OPs & Galkyd?

[staggerlee]

For fun and sake of ease in a newly hands full day I have moved to OPs from oil painting. However would like to transfer some of my techniques (?) to my new favorite medium, also am interested in the fixative possibilities of using Galkyd w/ OPs. any one have info/ tips?



Did try to do a search for previous mentions, found nothing, a point in the right direction if you know of any threads would be greatly appreciated. will also try contacting Gamblin too, usu very helpful.

Thanks mucho!

[halthepainter]

Hi Stagger, Welcome to the OP forum. I hope you'll join in and be a regular contributor here.

I haven't worked with Galkyd. I've heard of a few people who have worked with Liquin and one person claimed that he could create a surface, using Liquin, that didn't require the painting to be framed under glass.

I'm an art fair artist and am always on the quest to frame without glass to reduce glare and weight of the framed artwork. Twenty or thirty paintings under glass is quite a load.

The only solution that has worked for me, so far, has been to spray my completed work with Grumbacher Final Fixative (four or five coats and smells like model airplane dope). Once no more color comes up with a gentle rubbing, I paint the surface with Golden's self levelling gel. This leaves a hard gloss surface and if I want a mat finish, I'll paint this last surface with an acrylic mat medium.

Beware the varnishes that smell like varnish or solvents. Those have turned my work sticky or tacky. Also the spray fixatives that smell like solvents have left my oil pastels tacky. Of course these tacky paintings I can still frame under glass. They would be no worse than soft pastels.

[staggerlee]

Thanks Hal, that is one of my "hmm, I wonder"s, the fixative aspect, esp b/c I do a lot of my work in sketchbooks I make (or rather am starting to use the OPs in there).

To me it would stand to reason, these being essentially sticks of pigment with an oil type binder there will not be a problem, I have used RF's sticks for awhile now for under painting sketches etc (which are remarkably similar to Senneliers in their lipstick like consistency....)

All in all, it will come down to just trying it, as it usually does. Am not one for following the dogma of a medium, but do believe in "knowing the rules in order to break them"...

Anything I discover, I will pass along...

Just occurred to me to check Creevy's book (the oil one is Bible like in my studio, just got the pastel one) to see what he may have to say on the topic...must dig it out today.

And my thanks for the Welcome, too!
Am really enjoying the medium!

[halthepainter]

Stagger, oil sticks and oil pastels are two different beasts. RF are oil sticks and are wax and a drying oil. Oil pastels are a non drying oil.

The Grumbacher final fixative should be great for your oil pastels in a journal. A few coats and there shouldn't be any smudging under normal circumstances. But as I said the Grumbacher won't make the oil pastels fingernail proof.

[staggerlee]

Oh yeah, different beasts, similar attributes, am aware .... Working on a mini artistic revolution in my own little world!

Will check out the Grum fix, hope its not as $$ as the Sennelier stuff!
Putting together a travel kit for my art bag (busy stay @ home Dad, dance classes, playdates, lots of sitting in waiting areas and in the van) Just use wax paper dividers or kraft paper at the moment.

[CarlyHardy]

I've used Galkyd with traditional oils but not with my oil pastels. However since it's made with mineral spirits, I would try it to dissolve first layers of the oil pastels noting whether your substrate can take a wash of mineral spirits. Most paper will not. The Ampersand Colorfix is one of my favorite substrates for oil pastels since I can use turpenoid to dissolve the first layers, creating a wash of color.

Galkyd is a medium and when dry will remain glossy. Let us know the outcome of your experiments!

[staggerlee]

Hi alll, below is what Gamblin had to say. Mssr. Creevy, in his pastel book was exactly the opposite (not a big deal) in that he used Liquin (stinky stuff to me... prefer galkyds) freely w/ his Ops.

Will begin playing now....

Dear James-
Thank you for contacting us.
Oil pastels are made with a mineral oil that never fully dries where as all of the oils in oil painting materials do dry. If mixing these two materials together it is probably best to limit the addition of the oil pastel and also work on a rigid support. It is also good to be aware that this is not a typical mixture of materials so it may be best to do some experiments first before using them together on a final piece.
There are artists who push the limits of their materials every day and this is part of what makes their work wonderful and unique so I hesitate to tell you this cannot be done, are there better solutions… I think so. Chalk pastels would work well since they are basically pigments and the oil mediums will act as a binder for the pigments or you could use a pigment stick (R&F) which are made specifically for use with oil painting materials.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Thank you for choosing our materials.

Sincerely,

Jamee