Portfolio Stuff

So I finally go around to photographing a few of my pieces that I never had a good picture of.   I thought you might like to see them.

Gold Leaf versus Gold Paint

Gold Halo, amber and pewter on gold crown, metallic under painting.

In my quest to explore the power of sacred figures from world religions in my art, I often enhance my paintings with precious metals in the style of Greek and Hindu icons. Applying precious metals and stones directly to paintings of saints and goddesses has a long tradition back to ancient Egypt. As a modern painter I have access to a large variety of gold and metal leafs and paints. When composing a picture I might use only leafs or include metallic paints as well. I have included below links to the art supplies I use with an amazon affiliate program.

I most always use gold or metal leafs for halos and auras. Nothing short of diamonds outshines a 23kt Gold Halo. I don't see the point of using metallic paints instead, they cannot be burnished for greater shine, and the mica used to make the paints glitters rather than shining.

Smaller details on a painting like lettering or patterns on a dress are harder to acheive with gold leaf, and metallic paints make a good stand in. I have utilized shell gold (flakes of gold suspended in Gum Arabic) for this, and I have found it isn't opaque enough for some of the effects I seek. Metallic paints don't have as much shine and power as metal leafs, and sometimes I prefer the lower sheen of mica as I don't want the clothing to upstage a halos focus on the face.

Gold Halo, silver wings, metallic paint highlights in hair and pearlescent crown.

Speaking of halo's framing the face, sometimes the dullness of hair painted with regular paints interrupts that focus.  I have tried an under-painting of copper paint for red and brown hair and gold paints under blond hair to good effect as a smooth transition between the halo and the face on the heads of saints. Truly, if a saints head shown that much light with a halo, the hair would reflect some of that metallic color. Alternatively a few strands of hair lined with metallic paint or shell gold enhances the transition to the faces.

The gold in the lower half of this picture points they eye up to the main figures.

The modern sensibilities for composition conflict with the sense of space in medieval iconography. I have found that perfectly good paintings don't balance when the only bling in the painting is the halo. Picking out details elsewhere in the picture with metallic paints satisfies the antique and modern needs of a sacred subject.

Differences between Water Soluble-Mixable Paints and Traditional Oils

 

Water Mixable Paints are an inventive answer to the toxicity and flammability of turpentine and other noxious thinners. When I was first learning to paint in 2003, my teacher insisted that if we were to use oils in her classroom, we were to use the water mixable paints or odorless turpenoid with our regular oils.  She probably already had her fill of all things toxic. Teaching day in and day out with chemicals in the air was a deal breaker.

After experiencing the ease of Acrylic drying time for our fast paced assignments, the class all decided to stick with acrylics for the rest of our first year studies. Therefore, I didn't learn the principles of oil paints beyond the incredible basic: Don't paint acrylics or acrylic gesso over oils!

I want to re-approach oil paint for several reasons. Mainly, oils have a certain class that collectors appreciate, and they seem to be better suited for impressionist and and traditional painting. Also, I want to use those tubes of water mixable oils I purchased for that class and barely touched. I had this perception that water mixable paints must function differently than regular oils, and I worried that the instructional principles on oil paints would be useless to me.

I sought out articles and books about water mixable paints and mediums, and there were very few, considering all the brands and options for water soluble and mixable paints.

Finally, I found a well rated book especially about water oil paints, Painting with Water Soluble Oils by Sean Dye. Dye's book is incredible and unique. He includes reviews and shares color charts of all the then available brands of water mixable and soluble paints and mediums. Dye invited about a dozen different oil painters to try the water oil paints and compare them with similar paintings made with traditional oils. My big questions were answered, and I understood why there was so little written about the differences between traditional and water soluble paints. There is in fact very little difference.

The artists reviewing the various products noted that the paints sometimes needed a tad more (water soluble) linseed oil added to get the buttery consistency they were used to with traditional oils. But besides that, the water worked exactly in place of turpentine, only appearing more opaque when wet than turpentine, but drying to the same result.

Artists noted that their paintings appeared a tiny bit brighter in some way than the traditional oils but none seemed to be able to put their finger on why. I thought it over and I suspect that conventional linseed oil is probably a tad yellower than water soluble linseed oils. If you don't appreciate the higher clarity of the water soluble oils, I suggest lightly aging your painting with a final glaze of very thinned yellow ochre.

I have summarized here the few differences between painting with water soluble oils and traditional oil paints. However, for complete reviews of the different brands of water soluble and mixable paints, I highly recommend Painting with Water Soluble Oils by Sean Dye as the authoritative book on the subject.

As of the writing of this article, Painting with Water Soluble Oils by Sean Dye appears to be out of print. New copies are selling for inflated prices, but several dozen high quality used copies are available for bargain basement price.

Donating to SCRAP

sSCRAP by CafeLatte under Creative Commons License

 Donating used arts and craft supplies to SCRAP in Portland is a great way to put your unwanted supplies to good use and help keep them out of the trash. SCRAP stands for the School and Community Re-use Action Project. Donated supplies are used in school programs and are also sold at the Re-use Action Center.

The Re-use Action Center sells your donated canvases, half used tubes of paint and glaze, wood panel scraps, fabric, pencils, and yarn for a few cents or a few dollars. It gets artists recycling and helps artists afford what are often expensive supplies when purchased new.

Donations to SCRAP are tax-deductible and helps artists, school children, and the environment by keeping craft supplies out of the garbage and available for use by kids and artists who need them at a very affordable price.

When I was at SCRAP today, I noticed they could use more card stock, paint brushes, and jars and bottles. They especially looked as though they had a shortage of primers and mediums. I came away with a box full of stretcher bars, used canvases, calligraphy pens, acrylic fluid paints, damar varnish, picture stands, and a pyrograph tool, all for less than 15 dollars.

SCRAP is open every day 11a-6p and is located on the corner of NE MLK & Stanton in Portland, Oregon. New SCRAP projects are being formed in Traverse City, MI and Washington DC.

July Show

Recent work by Sara Star* and the Neo-Romantics at Stray Gallery in our New Location

June Show

Imagine what I dream about and what haunts my nightmares:

Nightmare with Crow by Sara*

Sara sleeping with Fey in a bed of her own hair by Sara*