Glazing demonstration

Two weeks ago I did an underpainting demonstration and now it's time to show the glazing process. The underpainting was created with raw umber, white, and black. It is now completely dry to the touch. Starting with a fresh palette I lay out all of my transparent oil paints. I have pulled each color out with a little medium so that the transparency is easy to observe. I am also using a fresh sheet of palette paper to keep the glazes free of color contamination.  It is also time to switch from my thinnest painting fluid to a medium-bodied fluid.*

I premix the color with the fluid on the palette and then lay it into the respective area with a soft wide filbert brush. Sometimes I use a smaller filbert to glaze areas that are more exacting, like the candelabrum. The otter's cloak is glazed with burnt umber. The Westies' dress is glazed with sap green. The canopy bed is glazed with Alizarin crimson, and so on. 

Before the initial glazes dry, I begin to scumble in highlights and shadows. Scumbling is done using a clean frayed hog bristle brush and loading it with dry paint, then tapping it onto the wet surface of the painting. It creates a soft effect that incorporates and blends with the glaze color. It is an excellent way to start developing the form of a three-dimensional object. After many hours of repeated glazing and scumbling, here is how it looks:

The Westie is looking a little pale and ghost-like right now. However, when this stage is dry I will do a final glaze over everything with a warm golden hue that will unite the whole painting and bring some color into her. I will also add a few more highlights and lowlights. I hope you enjoyed the demo. Any questions, just ask!

 

*As a side note on Painting Medium, I keep each recipe in a separate jar with a number on top.

1.underpainting fluid- "thin" (solvent > resins)
2.medium body fluid
3.glazing fluid - "fat" (resins > solvent).