Welcome to

by Linda Carson

big black pig studio
98 King St. N., Waterloo Ontario Canada
www.bigblackpig.com

The Only Rule in Painting

Paintings don't have to be pretty, or rectangular, or varnished. However, a painting should be well-made, in the sense that the paint isn't likely to fall off the supporting structure. So the only rule of painting is to put "thick over thin, and fat over lean." To construct a stable paint film, the early bottom layers of the painting must be reliably quick-drying (thin and/or lean) and the upper layers must be at least as flexible as the layers beneath them. Save your slow-drying stuff (thick and/or fatty) for the top layer.

A well-made painting begins with a well-made support and a suitable ground. Back when painters had to manufacture their own paints, their big thick-over-thin worry was about how much medium to add to the oil paint (none in the lower layers, more as you work your way up). Today, we're also concerned about how to layer different types of paint in one picture. The lower layers need to dry and provide a stable substrate for later layers. The upper layers have to adhere to the underpainting and flex at least as well as their foundation layers.

Painters solve these problems every day, but there are some infamous examples of paintings that have fallen apart before their time. When in doubt:

• Don't mix media.
• Use the same consistency of paint throughout.
• Work on a rigid panel (rather than canvas or paper) so that paint flexibility is irrelevant.

Back to the main lesson?

Loosely translated, that means:
"Please don't copy this material or redistribute it in some other form, for any reason. This is my livelihood."