Color Wheel
I arrange my oil color tubes on a rotating circular tray that has two tiers. The tray serves several functions. First a rotating tray gives me ready access to all the tubes without having to rummage around in a paint box. I use many colors for every painting—sometimes only tiny amounts from each—and I don’t want to compromise my range of color out of impatience with finding a tube. Second, I have arranged the oils in the order of a typical color wheel, across the color spectrum from yellow to violet. There is a photo of my double-layered paint tray under the section called...
Read MoreThe ground
Before applying any paint, the surface of the panel must be prepared by sanding, to roughen it, and by applying a layer of paint called a “ground”, a coating that bonds with both the panel and the oil colors. Until recently I used a procedure that has been used for hundreds of years˜three coats of hide glue, applied hot, followed by two coats of oil primer. Today I use an acrylic “size” followed by an acrylic Gesso. For years I resisted the acrylic coatings because I was not certain that they would bond well with oil paint. However, paint chemists have informed me...
Read Morehardboard panels
I paint on hardboard, as many knife painters do, not on canvas. Thick applications of paint could break if the canvas were rolled. Many of the great masters painted on natural wood or hardboard panels, including Picasso. The problem with natural wood is its tendency to crack or “check” over time. Hardboard is essentially homogenized wood, so it doesn’t crack. (Many of us are more familiar with the name “Masonite” than “hardboard” but we cannot use the name “Masonite” anymore because it is copyrighted. “Hardboard” avoids this...
Read MorePainting with knives
People are often surprised when I tell them that I use painting knives instead of brushes. They point to some fine lines on a painting and ask if these were also painted with a knife. Yes, they were. I have some brushes somewhere in my studio but I rarely use them. For people who have never heard about knife painting I have to explain that painting knives are not like kitchen knives. They are more like miniature spatulas, usually triangular in shape. The photo on the left shows the large collection of knives that I have gathered over the years. Below that photo is one of my palette with the...
Read MoreSpecial Oil Colors
To use my knife technique I require highly viscous paints. Oil colors that are the consistency of jam are formulated to spread easily with a brush, but they either slide off the knife or form drooping strings that make precise control impossible. A thick and granular consistency is ideal for knife painting, but this consistency should not be achieved by the addition of fillers, which dull the colors. Dense pigments are more expensive but well worth it because they enhance viscosity without dulling the color. Several manufacturers make oil colors of a suitable consistency, but strangely no one...
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