Aldo Lira - Method

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I began documenting works in progress over the past year, mostly for the benefit of my painting students. The images below show two stages in painting a profile view portrait. The image on the left shows the under-painting stage. This stage is called a monochrome under-painting, which is sometimes referred to as camaieu painting, if executed in gray tones. An under-painting in gray tones is also sometimes referred to as a grissaille painting, although this term can also refer to a finished work or to finished areas in a work, done in gray tones.

The image on the right shows the same painting after glazes (also known as velatura) and scumbles have been applied. Technically, a glaze is a darker layer of paint, with some degree of transparency, applied over a lighter area. A scumble refers to a lighter, opaque or semi-opaque application of paint over a darker under-painted area. Some additional work remains to be done on this canvas, and I will post a third image after is has been completed.

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A unique aspect of my oil painting classes is the non-solvent, non-turpentine approach that I employ. Robert Doak, the well-known Brooklyn NY manufacturer of speciality artist paints and materials, introduced me to the non-solvent method and I have been using it exclusively since 2003.

Referring to the Brussels Manuscript (1635) of Pierre Le Brun, Mr. Doak informs us that it was common studio practice during the seventeenth century to use only oils to clean brushes. In addition, painters stored their brushes in oil-filled containers after they were cleaned and not in use. Besides reducing exposure to toxic substances in liquid form, this method has the added advantage of prolonging the life of brushes. The less often you need to use soap (not to mention turpentine!) to clean your brushes, the slower the brush hairs will be to dry out, split and break.

My preference is for either expeller-pressed or cold-pressed, 100% safflower oil (the difference between cold-pressed and expeller-pressed is the temperature). These two processes are purely mechanical methods of extracting oil from seeds, as opposed to extracting oil through chemically based procedures that employ industrial solvents. However, some chemically processed oils may contain only minute trace elements of solvents that pose only a very minor risk, if any, as long as they are used with care. Check with the manufacturer or distributor to clarify.

The added advantage of this method is that it's environmentally friendly! Paint washed from your brushes will settle on the bottom of the rinsing bucket, where it can be periodically removed and even reused, instead of being rinsed down the drain. This will prevent trace elements of cadmium, lead or potentially harmful elements from finding their way into the eco-system.