Oil Varnish Painting Medium: Flemish Maroger

Flemish Maroger is an oil varnish painting medium discovered by Jacques Maroger, painter and former curator of the Louvre in the early 20th Century, who claimed to have found the secret formulas used by Old Masters such as Titian, Rubens, Van Dyck, Velasquez, as well as others. Consisting of Black Oil and Mastic Varnish, this medium comes in the form of a soft jelly, and is used for its great versatility in oil painting.

"The jelly is of an amber color ... It is like a liquid glass with which the painter invests his pigments. It possesses the extraordinary property of congealing in the air and of becoming ductile again at the touch of the brush. Drawn by the brush, it moves fluently over the canvas. As soon as the brush is removed, it becomes firm and congeals immediately - ready, again to become every bit as ductile at the next touch of the brush.*"

Studying Composition

Painting: Dance Class, Edgar Degas (1871)

Like most of the dancers in Degas's works, these ballerinas are not performing. Degas has caught them in the unglamorous environs of the dancing classroom.

The overall composition is marvelously complex and fluid. One's eyes settle on the students and the violin player gathering around a piano on the left, and travel to the big standing mirror on the center, to the dancer performing her skill, then to the two girls doing exercise behind her, and finally to the door at the back right. There, Degas added a point of interest also: a dancer leaning his head against the wall. A curious pose that can make the viewer wonder of what she might be doing there.

The standing mirror at the center serves a number of compositional functions. The reflection of more dancers continues the rhythmic line of the dancers in the foreground and middle ground and gives an impression of depth, that there are actually more dancers outside the frame. In his paintings, Degas always thinks ‘beyond’ the frame. This gives an impression that the painting is broader than the size of the canvas itself.

The violin case at the foreground ‘steals’ viewer’s attention while exploring the other main objects. It also acts as a balancing element, so that the floor would not look too spacey. Notice a watering can at the front left corner which seems to be misplaced there. But the green color of the can repeats on the big mirror on the wall gives a nice balance.

We can see that the composition of this painting is carefully planned. That's what makes Degas a Master in composition.

10 Rules of Composition in Painting

Have you ever visited an art museum and a particular painting just grabbed your attention and drew you in? Something in that painting kept you looking and studying it. One element the artist successfully used in that painting was composition. The artist laid out the shapes and divided the space in the painting in such away that appealed to your senses. Here are some points to consider when developing your composition:

1) The areas of your canvas should be divided into parts of different sizes. For instance, if you are creating a landscape painting, do not put the horizon right in the center of your painting.

2) Do not place all the interesting parts of your composition on the left side of your painting. People read from left to right so they will have no reason to continue viewing the rest of your painting.

3) Avoid placing an interesting or important element of the painting too close to the edge of the canvas.

4) Create an imaginary triangle that pulls all the elements in the painting together, while pairs or groups of 4 will separate them into sections.

5) Try to use the same element in odd numbers. 1, 3, or 5 of the same item will typically have a more finished look. Like 5 girls, or 7 roses, etc.

6) Remember the "Rule of Thirds". If you divide your layout into thirds vertically and horizontally, where those lines meet is generally a good place to put the main focus of your layout.

7) Create contrast in your painting. Avoid elements on the page that are merely similar. If the elements (font, color, size, line thickness, shape, space, etc.) are not the same, then make them VERY different to create a visual contrast.

8) Repeat visual elements of the design throughout the layout. You can repeat color, shape, texture, spatial relationships, sizes, etc.

9) Be aware of the alignment of all of the items on your painting. Every element should have a visual connection with another element on the painting.

These are some great starter tips for layout composition. As you keep these in mind, remember also that there are exceptions to every rule.

10) Follow the rule of thirds. An easy way to compose off-center pictures is to imagine a tick-tack-toe board over your viewfinder. Avoid placing your subject in that center square, and you have followed the rule of thirds. Try to place your subject along one of the imaginary lines that divides your frame.

Watch the horizon. Just as an off-center subject is usually best, so is an off-center—and straight—horizon line. Avoid cutting your picture in half by placing the horizon in the middle of the picture. To accent spaciousness, keep the horizon low in the picture. To suggest closeness, position the horizon high in your picture.

Putting the subject off-center often makes the composition more dynamic and interesting.

Even if your subject fills the frame, the most important part of the subject (for example, the eyes in a portrait) should not be dead center.

If you thumb through magazines and look at professional photos, or even watch the way scenes are framed on TV and in the movies, you'll find that the subject is rarely dead center in the frame. Instead, photographers rely on what is probably the single most important rule in composing pictures: the Rule of Thirds.

The Rule of Thirds divides the frame into a grid that resembles a tic-tac-toe board. The idea is that the four points in the frame where the lines intersect are areas of natural interest. Placing the subject at one of these points usually creates a pleasing image. And sure enough, you'll find that a staggering number of professional photos follow this rule.


FOLLOW THE RULES UNTIL YOU KNOW WHEN TO BREAK THEM

Once you have the rules of composition down pat, experiment and break a rule here or there when you feel the image will work better without it. That’s called individual style, and the creativity that stems from it produces some great images. The point is that you will know when to break a rule of composition once you know what the rules are and how they work.

