Home Forums Explore Media Oil Painting How to make impasto texture oil painting?

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  • #987940
    nouartist
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        I recently saw this painting at an exhibition here..The paint was so thick, it was like butter or plaster spread over the canvas – like little mountain ridges.

        How can i make the paint so thick that it sticks up like little mountain ridges?

        #1119180
        alhajri
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            You can just use heavy strokes of paint and leave it to dry. But it’s best to use a medium that will retain the brush strokes and ridges. Try Liquin Impasto made by Winsor and Newton. It will give you that effect.

            Impasto is done by either a brush or painting knives. Or both :)

            There are other mediums that will do that too. Do a search for impasto mediums and you’ll get a few.

            Kal

            #1119169
            Carey Griffel
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                As Kal mentions, there are various mediums which will increase the impasto effect. (It also helps to start with a stiffer paint to begin with, such as Old Holland.) I have used Gamblin’s Cold Wax Medium. It also gives a matte effect to your paint.

                Do keep in mind that it’s not a bad idea to paint on a rigid support if you are doing anything super thick.

                ~!Carey

                * Zaney Zebras (blog) * facebook art page * facebook floral design page * Recipe Blog *
                "...I wished to live deliberately...and not, when I came to die, discover that I have not lived." ---Henry David Thoreau

                #1119181
                alhajri
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                    And I’ve used James Groves Copal Varnish. Add a tiny bit of linseed oil and the copal to the paint and knife it on. He dries quite rapidly as well and doesn’t take months to dry as pure paint would.

                    I second that. James Groves mediums are quality products. I haven’t seen any that I didn’t like. And he’s such a nice person. A few days ago I got four mediums from him and wanted to know if they had a sample of the Cole’s Copal Varnish. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get it just to satisfy curiosity. James Grove was so kind to send me the half bottle he had on his easel as a gift.

                    Kal

                    #1119172
                    Joe
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                        Another method is to build up a heavy textured gesso. If you paint thin on top of that, the texture from the gesso is still there, and you don’t have some of the problems you can get with very thick oil paint.

                        #1119182
                        nouartist
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                            I also heard about modeling paste, except I couldn’t find any that was for oils.
                            Has anyone heard about modeling paste for oils and not acrylics?

                            #1119176
                            Bright Eyes
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                                I also heard about modeling paste, except I couldn’t find any that was for oils.
                                Has anyone heard about modeling paste for oils and not acrylics?

                                I use the acrylic modeling pastes. I do all the modeling and base colors in acrylic then go over it with the oils.

                                #1119183
                                nouartist
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                                    I do all the modeling and base colors in acrylic then go over it with the oils.

                                    Thats incredible. I didnt know you can mix acrylic and oil paints…
                                    Anyway here’s another painting, this one the paint is so thick, there are trenches 0.5″ deep..

                                    #1119173
                                    Joe
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                                        You can try Liquitex Super Heavy Gesso[/URL] – it’s designed to be a gesso so should be no problem painting oils on top. Acrylic modeling paste isn’t really designed to be a base for oil paint so I’d be a little leery of using that with oils. The Super Heavy Gesso is so thick that I apply it with a knife, then further model that with a brush to give it some different textures.

                                        #1119175
                                        Bright Eyes
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                                            Thats incredible. I didnt know you can mix acrylic and oil paints…

                                            Can’t really mix them, but oil paint can be applied over acrylics. Not acrylic over oils though. And thick applications of acrylic gel will dry over night and won’t crack when heavily applied. Works great if you need a heavy texture right from the start.

                                            #1119170
                                            jdadson
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                                                Can’t really mix them, but oil paint can be applied over acrylics. Not acrylic over oils though. And thick applications of acrylic gel will dry over night and won’t crack when heavily applied. Works great if you need a heavy texture right from the start.

                                                Oil paint will usually stick to acrylics initially. How long it will stick is another question.

                                                ^^^^^^^
                                                Jive Dadson
                                                ^^^^^^^

                                                #1119171
                                                jdadson
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                                                    The old masters used calcite (a.k.a. chalk) and linseed oil. Works good; Lasts a long time. Sometimes they used powdered glass. But I’m afraid of that stuff.

                                                    ^^^^^^^
                                                    Jive Dadson
                                                    ^^^^^^^

                                                    #1119177
                                                    Bright Eyes
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                                                        Oil paint will usually stick to acrylics initially. How long it will stick is another question.

                                                        You seem to indicate that it doesn’t. I’ve tested it by scrubbing down on the oil paint until I hit the acrylic layers. It doesn’t sepperate. Even on techniques where I scrape down the oil paint while its still semi wet it still stains into the acrylic paste. So please answer your question, how long does it stick according to your experience?

                                                        #1119184
                                                        aaronpainting
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                                                            hmmm i would try using other materials besides the brush. like a pallete knife or something metallic or smoothtextured. Also I think it would take more layers to build up the thickness

                                                            #1119178
                                                            Bright Eyes
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                                                                Res-n-gel works great to if you want to build layers of texture. Here is a link to a fellow wetcanvas artist who uses it for her paintings: http://www.talyajohnson.com/gallery2/v/Trees+and+Leaves/Back_Yard_2.jpg.html

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