Underpainting in progress

My New Year’s resolution was to spend more time on each painting — to make some really finished pieces. This is one of the few New Year’s resolutions I’ve ever kept, at least so far. I’ve spent several days on this “brunaille” — an underpainting made in just two colors, brown and white.

I imagine it will take even longer to glaze it (i.e., paint on top of it) with color. I’m not sure, because I normally don’t do underpaintings; this is an experiment. I think it’s a good start!

Geoff Watson, “Brunaille for a portrait,” oil on linen panel, 16” x 20,” 2020.

Walnut oil & solvent-free painting

I paint primarily in oils, but I don't use turpentine or mineral spirits to thin my paint or clean my brushes. Paint thinners give me headaches. I've even tried soy-based substitute-thinner, but these too induce long-lasting migraines. Even Gamblin's solvent-free gel bothers me. One alternative is water-miscible oil paint, and indeed I have many tubes of Holbein Aqua Duo and other brands, but I prefer the consistency and choices in traditional oil paint brands. (My favorites include Winsor & Newton, M. Graham, Rembrandt, Michael Harding, and Maimieri.)

Fortunately, plain old walnut oil does most of what I want. It cleans most the paint off brushes, so it's useful during paint sessions (to clean brushes when changing colors) and afterwards (for clean-up). It also makes a perfectly nice medium for thinning paint. The only downside is that it's not ideal for laying down a ground or a thin wash before starting a painting. But one can use water-miscible oils for that, or just a thin couch of walnut oil. I'm still experimenting. If anyone has thoughts on how to make a solvent-free underpainting, I'd love to hear them.

M. Graham's artist-grade walnut oil.