More on Royal Talens 'Cobra' oils
And painting on paper...
After painting the latest demo using the Cobra water miscible oils, I decided to stick with them for a while to see what benefits they might offer me for both studio and field work. I thought I’d share some of the paintings I’ve done, and the supplies used.
The details and supplies…
For surfaces, I’ve come to really like paper. I thought the Arches Huile paper would be a good choice, but it buckles if you use too much water. My preference now is the ARCHES Bright White Water Color 22X30 Hot Press 300#lb paper. There is a good side, the side up when the impressed water mark reads correctly, and a slightly rougher backside. I like the “good side up”, the smooth side. Once it’s sized (see below), the paint glides across it but it’s not a slippery feeling. I have better control of my brushes than I do on a slicker surface.
Sizing the paper…
For archivability reasons, it should be sized or primed. Although, many artists don’t, it means that eventually the oils in the paint will make the paper become brittle and degrade. I’m sizing/priming it in one step using one heavy coat (to be sure it’s completely covered) of Golden Matte Medium. It provides an excellent tooth, but still isn’t too “grabby” or slick, like acrylic primer can feel. I also (as with the two larger paintings below) like painting on cradled birch panels that have also been “sized/primed” with the matte medium.
Mounting the paper…
Of course when you’re done you have oil on a piece of paper that will need to be mounted so that it can be framed. They do not need to be framed under glass. My way of handling this is to adhere the paper to a board or cradled panel using acrylic gloss medium as the adhesive. Then they are varnished and framed in a floater frame for presentation. I won’t take the time here to go over mounting in detail, you can find that online with a search. Other than to say that for years I used various archival glues and adhesive films to do this. They work but aren’t as easy to use as plain old gloss medium is. Think back to the hippy dippy days and “Decoupage” and “Mod Podge” glue… i.e…. PVA (poly vinyl acetate)… white glue. And how people glued Anything to Everything… and you can still find these things in thrift shops in perfect condition!!! The acrylic medium holds better and is acid free, and dries faster than other adhesives. Just try painting with the stuff and you’ll see what I mean about drying fast!
Here’s how I deal with the paper when painting. I bought a corrugated plastic sheet at Blick and cut it to fit the slots of an 11x14 Raymar wet painting carrier. I tape the paper to them with the dimensions, these are 8x10, drawn out. I stash extra sheets of paper that have been prepared, ready to be taped down if need be, in the carrier. (I love that 3M purple delicate surface tape. It doesn’t interfere, it’s barely a color, and it doesn’t tear even the softest papers.) Since these are oil paints, they need a way to be kept safe while transporting and drying.
This past week I was out on my bike and took all of these supplies along, just as in this photo below. After I did this, I decided that I needed to put the paints in the pill dispensers, so that I didn’t have paint sliding all over the palette, while I pedaled. (see below)
My color palette…
Since I’ve mentioned my palette in several posts (basically the same palette for gouache, oil, or acrylic) I am just going to post a photo of my field set up showing the tubes I use, and how I lay out the paint on the Compact Art Box and Panel easel, which I love. I started using the pill dispensers with acrylics to help keep them from drying out as fast when in the field, and to save paint at the end of a session. Just squirting it out on the palette means there’s usually left over paint that dries up. Turns out they work great for the Cobra Oils too. I place the Yellows and Reds along the top, Blues along the left (additionally black and usually Viridian, but in the case of Cobra there is not a viridian tube color, so I use a phthalo green). I have two spots for white since I use more of it than any other color. You’ll also see a WN Artisan Permanent Rose in there. There isn’t a good rosey quinacridone color in the Cobra line, so Artisan does the trick. They work fine together.
The only other critical ingredient that I use, aside from brushes and water, is the Cobra Quick Drying Medium, an essential item for making the paint more spreadable, and for it’s truly quick drying effect on the paint. In a day or two, it’s dry to the touch.
Some work painted with the Royal Talens Cobra Oil Paints…
“Blow By” - 6”x8” - Cobra oil on paper - $325.00 - Available.
This one is a 6x8 and was painted on the Arches Huile oil painting paper. I didn’t crop off the border on the image so you can see about how much I leave surrounding the painted image. Makes taping up easier. It’s fairly thinly painted, but I found that I had to be careful not to get the paper too wet as it’s only a 140lb paper, and would begin to buckle from the water.
“Hot In The Lagoon” - 8”x10” Cobra oil on paper - $375.00 - Available.
This one is an 8x10 on location painting, and was painted on the Arches Bright White Hot Press 300lb paper that I treated with matte medium.
“Lift Off” - 11”x14” Cobra oil on cradled birch panel - SOLD.
I painted “Lift Off” on an acrylic primed, cradled birch panel. It is a studio painting.
“Climbing Above” - 12”x16” - Cobra oils on cradled birch panel - $675.00 - Available.
Also a studio painting, painted on acrylic primed cradled birch panel with Cobra oil paints.
Other Available work on Observations.
“Sherbet Glow” - 6x8 oil on paper - $350.00 - Available.
“Slight Breeze” - 6”x8” oil on paper - $350.00 - Available.
“Old Hammock Rd” - 8”x10” oil on paper - $400.00 - Available.
“Beginning Shapes” - 8”x10” oil on paper - $400.00 - Available.
Keep your brushes wet!
Cheers,
Marc
I like the "hippie dippie "comment lol !
Once again I thank you for sharing your discoveries with us. You’re a valuable source and I personally rely on your findings, largely because I know you care about the archival aspect of all this. I’m not too trusting of other artists technical suggestions unless I know that permanence is important to them. I may get around to acrylics and water-soluble oils one day. And when I do I’m gonna look to the posts I’ve saved from you. I’ve done it several times already with your findings on grounds, mediums, solvents etc. Thanks again for this valuable information.