Kimberly Brooks - The New Oil Painting: Your Essential Guide to Materials and Safe Practices

To my students, all artists, and anyone who has ever felt the urge to paint.

See Newoilpaintingbook.com/extra to access supplementary videos for this book.

Copyright 2021 by Kimberly Brooks.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN 978-1-7972-0067-5 (epub, mobi)

ISBN 978-1-4521-8479-1 (paperback)

Design by Kayla Ferriera.

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Painting is like a thread that runs through all the reasons for all the other things that make ones life.

GEORGIA OKEEFFE

There is no science without fancy and no art without fact.

VLADIMIR NABOKOV

What, you must be wondering, could possibly be new about oil painting?

What could be new about this centuries-old art that requires no screen or electricity to make or enjoy? What could be new about a medium so seductive that many who try it just once will decide instantly that it is how they want to spend the rest of their lives?

Too many oil painters dont really know much about the materials theyre using or why theyre using them. They assume they need paint, canvas, linseed oil, and some kind of solvent to thin the paint. Too often, selecting the right materials is a hit-or-miss proposition. Some experiment with the oddly named items on the shelves. Many artists intuit which colors and mediums to use and eventually learn only by trial and error. Thats about it.

I remember the first time I ever painted in oil as if it were yesterday. Already an avid artist who had worked with pencil, pen, and watercolor and had dabbled in acrylics, I was initially hesitant to use the medium for two reasons. First, I put it on a pedestal, as if one needed special permission to try it. Second, I knew it involved materials that were somehow dangerous. But I couldnt resist and did it anyway. And as soon as I did, I knew that I would be using this medium for the rest of my life.

After twenty-five years, I revere the medium even more, but regarding solvents, I only wish I had known then what I know now.

The pigments in paints are the same regardless of medium, whether oil, watercolor, gouache, pastel, or acrylic. Oil paint is not inherently dangerous unless ingested. I could also argue that using oil paint might even be better for the environment as it will less likely end up being washed down the drain, which is so often the case with water-friendly mediums. The problem is that so many people have been taught that in order to paint with oil, they need solvent, both to thin the paint and to clean the brushes. Only they dont.

There are so many reasons. Misconceptions about the lost techniques of the old masters contributed. One of those supposed lost techniques was adding resins for glazing, a unique feature of oil painting that allows the artist to put one translucent layer of color over another. Resins, such as damar, come in the form of crystals and require solvents to dissolve them. Beginning in the nineteenth century, incorporating resins (tacky, shiny, fast-drying additives) had become de rigueur. And now solvents are too often incorrectly considered vital to thin oil paint regardless of whether or not resins are present.

After years of research and experimentation; consultations with modern experts, chemists, and conservators; and investigations of the methods of many painters who lived hundreds of years ago, I learned and confirmed that commonly used stearates, driers, solvents, and resins are unnecessary. More importantly, theyre not good for us.

The New Oil Painting connects artists with the materials they use every day, the ones they should avoid, and the ones they should consider. Giving artists the sunlight of modern science will only help them become even better painters.

The New Oil Painting is not about technique. It is not about art history, composition, or how to make a sunset glow. It is about all the things we use to make the magic happen. It is both a reference manual and a survival guide, intended for experienced oil painters and for new painters who are approaching the art for the first time. I draw equally from ancient manuscripts, modern chemistry, and the history of materials, and show how things have changed and stayed the same.

The first part of the book, Understanding Your Materials, covers the history, chemistry, and properties of pigments and mediums; explores the tools the artist needs to obtain (both in and beyond art stores) for oil painting; and includes some of the great manufacturers making materials today. In the chapter on mediums, I disclose the radically simple ingredients needed to make your own mediums and steps to take for avoiding exposure to harmful solvents.

The second part, Best Practices, is a collection of basic steps, both physical and mental, to help artists adopt methods when painting, designed to aid them in their reduction of solvents. Topics include mixing colors, thinking in three dimensions, cleaning brushes, and toning a canvas. I address the questions Im most frequently asked by my students.

I am grateful to be living in this new, enlightened era of oil painting, where the science and the history of what we use illuminates and elevates the art we make.

The switch to solvent-free oil painting has been life-changing for me and everyone I know who has made the conversion. When I walk into my studioor even a classroom with ten oil painters and one windowIm no longer confronted by the overwhelming odor of solvents. Instead I only smell the aroma of someones coffee.

I am thrilled to shed light on and share with you this safer, simpler, and more ancient way to paint. And I hope to empower anyone to mix their own mediums, avoid harmful fumes, live longer, and create more art.

Kimberly Brooks
LOS ANGELES, 2020

For information about my art, workshops, and other offerings, visit Kimberlybrooks.com.

Claiming a space of your own to paint is the first step.

Whether its a spacious warehouse or a corner of your living room, find a space to set up your studio. It should be a place where you can go regularly. The goal is to have a frictionless experience, one that will allow you to walk in and quickly get to work.

If youre just starting out, any space will do. You can start with just an easel and a nearby table to set your palette, brushes, and paints on. Using safe and best practices means your studio will have no solvents or toxic smells, so it can be right in the heart of your home. Natural light is ideal but not essential. My own studio has skylights and French doors that open to a small garden, as well as a sink, a radio, and an old wooden desk. I mix my paints on a large turquoise table with a thick piece of glass for a palette.