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Archival Quality Although portrait artists — like any other "illusionists" — should never reveal all their secrets, suffice it to say I have adapted traditional methods to state-of-the-art media. For posterity, I use only sound methods (such as painting "lean" to "fat") and long-lasting materials, those of "archival quality". Linen Support The support for my portrait paintings is Belgian linen, preferably from ArtFix®, the finest canvas in the world, sized and primed with a pH-balanced ground and stretched over heavy duty stretcher bars. |
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Oil Colors
Although I originally painted in acrylics — noted for their durability — I am currently painting in oils — renowned for their versatility and traditional appeal.
My Color Palette includes a select group of traditional pigments (or certain synthetic substitutes) from Gamblin Artists Colors Co. — their "hands on" president, Mr. Robert Gamblin, has earned a reputation as "America's premier colorman," as by his work with the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery, and the Radio City Music Hall restoration.
All the paints I use consist of lightfast pigments professionally ground in the finest alkali-refined linseed oil: Linseed oil is less prone to cracking than poppy, safflower, or sunflower oil; and the alkali-refined oil is much less prone to yellowing than the traditional cold-pressed oil.
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In order to render the lifelike translucency of fleshtones — as in Old Masters' works but in all too few modern portraits — I apply countless "velaturas" (veils of color), by carefully using a carefully chosen "glazing medium." For centuries, some of the most prized painting mediums have been soft, silky gels (like "Ruben's Jelly"), which thin oil paints, yet give them body and thus facilitate brushwork and produce an enamel-like finish. |
In the 19th Century, such artists as J.M.W. Turner used a medium called "megilp" or, later, "maroger" — composed of mastic varnish added to "black oil" (white lead boiled into linseed oil) and thinned with turpentine. This medium was valued for its "feel" and "atmospheric" effects, in spite of its high toxicity and its ultimately causing paintings to turn dark and brittle.
In 2002, Robert Gamblin introduced his product of years of research, developed from samples of the original megilp medium from the Tate Gallery, in London: Formulated of proven alkyd resins, "Neo-Megilp" offers the artist the benefits of the traditional medium without the drawbacks, thus protecting both the health of the artist and the longevity of the painting. It is the medium I prefer for painting and glazing.
Filbert & Round Brushes
Almost all of my brushes are "rounds" (circular in cross-section and pointed at the end) or "filberts" (flat in cross-section and rounded at the end) — despite their popularity with modern artists, "flats" (flat in cross-section and squared at the end) were little used by the Old Masters: Not only are they comparatively modern inventions but also they tend to leave hard edges to brushstrokes, which is typically not preferred in portraiture.
Since the Age of the Impressionists, oil paints have been stiffer in consistency than those used by the Old Masters: Artists often use stiff hog-bristle brushes to apply paint thinly — particularly for undercoats but also for translucent uppercoats — but that typically leaves bristlemarks. Using my medium to enhance the brushability of the paint, I prefer to work not only in the topcoats but also in the undercoats with soft, springy sable brushes, either synthetic "sable" (particularly from Princeton Art & Brush Co.) or the more expensive, natural Kolinsky sable (particularly from Isabey®).
