Types of Glazing Paint
Oil and acrylic paint can both be used for glazing. Glazing is a technique where paint is applied in thin transparent layers that light travels through, bouncing off the canvas, creating luminosity, depth and richness that cannot be achieved by simply mixing colors on a palette. Patience is key when glazing paint. Does this Spark an idea?
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Transparent Colors
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Glazes need to be applied as transparent colors. Oil paints come in transparent, semi-transparent and opaque colors. Read the label to determine what type of paint you have. Titanium white is a very opaque color, however, if you mix a tiny amount in with a medium, it can work as a glaze.
Start with an under painting in opaque colors. Your under painting can be used as a value guide showing where your highlights, mid-tones and shadows belong. Once your opaque under painting is dry, you can build up several layers of glazes. Make certain that each layer of glaze is completely dry before adding on your next thin layer. It is a good idea to work on several canvases at the same time because you can only do a little amount of work at each sitting due to drying times.
Mediums
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Making a glaze, regardless of the paint used, requires a medium. For acrylic paint, you can use either more water or a special glazing medium such as Golden's Gloss Glazing Liquid. Once mixed with a medium, your acrylic paint should appear similar to transparent glass. You may have to add either more medium or water if it goes on too thick.
Oil paint can be thinned for a glaze using Stand oil or a combination of mediums. One suggested combination is to mix together equal parts of Dammar's Varnish, Turpenoid and Stand or linseed oil. If the paint you choose goes on too thick, wipe it off and add more medium to it.
There are drying mediums available as well if you want to speed up the drying time. -
Painting Base
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Start your painting with a white canvas or board. It is easier to glaze on a smooth surface; cotton duck canvas that does not have a texture to the cloth is recommended. Wooden panel or board was commonly used throughout art history and is even easier to glaze on than canvas.
It is best to start with a white prime coat or gesso on your canvas or board, which is what the light will ultimately reflect off of as it travels through the layers of glazed paint.
Brushes
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Soft brushes are the best to use for glazing. Filbert brushes are excellent for blending details. Flat brushes are good for dispersing paint in thin consistent layers and for edging.
To unify your glazes, use a mop brush on your very last glaze, covering the entire painting with one very thin, diluted color. This will create the effect that everything in your painting is living in the same world.
If you brush on too much paint or the glaze seems dark, take it off with a dry brush or rag. Do not attempt to paint over paint until it is dry. If your paint is tacky and you try to paint on top of it, it may result in pulling off many layers of paint.
Glazing Colors
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Transparent pigments in oil paint that are good for glazing include raw and burnt sienna, scarlet lake, alizarin crimson, rose madder, pthalo green, ultramarine medium and perinone orange.
Most colors, including opaque paints, can be mixed proportionately with mediums to make them transparent enough to glaze with. Look on the paint tube to see how permanent or light fast your paint colors are so you will know how long your colors will last without fading or changing.
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