Build WORKSHOP
STEP 2
Using a small round brush, I reinforced the transferred
drawing with thinned raw umber oil paint.
STEP 3
I had already laid out my colors on coffee filters, which
soaked up the excess oil. As the painting progressed, more
oil drained from the paint, concentrating the color further.
STEP 1
I decided to do a portrait of a favorite model wearing a colorful
scarf and a black beret. First I drew the contours of the head
and shoulders on paper. I then placed blue Saral transfer paper
between my painting surface (illustration board sized with
rabbit-skin glue) and the drawing. With a colored pencil,
I traced my drawing, thus transferring the image onto the panel.
STEP 4
I decided a single layer of paint would be best for this technique,
since the painting wouldn’t stray far from the drawing. Using
Gamsol to thin the essence, I laid in the background. The paint
lost its natural glossiness almost immediately, giving the surface
a dry quality, slightly reminiscent of a fresco.
28 Artists Magazine April 2020