DEMONSTRATION
Beginning the Painting
Approval of the color sketch led to finalization of the contract and time requirements for completion. We had already spent several months on the project; I would now have 3 months in which to complete the painting.
I purchased 20 inch Fredericks stretcher bars and squared my frame. Over this I stretched oil primed Belgian linen. The pre-priming saves time and Belgium is known for making excellent quality linen for painting. Less expensive linens can be purchased from Russia and other locations.
I stained the white oil ground with a coat of Burnt Sienna. (To accomplish this, mix your paint with turpentine and brush it evenly over the whole surface. After a few minutes, rub the paint off with a clean cotton rag. Old t-shirts work well for this.) Any one of a number of colors can be used for creating an imprimatura, but it must be a quick drying color, usually an earthtone. [raw or burnt sienna, raw or burnt umber, venetian red, or yellow ochre are examples] When painting in an indirect technique in oils one must always paint slower drying paints with higher oil content over the top of faster drying, low oil paints. This is known as painting fat over lean. This is needed because oil paints dry from the surface down. If a top layer dries more quickly than a layer beneath it, the expansion and contraction of the underneath layer will crack the drier top layer.
Once the imprimatura was dry, I transfered my drawing to the canvas. A transfer paper can be created by rubbing pastel chalk over a sheet of tracing paper, then rubbing it down with Bestine*-soaked paper towel. This creates a chalk film on the paper. A transfer sheet of this type can last for years if cared for, transfering hundreds of drawings. It is best if some support, such as a book, is placed beneath the stretched canvas down upon which to press when tracing over your drawing. Trace with a hard lead pencil, such as a 2H, but be careful not to oversharpen the tip, or you may tear through your drawing.
*Bestine is a rubber cement thinner: read cautions carefully!
