Once you understand the technical behavior of painting media, you can achieve an almost endless variety of surface effects and textural qualities.  These rich possibilities are best illustrated by oil, the most flexible painting medium.  As always, the handling of paint is a matter of aesthetic choice.  What is sensuous to Rembrandt or Monet may seem self-indulgent to Raphael or Mondrian.  Mondrian’s surface accords with his vision of the art of painting and is as sensuous to him as the manipulation of paint layers is to Monet.  In short, a painter’s personal aesthetic determines the beauty of a particular surface.

Young artists must experience the handling qualities of all the various oils and resins in order to decide intelligently upon their own preferences.  The same experience promotes an understanding of how some of the great masters produced their surface effects.  Bear in mind, however, that there is no way to duplicate the exact medium used by your favorite master.  Max Doerner’s The Materials of the Artist contains notes on the techniques of the Old Masters, but the recipes are mildly interesting at best, and misleading if you expect precise results.  Jacques Maroger also gives specific recipes.  In the end, the only way to achieve the results you desire is to play with the materials.  There are no shortcuts and no expert can show you the way.  Hence, the examples here, which match materials to masterly surface effects, are given only as suggestions, not rules.  No formulas exist, secret or public, that will satisfy the needs of the individual developing painter.  The main purpose of the following discussion is to trigger a personal response to the various media presented.

Painterly Painting

Painterly painting—Coming soon . . .

One-coat painting—Coming soon . . .

Wet into wet—Coming soon . . .

Textural additions to the medium—Coming soon . . .

Painting in layers—Coming soon . . .