Posted to minipainter egroup,
   Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 11:24:46 -0400
   From: Sharon Villines 
Subject: Vallejo Transparent, Glazes, Washes

Transparent paints are used for glazing. I posted on this a while back but I
didn't completely understand what mini painters were doing with washes so
I'll make it a little clearer.

Glazes are transparent layers of paint -- a medium with very little pigment.
Each layer is a slightly different color so they very gradually change the
color underneath. Glazes can be used to progressively change a base color in
one area to a warmer color and in another to a cooler color. Or to go from
dark to light.

Using the example of the mostly red mini from a few days ago -- you would
put down a layer of red over the entire dress and hair. Then glaze the hair
with a transparent yellow to produce a golden red or a variety of golden
reds depending on the number of layers in different areas of the hair.

Then you would start glazing the dress with progressively cooler colors --
blues and violets -- toward the hem line. The basic red holds the figure
together giving the same immediate impression of "red" but the red becomes a
million shades and hues of red the longer you look at it. More shades and
hues than you could ever buy in bottles.

The most important difference between glazing and opaque highlights or
shading is that glazes build up transparent layers that reflect light. A
surface that has been painted with a blending of opaque colors will be flat
compared to one that is painted with glazes.

Glazes are different from washes in that they do not run into the crevices
and do more than simulate three-dimensional shading. Glazes require
transparent layers to get the full effect of light reflections from inside
the paint surface. This is why oil paintings have a rich color -- the oils
are not opaque. The Old Masters used pigments mixed with pure oil -- and
they took forever to dry and would crack unless they were painted with very
thin layers.

A well glazed surface is like looking into a deep, clear water lake.

Unfortunately, glazes went out with the Impressionists who wanted to use
quick color and to paint outdoors in "full air", called "plein air"
painting. They loved the new paint in tubes that allowed them to be
portable. But the new paints were filled with binders that reduced or
eliminated the transparency of the paint and speeded up the drying time.

Acrylic mediums can do the same thing as oils if you use them the same way,
and use good pigments with no dulling binders. Water as a medium will not
produce the same effect as a glaze.

Sharon.
--
Sharon Villines, Arts Coach
http://www.artscoach.ws