Preparing copper for oil painting

Preparing copper for oil painting:

Sand the surface with fine grit sandpaper in a circular motion, until the surface is matt. It should be well cleaned and degreased with denatured alcohol. Do NOT touch the cleaned copper surface, or your fingerprints will show up through your paint layers! After cleaning, the surface should be rubbed with garlic cloves, or better perhaps, the juice of crushed garlics, which could be brushed on and allow to dry. The acidic juice of garlic etches the copper surface and aid bonding of oil paint. You can start painting on copper directly, or, if preferred, on a thin layer of lead white. Always use a lead white bound in linseed oil for this. I rub it on the surface with the palm of my hand, wearing Nitrile gloves. I let it dry for a week, and apply another thin layer, this time using a blend of lead white, a bit of titanium and chalk. I also add a small amount of medium to this, made from 1 part balsam and 2 parts sun thickened oil. Again, I rub it onto the surface, then blend it with a large soft brush. The surface will be smooth. If you feel the need, you can sand it afterwards with very fine grit sandpaper, but be very careful; inhaling lead dust is VERY poisonous! Always wet-sand, but use oil instead of water. Wipe the surface dry and clean with a rag. I prefer to use another, ancient method; I scrape the surface after a few days of drying. I use a glass plate for this. The result is a very smooth surface. You probably need to scrape just one single time in one direction, it's quick, clean and perfect.

painting on copper

prepping copper for oil painting:
- Use fine grit sandpaper or wool to create a "tooth".
- Rub crushed onion juice on the copper an letting it dry (this seems to take forever)
- To create a strong bond, apply a thin layer of resin or mastic varnish

Begin your painting with 3 layers of a lead white ground letting them dry between layers. This is kind of like laying down your first layer on the slippery panel and then coming back the next day to continue.

painting on wood

Does anyone have any advice on oil painting on wood (like plywood)? I like to incorporate the grain of the wood into the image itself, so white gesso isn't an option, and clear gesso makes it look "foggy".

You could do a shellac/renatured alcohol thing. It will tint it yellow though...
Or, you could oil it with a boiled oil wood finish until it won't absorb any more.
Or, you could use a commercial wood sealer.

j wellington class at ny acad

paint colors:
Rublev Lead White #1 (or David Davis, Vasari)
Vasari Ivory Black
Yellow Ochre Pale/Light
Raw Sienna or Vasari Capucine Red Light [dark yellow]
Cadmium Yellow Medium, Vasari Naples Orange, or Robert Doak Lead Tin Yellow
Cadmium Red Light or Vermillion--[orange-y]
Viridian
Burnt Umber, Red Umber, or Transparent Brown Oxide [dark brown]
Burnt Sienna or Transparent Red Oxide [warm red brown]
Terra Rosa, Red Ochre, or Light Red
Ultramarine Blue or Robert Doak Wellington Blue
Alizarin Crimson


Brushes:
round badger size 4, 6, 8. Round Kolinsky sable watercolor brush size 3 for detail.


Medium:
4 parts turpentine substitute
1 part real sun-thickened linseed oil
1/2 part real copal resin (Robert Doak)

Alkyd medium by Gamblin or WN + mineral spirits + stand oil.




Supports:
Portrait linen, wood panel, copper, or prepared watercolor paper/museum board.

preparing paper:
Rough Arches 160/22o
+ acrylic gesso thinned with water to consistency of skim milk. Brush it on. Dry. Brush it on back.

1 part clear shellac + 3 parts denatured alcohol. Brush it on watercolor paper (Vincent Desiderio)

prepping paper for oil paint

[...] I've been preparing Arches 300 lb. cold press watercolor paper with two or three coats of acrylic matte medium. Reviewing notes from a workshop, I discovered that the recommendation was for one coat of matte medium followed by two coats of acrylic gesso.