Here is a list of the current materials I use for the majority of my paintings:

Support/Linen:
I mount Claessens #15, #66 or #29 linen on aluminum Dibond panels using non-yellowing,
heat-reversible Miracle-Muck glue.

I have enjoyed using Claessens high quality #29 super heavy weight linen. It is designed more for landscape painters and muralists but I have found the coarse texture to be very exciting to paint the figure on. It gives you infinite possibilities to work with texture.

Click on the thumbnail to see a very large section of a recent painting painted on Claessens #29.

Portrait of Natalie (A Commission)

12" x 9"
Oil on linen
2008

 

 

Mediums:
Gamblin Galkyd, thinned with odorless mineral sprits.
In the beginning stages I use a very thinned mixture,
toward the end of the painting I will be using almost straight Galkyd.
In the summer months I will add small amounts of poppy oil
to this mixture to keep the paints wet longer.

When I am looking for the thick impasto that still retains
its tranparency I use either Gamblin Neo-Megilp or Gamblin G-Gel.

Current Paints on My Palette:

Titanium White - Permalba
Cad Yellow Light - W&N
Cad Orange - Old Holland
Cad Red Light - Old Holland
Permanent Alizarin Crimson - W&N or Gamblin
Raw Sienna - Sennelier
Terra Rosa - W&N or Rembrandt
Trans. Oxide Red - Rembrandt
Raw Umber - Old Holland
Viridian - Sennelier
Prussian Blue - Rembrandt
Dioxazine Violet - Sennelier
Ivory Black - Rembrandt or W&N

 

Paints that I use if the painting warrants it:

Cad Yellow Lemon - W & N
Cad Red Deep - Old Holland
Yellow Ochre - Sennelier
Trans. Oxide Brown - Rembrandt
Cerulean Blue - Rembrandt
Cobalt Blue - W &N
French Ultramarine - Daler Rowney Georgia

Brushes:

Filbert and round shaped, hog bristle or badger hair, ranging in size from 1 to 16.
I enjoy using a large flat when I get into the landscape elements of my paintings.
I do use an occasional red-sable brush for very fine detail.

Varnish:

Gamblin Gamvar Picture Varnish

 

 

Archival (adj) : of, relating to, kept in, or suitable for archives.

 

I have always strived to use quality materials and sound technical principles in my work which lend themselves to permanency. I believe it is of the utmost importance to help protect the investment a client has made in my work.

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In this day and age there is no excuse for an artist to use materials that don’t stand the test of time. Artists have a lineage of over 500 years of experience to draw upon. The mistakes and achievements that artists in centuries past have made are for all of us to regard and learn from. We live in the age of communication and it is quite easy for an artist today to research and use good materials.

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I have found that the Gamblin company has stepped to the forefront of the issue of permanency and provided artists with an array of very digestable information on how to archivally build a successful painting in oils.