How do you make an artist's glaze?

Question

The old masters used to paint a monochrome picture that carried all the light and shade detail then add the colour by use of thin transparent glazes. Does anyone have any idea of how to make those glazes, i.e. proportions of turps/linseed oil/colour

Answer 1

There are no formulae for the glaze you wish to do. The normal approach is to start with the oil paint diluted with Turpentine and as you build up the layers of dilute paint,add a little Linseed oil to the Turpentine you use to dilute the paint.Do not exceed a 50% mix of Turps and Linseed.Turps helps the paint to dry more quickly,while the Linseed oil adds a rich gloss to the colour,but slows down the drying rate and,in the long term can lead to a yellowing of the colours.Hence the 50% mix maximum.The mix with Turps is refered to as lean,while the mix with Linseed,fat.Do not paint lean over fat,as this can cause cracking,later.The translucency and opacity of the colour depends on the type of paint you use,as well as the individual colour and the effect you wish to achieve.

Answer 2

I've seen an exact duplicate of le grande odalisque that was painted entirely in black and white. I always figured that once it is painted as such, you could apply thin layers of color packed with liquin or linseed oil to achieve a volumous look. Lots of medium and very little pigment.

I have tried to do paintings in such a manner, but they take way too long and I always find that once you apply the pigment over the base, the base becomes hazy and I have to go retouch the shadows.

I currently do not fuss with thin layers and have found that one can achieve and old master look either by scumbling or blending wet paint.

Look at Odd Nerdrum or Steven Assael for contemporary artists that have been successful in doing so. Nerdrum is like Rembrandt and Assael is more like Carravaggio.

I know this is a bit off from your original question, but I too wanted to try the method you seek and found that it is not efficient.