystal1]

I've been reading for a long time about adding no more than 20-30% of water, mediums, or oils to thin WMOs. There must be a way to thin down the paints enough to do detail work, such as in eyes in portraits, etc. Can anybody tell me how to do that?

[DAK723]

For small details one can probably add considerably more medium to the paint without causing problems. An eye highlight, or a few thin lines for some twigs won't be large enough to constitute a "paint layer". In those cases, adding a bit more medium (with oil included - not solvent alone) shouldn't matter, in my opinion. As long as the paint layer itself is mostly paint, with just the 20-30% medium added - then I think all will be well!

On the other hand, applying details in oils (also, in my opinion) is more a question of technique and equipment. If painting wet on wet, one needs to develop the ability to get wet paint to stick on wet paint, which often needs a stroke where the brush is almost parallel to the canvas. Often loading thicker paint on the brush and just dabbing is a way to get the paint off the brush and onto the canvas. The tip of a knife, is often the best way to apply a highlight or detail. And quite frankly, more often than not, my details are added when the previous paint layer is dry. Much easier then! One technique that was used by Rembrandt (and many since then) is to use the end of the brush (or any sharp object) to scratch paint off to create lines. Obviously, one must plan ahead by having the underpainting be the color that will be revealed by the scratches.

One thing to remember (and I'm sure you know most of what I have already said) is that if you add a lot more medium to small areas, there is the chance that those areas will be much glossier, too. Another reason why oils can be so difficult to work with!

Don

[Crystal1]

Thanks a lot DAK723. Yes, I often use a detail brush the next day or sometimes the sharp end of a safety pin. Guess I didn't get the part where they were talking about complete layers. My teachers never had any problem with thinning paint down to any degree they wanted, so I've learned a lot here. Thanks again.

[greywolf-art]

I generally tend to just use linseed oil for details, you don't actually need to add huge amounts to get a nice flowing consistency for detail work

[Crystal1]

Thank you Greywolf-art! Yes, I'll probably use a little thinner and more walnut oil. Since, it'll probably be just the last touch-ups it won't matter if it takes a while to dry.

[Crystal1]

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[chalet_dor]

Hi Don

I am so new that I did not understand what you were saying when I first read your post. However now I do. I finally tried to paint today. Thank you very much for your knowledge.

[dcorc]

I've been reading for a long time about adding no more than 20-30% of water, mediums, or oils to thin WMOs. There must be a way to thin down the paints enough to do detail work, such as in eyes in portraits, etc. Can anybody tell me how to do that?

Firstly, I'd avoid adding water at all - the different brands vary, but some go very gummy on addition of water, so use water for cleanup rather than for thinning.

Secondly, you don't need to add large amounts of oil or solvent to thin the paint to a fluid consistency - you might sometimes go a bit over the 20% perhaps, but should understand that the purpose of the "20%" advice is to generally get people to add a lot less adulterants to paint than many people tend to, left to their own devices. The consequences of excessive solvent or medium usage are among the commonest problems that we deal with on the oils forum. Add the bare minimum that you need, to get the paint to a fluid consistency.

Thirdly - the vast majority of the mainstream of oil paintings up until the latter part of the 19thC were not painted alla-prima, but as a series of layers - and in the 18th &19th these were generally painted directly - that is, with a block-in in colour which was allowed to dry, then typically 2-4 subsequent passes to build, and refine progressively with smaller brushes, drying between each pass.

When people want fluid paint for detail, what they generally really mean is that they want the paint to flow off the brush smoothly - in order to get it to flow onto a dry surface, it's found it needs to be very thin - however - what's really required for this is not so much that the paint need be very thin, as that the surface should be lubricated - and this is done by applying a very thin layer of medium to the surface in the area to be painted onto. Apply it very thinly, and rub it out as far as you possibly can - the correct amount is sometimes described as a "whisper-thin" coating - and then paint into this. You will discover that you need the paint to be fluid, but not diluted down to the extent you would have to to get it to flow onto a dry surface. This is a good way of putting in fine detail, and for signatures.

Dave

[Crystal1]

Thank you so much for your full explanation, Dave. I really appreciate all the time you have all spent to help me with this.