Table Of ContentTaubes' Guide to Oil Painting
by Frederic Taubes
Reinhold
.
Taubes' Guide to Oil Painting
by Frederic Taubes
Reinhold Publishing Corporation
New York
Copyright, 1965
Reinhold Publishing Corporation,
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 65-24060
Published by Reinhold Publishing Corporation
430 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y.
Designed byCharles N. Smith
Type set by Lettick Typografic. Inc.
Printed by The Comet Press, Inc.
Bound by Publishers Book Bindery, Inc.
Other Books by Frederic Taubes
Painting Techniques, Ancientand Modern, Viking Press, Inc.
The QuickestWayTo PaintWell, Viking Press, Inc.
TheQuickestWayTo DrawWell, Viking Press, Inc.
Better Framesforyour Pictures, Viking Press, Inc.
The MasteryofOil Painting, Viking Press, Inc.
Pictorial Anatomyofthe Human Body, Viking Press, Inc.
TheTechniqueof Oil Painting, Dodd, Mead & Company
You Don't KnowWhatYou Like, Dodd, Mead & Company
StudioSecrets, Watson-Guptill Publications
Oil Painting forthe Beginner,Watson-Guptill Publications
TheAmateur Painters Handbook, Dodd, Mead & Company
The Painter's Question and Answer Book, Watson-Guptill Publications
AnatomyofGenius, Dodd, Mead & Company
Pictorial Composition and theArtof Drawing, Dodd, Mead & Company
Taubes' Paintings and EssaysofArt, Dodd, Mead & Company
New Essayson Art, Watson-Guptill Publications
Oil Painting and Tempera, Watson-Guptill Publications
Pen and Ink Drawing,Watson-Guptill Publications
TheArtandTechniqueof Portrait Painting, Dodd, Mead & Company
Modern Art Sweet and Sour, Watson-Guptill Publications
TheArtand Techniqueof Landscape Painting,Watson-Guptill Publications
NewTechniques in Painting, Dodd, Mead & Company
Abracadabra and Modern Art, Dodd, Mead & Company
Contents
Listof Color Illustrations, page6 Chapter7, page49
Glazing and Scumbling
Suggested Equipment For Beginners, page7
Part3. Painting a Picture
Introduction, page8
Chapter page55
8,
Part 1. Basic Tools and Materials TheAlia Prima Technique
Alia Prima Painting
Chapter 1, page 11 The Imprimatura
Brushes and Painting Knives AStill Life Step-By-Step
Field Flowers Step-By-Step
Chapter2, page 17 A Head Study Step-By-Step
Canvas, Panels, and Miscellaneous Equipment Mountain Landscape Step-By-Step
Comments on the Colors
Chapter3, page21
Physical Propertiesof Paints Chapter9, page69
Diluents, Varnishes, and Drying Agents TheUnderpainting Technique
General Principles
Chapter4, page25 Painting a Still Life Step-By-Step
The Colors Painting a Portrait Step-By-Step
Suggested Palette Lighting a Portrait
General Characteristics ofthe Colors GrisailleTechnique
HowTo Paint Hair
Part2. Painting Practice Painting Landscapes
General Procedure
Chapter5, page29 Underpainting and Overpainting
Organizing the Palette
Exercises with Brushes and Painting Knives Chapter10, page85
The UseofVarious Technical Devices
Chapter6, page37 The Rock Step-By-Step
Mixing Colors
Limited Palette Chapter11, page91
Extended Palette Varnishing Paintings
Intermixtures of Neutral Colors
Intermixtures of Brilliant Colors Glossary, page 94
Color Illustrations
—
Chart 1 The Colors, page 41
—
Chart 2 Color Mixtures, page44
—
Chart 3 Neutral Tones, page44
—
Chart 4 Glazing, page 53
—
Chart5 Scumbling, page53
A Still Life in Alia Prima, page56
Field Flowers in Alia Prima, page56
A Head Study in Alia Prima, page56
Mountain Landscape in Alia Prima, page 65
A Still Life Painting on an Underpainting, page 68
A Portrait in Grisaille Technique, page 78
The Rock, a Painting Using Various Devices, page 87
Suggested Equipment for Beginners
Easel
Setof round sablebrushes
Bristle brushes Numbers4, 5, 7, 8, 10
Painting Knives
Canvas madeofcotton. 12 by 16 inchesand 16by20 inches
Stretchers in sizes corresponding to canvas
Stretcher Keys
Masonite panels up to 12by16 inches
Restricted listofcolors
Painting media andvarnishes
Miscellaneous materials
Turpentine
Charcoal
Fixative
Tracing paper
Thumbtacks
Upholstery nails
Gesso priming
Part 1 gives detailed descriptions of the materials listed above.
Introduction
Three decades of teaching have convinced me that there is no possible
substitute for habits of good craftsmanship established at the very
outset of any effort in the art of painting. This applies not only to those
who turn to art as a profession but also to the increasingly large group
of people who take up painting as an avocation, for the sheer joy of
expressing their inner sensibilities in the wonderfully satisfying activity
of painting a picture.
By now the total number of students have taught must be many
I
thousands; and judging by results, my teaching methods have been
remarkably successful. Therefore in this book, prepared essentially
to meet the special needs of beginners, have followed my established
I
teaching plan, stressing the importance of a thorough grounding in sound
technique as the first step for anyone who wants to paint. The methods
recommended here will also help experienced painters improve
their technique.
Technique is the painter's alphabet—the means by which he can translate
his vision into visible form. To attain good technique, the painter must
become completely familiar with the tools of his craft, and with their uses.
What are painter's tools? They are the lowly brush and the painting knife.
Certain artistic effects can be best achieved by one tool, and others by
another tool; the nature of these tools must be well understood if the
artist wishes to take command of his means of expression. The same
imperative applies to the colors, their properties, actions, and
interactions; to the vehicles and the media that are the lifeblood of these
colors; to the supports upon which a painting is done, and to the many
other operations and practices in the creation of a work of art. All of
these things add up to what we mean by technique.
Most of the successful techniques used today were developed through
the ages by great painters whose works are immortal. All the
