Table Of Content

Taubes' Guide to Oil Painting by Frederic Taubes Reinhold . Taubes' Guide to Oil Painting by Frederic Taubes Reinhold Publishing Corporation New York Copyright, 1965 Reinhold Publishing Corporation, All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 65-24060 Published by Reinhold Publishing Corporation 430 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. Designed byCharles N. Smith Type set by Lettick Typografic. Inc. Printed by The Comet Press, Inc. Bound by Publishers Book Bindery, Inc. Other Books by Frederic Taubes Painting Techniques, Ancientand Modern, Viking Press, Inc. The QuickestWayTo PaintWell, Viking Press, Inc. TheQuickestWayTo DrawWell, Viking Press, Inc. Better Framesforyour Pictures, Viking Press, Inc. The MasteryofOil Painting, Viking Press, Inc. Pictorial Anatomyofthe Human Body, Viking Press, Inc. TheTechniqueof Oil Painting, Dodd, Mead & Company You Don't KnowWhatYou Like, Dodd, Mead & Company StudioSecrets, Watson-Guptill Publications Oil Painting forthe Beginner,Watson-Guptill Publications TheAmateur Painters Handbook, Dodd, Mead & Company The Painter's Question and Answer Book, Watson-Guptill Publications AnatomyofGenius, Dodd, Mead & Company Pictorial Composition and theArtof Drawing, Dodd, Mead & Company Taubes' Paintings and EssaysofArt, Dodd, Mead & Company New Essayson Art, Watson-Guptill Publications Oil Painting and Tempera, Watson-Guptill Publications Pen and Ink Drawing,Watson-Guptill Publications TheArtandTechniqueof Portrait Painting, Dodd, Mead & Company Modern Art Sweet and Sour, Watson-Guptill Publications TheArtand Techniqueof Landscape Painting,Watson-Guptill Publications NewTechniques in Painting, Dodd, Mead & Company Abracadabra and Modern Art, Dodd, Mead & Company Contents Listof Color Illustrations, page6 Chapter7, page49 Glazing and Scumbling Suggested Equipment For Beginners, page7 Part3. Painting a Picture Introduction, page8 Chapter page55 8, Part 1. Basic Tools and Materials TheAlia Prima Technique Alia Prima Painting Chapter 1, page 11 The Imprimatura Brushes and Painting Knives AStill Life Step-By-Step Field Flowers Step-By-Step Chapter2, page 17 A Head Study Step-By-Step Canvas, Panels, and Miscellaneous Equipment Mountain Landscape Step-By-Step Comments on the Colors Chapter3, page21 Physical Propertiesof Paints Chapter9, page69 Diluents, Varnishes, and Drying Agents TheUnderpainting Technique General Principles Chapter4, page25 Painting a Still Life Step-By-Step The Colors Painting a Portrait Step-By-Step Suggested Palette Lighting a Portrait General Characteristics ofthe Colors GrisailleTechnique HowTo Paint Hair Part2. Painting Practice Painting Landscapes General Procedure Chapter5, page29 Underpainting and Overpainting Organizing the Palette Exercises with Brushes and Painting Knives Chapter10, page85 The UseofVarious Technical Devices Chapter6, page37 The Rock Step-By-Step Mixing Colors Limited Palette Chapter11, page91 Extended Palette Varnishing Paintings Intermixtures of Neutral Colors Intermixtures of Brilliant Colors Glossary, page 94 Color Illustrations — Chart 1 The Colors, page 41 — Chart 2 Color Mixtures, page44 — Chart 3 Neutral Tones, page44 — Chart 4 Glazing, page 53 — Chart5 Scumbling, page53 A Still Life in Alia Prima, page56 Field Flowers in Alia Prima, page56 A Head Study in Alia Prima, page56 Mountain Landscape in Alia Prima, page 65 A Still Life Painting on an Underpainting, page 68 A Portrait in Grisaille Technique, page 78 The Rock, a Painting Using Various Devices, page 87 Suggested Equipment for Beginners Easel Setof round sablebrushes Bristle brushes Numbers4, 5, 7, 8, 10 Painting Knives Canvas madeofcotton. 12 by 16 inchesand 16by20 inches Stretchers in sizes corresponding to canvas Stretcher Keys Masonite panels up to 12by16 inches Restricted listofcolors Painting media andvarnishes Miscellaneous materials Turpentine Charcoal Fixative Tracing paper Thumbtacks Upholstery nails Gesso priming Part 1 gives detailed descriptions of the materials listed above. Introduction Three decades of teaching have convinced me that there is no possible substitute for habits of good craftsmanship established at the very outset of any effort in the art of painting. This applies not only to those who turn to art as a profession but also to the increasingly large group of people who take up painting as an avocation, for the sheer joy of expressing their inner sensibilities in the wonderfully satisfying activity of painting a picture. By now the total number of students have taught must be many I thousands; and judging by results, my teaching methods have been remarkably successful. Therefore in this book, prepared essentially to meet the special needs of beginners, have followed my established I teaching plan, stressing the importance of a thorough grounding in sound technique as the first step for anyone who wants to paint. The methods recommended here will also help experienced painters improve their technique. Technique is the painter's alphabet—the means by which he can translate his vision into visible form. To attain good technique, the painter must become completely familiar with the tools of his craft, and with their uses. What are painter's tools? They are the lowly brush and the painting knife. Certain artistic effects can be best achieved by one tool, and others by another tool; the nature of these tools must be well understood if the artist wishes to take command of his means of expression. The same imperative applies to the colors, their properties, actions, and interactions; to the vehicles and the media that are the lifeblood of these colors; to the supports upon which a painting is done, and to the many other operations and practices in the creation of a work of art. All of these things add up to what we mean by technique. Most of the successful techniques used today were developed through the ages by great painters whose works are immortal. All the