From the very beginning, oil painters have used mediums to extend, modify, tweak and transform their paint in one way or another. These have run the gamut from the simple use of solvents when creating an initial wash to much more complex concoctions and recipes that involve the blending of various oils, resins, balsams, and … Read more
TOOLS FOR TEXTURE Textures from left to right: Golden Heavy Body using a cake decorating tool, Heavy Body with Molding Paste using a handmade burlap wand, Williamsburg with Wax Medium using a flat scraper, and Williamsburg using a wire brush. (NOTE: Once used as painting tools, kitchen utensils should not be returned to the kitchen … Read more
Editor’s Note: Added April 26, 2022 For some time, our recommendation for artists using oils over acrylic has been to work over harder, matte acrylic surfaces and avoid working on softer gels and gloss products. Our intention was to optimize the level of adhesion that would be achieved on a toothier surface as well as … Read more
Numerous artists have asked about using acrylic mediums and gels to preserve dried organic materials, such as grasses and flowers. After one such phone conversation, we began our first test, which involved layering dry peony petals over and under thick layers of Soft Gel Gloss. The petals were from a blossom that dried in a … Read more
The Development of a New Medium for Artists By Bernadette Ward, Co-founder PanPastel Colors & Sofft Tools We launched PanPastel Colors & Sofft Tools in August 2007, following five years of research and development. The following is a short history of the development of this new medium. The idea behind the development of PanPastel was … Read more
In winter time we might find ourselves in situations where our studios have no heating, we want to finish a mural, spray varnish outdoors or actually paint en plein air. But when is it too cold to paint? The short answer first… The answer depends largely on the painting medium. For waterborne acrylics, we recommend … Read more
With the advent of new composite materials, artists today are able to take advantage of lightweight, dimensionally stable supports that offer a smoothness unattainable through traditional surface preparation. These “modern” substrates require little to no preparation, come in a variety of thicknesses and can range from transparent and glossy to matte and opaque. Many of these supports … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE (4/26/23): Please note that Polymer Varnish has been discontinued and replaced with Gloss Waterborne Varnish. You can read more about it here. If you are working with mixed media, the best display solution is usually behind UV-protective glass. This provides ultimate protection against UV-light, dirt and dust. If you decide against mounting behind … Read more
Is there a best orientation for stretching fabric and does this really make much of a difference for primed and painted canvas? Well, the general consensus is that the weft should be in the shortest dimension since it is the most reactive. But what is the weft, how can one recognize weave directions and what … Read more
If you ever have a stroke of bad luck and accidentally punch or tear your canvas painting, don’t patch it up. Holes and tears in stretched canvases can happen and patches can seem like an easy fix but are not recommended. Likewise, adhering labels with information about the painting on the reverse is generally a … Read more