Certain subjects benefit from a slightly different treatment. For instance, you can align your subject not with one of the four points, but instead lay it along one of the lines. Or your subject might be so large that it takes up a lot of the frame; it doesn't really fit in one of the four spots. When that happens, pick an interesting element and focus on that. If you paint a person or an animal, eyes make a great focal point.

Impasto Technique

The painting on the left here is an example of an oil painting work done in impasto technique by a productive and talented Russian artist, Alexey Kamenev. He applied the technique to 90% of the entire canvas, leaving only the sky area almost flat to the contrast of thickly applied paint on rest of the painting. The strokes, although still expressive, are done carefully, so the result is a pleasant feel when looking to the whole composition.

Impasto is a technique used in painting where paint is laid on an area of the surface (or the entire canvas) very thickly, usually thickly enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provides texture, the paint coming out of the canvas.

Impastoed paint serves several purposes.
-Firstly, it makes the light reflect in a particular way, giving the artist additional control over the play of light on the painting.

-Secondly, it can add expressiveness to the painting, the viewer being able to notice the strength and speed applied by the artist.

-Third, impasto can push a painting into a three dimensional sculptural rendering.
The first objective was originally sought by masters such as Rembrandt and Titian, to represent folds in clothes or jewels: it was then juxtaposed with more delicate painting. Much later, the French impressionists created entire canvases of rich impasto textures. Vincent van Gogh used it frequently for aesthetics and expression. Abstract expressionists such as Hans Hofmann and Willem De Kooning also made extensive use of it, motivated in part by a desire to create paintings which dramatically record the "action" of painting itself. Still more recently, Frank Auerbach has used such heavy impasto that some of his paintings become almost three-dimensional.

Because impasto gives texture to the painting, it can be opposed to flat, smooth, or blending techniques.

Other artists have used this occasional texturing technique to achieve the same result, and there is special excitement when this technique is done well.

The surface upon which you paint is part of this process. Many impasto artists like to work on a rigid substrate, such as specially surfaced Masonite--Claybord. Others use canvas that has multiple gesso layers. Masonite can be surfaced with repeated layers of gesso or actual oil paint. Both of these bases can be toned so that the textured surface adds an underglow of color.

Canvas should be stretched quite tightly, and the surface should be dampened so that it is as taut as possible. Remember that the thickly applied layers of paint will weigh heavily on the canvas. Improperly stretched canvas could allow movement of the substrate and thereby damage the finished work.

Whether you are using Masonite, other wood substrate, or canvas, creating a textured basis upon which to paint is the initial step in impasto. This is done, most often, without regard to specific placement of subjects. Produce this texture with the tool of your choice, creating a crosshatch of brush strokes of uneven, related sections. Your subject is then painted over this textural base.

Underpaint application can be a way to relax otherwise constricting or restricting painting habits. By applying this base paint in a more freeform and loose manner, with no attention to small details, you are able to concentrate on the large blocks or masses of color. It might also lead you into a more stylized expression in the finished work as well.

The tools used to apply the paint, or underpaint, can vary greatly. Many artists simply super-charge their paintbrushes and apply paint with the same type of stroke and motion that they use to create their smooth surfaced artworks. Some artists, having adopted the philosophy that the older a brush gets, the better it gets, consider application of paint - regardless of the situation - done with anything other than a brush a near sacrilegious action. Application with brushes can be as simple as rolling a paint-charged brush onto the painting surface to achieve a thick painted line. Repeated charging and dabbing the brush hairs against the surface can yield a mottled and highly textured surface. Multiple layers can be built up to create a super texture.

Other artists choose painting knives of various blade shapes and sizes to apply and control the thick super structure of their paintings. Once thought of as gadgets for trick effects, palette knives have proven themselves to be of real importance and value to any painter. Choose the blade length, width, and flexibility that give you the texture and result you want.

Texture is what you are trying to create, so you might want to leap right into unconventional tools--perhaps small spatulas or flat wood strips--to apply paint. Once the paint is in place, it might be desirable to create additional or unusual texture. Crushed foil, paper or plastic bags (though messy) can create most unusual surface variations. You should consider nothing sacred when it comes to texture application. If a sponge gives you the look you want, use it! If the edge of an eraser can be used to "shovel" the paint or gesso into the shapes and configurations you want, what is the harm?

In the strictest sense of the word, impasto can be created as the work progresses. In fact, that is the method of choice by most impasto purists. Control of the texture and degree of dimension to the surface can best be controlled as the work is developed. Different tools and brushes can be used throughout the process so that the exact texture is created in the exact place desired.

One important use of impasto is as a highlight or luminescent technique. A smooth surfaced work, with only moderate brush strokes visible, can come alive with a few simple, yet thickly applied highlight areas. This is especially true in paintings where there are many dark areas. The application of a sharply contrasting light spot can make the work spring to life.

