FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do you create a gradient/blend of colors wet-into-wet?
To let one colors blend smoothly into each other, I use:
- more or less absorbent
ground
-
paint
that is opaque enough to not let too much of the underground show through
- a rather viscous
medium
- a dry brush with the right stiffness and density of hairs
I oil out my panel with a viscous medium and apply enough
paint in touches (not blended) of the right color on the
right spot. Then I move around and tap (=only vertical
motion) the paint with a dry brush to blend the colors. The
brush should not exert too much force on the panel, for then
the underlying layer will show through in stripes where the
paint is scratched away. Therefore the hair should not be
too stiff and too short (the stiffer the hair, and the
shorter, the greater the force excerted). Also, the density
of hair should not be too large, for the brush would pick up
too much paint. I have found brushes from my local hardware
store to be ideal for this job. Their stiffnes is somewhere
inbetween hog bristles and sable hair. These allow me to
move around (blend) the paint without picking up too much on
the brush. Now and then I use tapping to remove the
brush marks entirely. I use sizes from nr 4 upto 16 or so.
When working on a fresh panel (first layer of paint), I
found blending to work best on an absorbent ground, as
opposed to a completely sealed ground, on which the paint
slides around too easily. Some acrylic gessos
seem to be rather non-absorbent (such as talens). I use
Pro-art gesso for this. (see
http://www.pro-art.nl)
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