Old Masters Academy

Posts Tagged "Opaque"

Venetian Method. The Working Methods and Mysteries of the Old Masters.

Venetian Method. The Working Methods and Mysteries of the Old Masters.

Modern painting methods are far more rapid and direct than those used by the “old masters,” and as such, make replicating the works of these great artists a challenge, even when we render each colour and tone as closely as seems possible.   The transparency and luminosity that was created by the heavily layered techniques of the old masters is found lacking regardless of one’s efforts to recreate colour and tone. This mysterious challenge invariably proves very frustrating when attempting to copy Renaissance art, with our current methods always producing something that appears heavy and overly opaque by contrast. Some have attributed the wondrous lustre and more translucent look of the old masters’ work to time, but that is not…

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Oil painting materials and techniques: Opaque and Transparent Colors

Oil painting materials and techniques: Opaque and Transparent Colors

Opaque and Transparent Colors.—Some colors have a jelly-like consistency when mixed with oil, others, the earths among them, are dense and opaque. We speak of them respectively as “transparent” and “solid” colors. These qualities, which divide the paints into two classes, have no relation to their permanency. As far as that is concerned you use them in the same way, as some transparent colors are safe and some fugitive; and the same with the opaque colors. The only difference is in the fact that, as a rule, the solid colors are better dryers. But you will notice that while you may mix these colors together as though this difference between them did not exist, in certain processes you use them differently….

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