PEBEO 200ML TRANSPARENT OIL GLAZES
I very often have to produce pieces that have a very detailed single subject still life floating on a single coloured, mottled and multi layered background. I enjoyed the simplicity of being able to layer the glazes without needing to recipe my glaze and thus concentrate on the depth of colour I wanted to achieve. I was able to layer up on gessoed paper substrate as well as utlilising canvas (see below).
Here is the Paynes Grey and although this is one of my most favourite colours to glaze with, I found it a little streaky. There was some improvement when I changed my brush from a natural hair to a nylon.
STUDY WITH TRANSPARENT BLUE ONLY
I wanted to perform a study using only one colour. In this case it was Transparent Blue as the theme was “Underwater”, a swimmer seen from below. I puddled the glaze in this instance instead of a neat succession of layers.
I don’t think it has transferred that well in the photo, but there was such a great depth to the colour. The spectrum ranged from the palest of blues to a deep almost indigo black in the final stages.
OVERCAST LANDSCAPE
In this overcast scene, I wanted to lift the quite flat greys of the sky and foreground water. After an initial glaze all over with the Paynes Grey, I continued to layer until the perspective sat well. I could easily have kept layering to create more mood but I found the Paynes Grey and Transparent White to be two of the slowest driers and didn’t want to introduce an additive.
SINGLE SUBJECT STUDY WITH B/G COLOUR TERRA ROSA
As with the Transparent Yellow backgound studies, I was looking to float a single still life item onto my mottled background using multiple layers akin to watercolour. The Terra Rosa being the fastest drying allowed me to move through the layers quickly and also move them around the canvas to puddle. I could pick up my canvas and slide them around without the brush by adding more gum turps instead of stand oil and thus avoiding the jelly-like blobs that spread and settle sometimes beyond their desired position.
GLAZING
Glazing is a very historic painting technique. Applied very evenly and leanly, a glaze can alter our perception of a colour or a surface without being obvious. It can be subtle and seductive. Applied thickly it can obscure what is beneath but leave you open to chemical mismatch that can cause cracking and well extended drying times. In this review I have used the Pebeo’s as a lean layer over a dry layer so I could experiment on how much depth I could build up and allowing each layer to dry completely (most of the time given the deadlines) thus avoiding pulling or mixing the layers on the canvas but allowing the colours to mix visually alone eg yellow over blue makes green etcetera.
I found the glazes to be generous, and aerated almost like a whipped butter, and they spread evenly over the canvas with the exception of the Transparent Yellow which streaked continuously until I eventually applied it almost opaquely which defeated the purpose. I found the Blue and the Red wonderfully even and was able to create a rich depth. The Terra Rosa laid down well but my favourite was the Paynes Grey. This colour was fantastic for creating coolness or shadow to the subject and I could layer upon layer and achieve a mystery to the subject.
DRYING
To work with a glazing technique properly (or in a classic manner), you really really
