Step by step demo of Oil painting

3 minute Quicktime movie demo of oil painting using

Maroger medium. Click here or on icon to open Quick time video

More information on my painting techniques here

The video shows the Rubens technique of painting using 6 tones or values - painting from fat to lean.

1. Apply shadows using transparent colors, usually umber or burnt umber.
2. Secondly paint in light colors, varying in color and tone. Black is not used except for a black material or mixed with carmen red for warm darkest values.
3. Highlights are the lightest values, mixed with white.
4. Reflected light are colors and tones in the shadows, mixed with medium and pigment; do not apply too heavily, keep shadows transparent.
5. Demi tones are applied at edge of light and dark values using a mixture of white and black; this is the preumbra or demi teint that occures naturally in nature due to the physics of light.
6. Raking light, a more diffuse lighting, without strong lights or darks.

The Maroger mediums are cooked with turpentine and Litharge (lead) and are toxic. I use lead white and Naples yellow pigments, both are lead based paints. Other colors are highly toxic or cancer causing, but they are what the old masters used, so extreme care should be exercised in their use.