But, whether a simple application of highlight, a moderate textural amplification, or a full-blown underpainting and over layers of paint, impasto is one method to generate visual interest in your paintings. And, although impasto is usually linked with oil, the same techniques can be applied to acrylic painting as well.

The Art of Coffee Painting

Get thirsty when painting? Just lick the paint brush :)

Coffee has been known as a painting medium for many years now. Yet, it is still worth exploring. Its sepia effect gives a unique touch and feeling to the art. It can be used as along with other mediums. Most suitable is with watercolor because the share the same techniques. The only difference is the medium.

Although for some artists, coffee painting should be done purely with coffee only. The result is amazing! With some experiments the artist will find the richness of this interesting medium, the fun and excitement of using coffee to produce interesting hues and tones.

Andy Saur and Angel Sarkela Saur are the examples of coffee painting artists who has succeeded in exploring this medium. They surely has taken the art of coffee to a whole new level.

Their excellent and beautiful works of art are captured in their website: Just Coffee Art which has been featured in publications around the world.

All the artworks are painted entirely in coffee - no additives, just 100% pure coffee. Artists have been using coffee as washes for sketches and other shading for some time, but this is one of the first times where a process is used to gain very dark hues. People ask what they do to achieve this darkness, all they can say is that it takes a special process and it is their secret formula.

During the month of June you can catch a local exhibition of Just Coffee Art at the Red Mug Gallery at the Red Mug Coffeehouse in Superior, 916 Hammond Avenue, Superior, WI.

Sotheby's Latin American Art Sale Totals $21.3 Million

NEW YORK.- Sotheby’s two-day sale of Latin American Art totaled $21,392,800, above its estimate of $14,626,000/19,732,000. The evening sale last night brought $16,811,200 (est. $10,385,000/14,000,000) and was highlighted by Mario Carreño’s Danza Afro-Cubana (Afro-Cuban Dance), lot 8, which set a record for the artist at auction, selling for $2,616,000 to great applause against an estimate of $600/800,000. The painting had not been on public view since it was featured in the groundbreaking exhibition Modern Cuban Painters at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1944, a year after its execution, and it was recently rediscovered in a private U.S. collection.

Carmen Melián, Head of the Latin American Art department, said, “We are thrilled with the results of the spring sale, which set eleven artist records. The Carreño, which sold for over three times over its high estimate, is the holy grail of Cuban art history and possesses spectacular provenance and condition. We witnessed cross-over from other categories and global buying which deepens with every sale. This was one of the most consistent sales ever, and we worked hard to achieve positive results for all of our consigners, fetching strong prices across all lot values and for all genres of Latin American Art.”

In addition to the Carreño, additional artist records were set tonight, among them Joaquín Torres-García’s Composition, 1932, lot 18, which brought $1,272,000 (est. $1/1.5 million). This work, which comes from the prestigious Neumann Family Collection, one of the most important private collections of 20th Century Art, is a complex and unusually colorful example of the constructivist work of Uruguayan painter Torres-García, a founding member of the 1920s Parisian abstract movement Cercle et Carré (Circle and Square).

Another highlight of the evening sale was Francisco Zúñiga’s sculpture Desnudo de Victoria, lot 17, which sold for $936,000, many times over its estimate of $100/150,000, to a bidder on the phone. The sale of this work set a record for a stone sculpture by the artist at auction.

A superb selection of works by Fernando Botero included Reclining Nude with Book, lot 7, from 1998, which brought $824,000 (est. $700/900,000). Another work by the artist, L'Enlevement d'Europe, lot 36, sold for $656,000 (est. $175/225,000). Botero is well-known for his repertoire of rotund and disproportionate figures and objects rendered with barely perceptible brushwork and with remarkably smooth pictorial surfaces that belie the artifice of his craft.

The day sale demonstrated continued strength in the market for works by Botero: lot 143, Homme à la Guitar, sold for $300,000 (est. $80/100,000). The day sale also featured Tomas Sanchez’ Seguir el Sonido de las Aguas, selling for $168,000 (est. $50/60,000); Remedios Varo’s La Batalla, lot 137, selling for $120,000 (est. $40/50,000); and Matta’s Sans Titre, lot 141, selling for $108,000 (est. $60/80,000).

In total, eleven artist records were set, including the aforementioned works by Torres-García and Carreño as well as Pedro Figari’s El Palito, lot 4 for $180,000; Carmelo Arden Quin’s Structures 3, lot 19 for $65,000; Juan Melé’s Marco Recordato, lot 20 for $70,000; Jorge de la Vega’s El Diario de Santos L’Ouverture, lot 21 for $360,000; Agustín Cárdenas’ Untitled, lot 25 for $110,000; Antonio Asis’ Composition in Blue, lot 40 for $40,000; Rogello Polsello’s Untitled, lot 47 for $35,000; David Alfaro Siqueiros’s Untitled, lot 9 for $120,000; and Armando Reverón’s Paisaje, lot 27 for $380,000. A record for a work on paper by Reverón was also set: Las Tres Modelos, lot 5, sold for $260,000 (est. $150/200,000).