I paint like the traditional Old Masters! I find that what has helped me (I paint with a grisaille and then many layers of color) is having 2 different mediums-a "Lean" medium for the underpainting and a "Fat" medium for the color. For the final glaze layer, I use straight LEFRANC & BOURGEOIS Huile Noir (Black Oil). Needless to say, my method is a loooong process, but I LOVE painting this way. REALLY helpful to know about NOT having to INCREASE the"fat" with each successive layer, but rather "the SAME, or fatter". Also, you cleared up my confusion about some folks saying that "Fatter" meant "more pigment" which I didn't think was right. I put a link on my website to your KZread channel, Jason. :)

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for such a great comment! Yes, fat/lean refers to the amount of oil in the paint. :) The basic thing it boils down to is that you don't want a less flexible layer on top of a more flexible layer.

That was really interesting. I never knew it dried by oxidation.

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! :)

As always Jason, your explanations go beyond expectation. You are an awesome teacher. Happy New Year and God Bless You!

Jason, what a great video! I’m glad you clarify some issues about painting in layers. Great advice! Thanks so much!

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the nice comment Crisalida! I'm glad you enjoyed this video. :)

I marvel at your knowledge about art, paint, history, chemistry, video production, presentation, and so much more. How many degrees do you have? Genius in my opinion. I love your videos. Thanks Jason.

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Wow, thanks for such a nice comment! I have a BFA (Bachelor's of Fine Art) from Kean University in NJ. Thanks for watching! :)

the only artist that actually explains this rule in a way that actually makes sense, thank you so much for this. everybody else is just tiptoeing round the bush using big fancy words that lead nowhere.

@walcottfineart5088

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and for the nice comment! :)

@Mohamed-tr7fi

4 жыл бұрын

@@walcottfineart5088 you are more than welcome and your video really did help me out a lot. thanks

I’ve been confused about fat over lean a bit from several tutorials,leave it to Mr. Walcott to explain it best. Thanks again for all the great videos and Happy New Years!! 🥳

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for watching and for the nice comment! Happy New Year to you too! :)

Great video as always. Happy New Year from Berlin, Germany!

Thank you, I 'm glad your here to teach and help everyone.

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the nice comment! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. :)

Dear Jason, I wish you and your beloved ones very happy, healthy and wealthy new 2019 year! Thank you for your videos which bring experience and joy.

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thank so much for the nice comment. Happy New Year to you and your loved ones too! :)

I love your tutorials! So informative and easy to understand 👍🏼👏🏼

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the nice comment! I'm glad my video was useful to you. :)

Best explanation I've ever watched/heard. I love your videos...have been following for some time now and have learned lots with regard to painting in oil but also pastels, which are my other passion. Happy New Year from Canada!

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the nice comment Wanda! I'm so glad you've been enjoying my channel. Happy New Year to you too! :)

I've asked many people about 'fat over Leah's and never understood, you explained it perfectly in the 1st 3 seconds. Thank you!!!!

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad my video was helpful to you! Thanks for watching and for the nice comment. :)

the best explanation I ve ever seen between all youtube videos, thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge.

@walcottfineart5088

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the nice comment and for watching! :)

The most succinct description of the "fat over lean" rule I have ever heard. Thank you Jason. Your videos are always interesting and informative. Now, as I've mentioned before, I would love to watch you do a complete painting on video. If that's possible for you to do, it would be much appreciated.

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed this. I am working on that full video thing :)

Thank you I finally got it! Great explanation I have watch other peoples tutorials they confused me. Thank you!

@walcottfineart5088

4 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad you found my video helpful! Thanks for watching :)

Thank you so much, you are a born teacher!Happy 2019,

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Happy New Year to you too. Thanks for watching! :)

Great explanation Jason. The "equal to" part was key for me!

@walcottfineart5088

3 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful! That does confuse a lot of people. You just don't want less oil in the top layers, as it will dry faster and then crack when the layer underneath dries. Just like the top of a cake will crack in the oven because it sets first and then the rest rises and gets bigger. Oil paint expands slightly as it dries. Thanks for watching!

Thank you for sharing. Wonderful explanation

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

Thank you for sharing your expertise with us, I enjoy your videos and you are just an amazing artist! Ponayota Lammon

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the nice comment and for watching!

@YotaStyle

5 жыл бұрын

@@walcottfineart5088 Thank you for putting out such helpful videos! Ponayota Lammon

Great tutorial I understand finely about fat over lean, you explained it so well...thanks!

@walcottfineart5088

4 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad you found the video useful. Thanks for watching! :)

Thanks Steven! Very good info for us beginners.

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! I'm glad you found it useful. :)

@maple5703

5 жыл бұрын

Sorry, I should have said ‘Jason’ 🤭

Okay Jason, As a retired biologist w/ some chemistry in my backgroundI, have to ask if you’ve any chemistry in yours, bc you’ve a very solid understanding of the drying/oxidative process? It’s very well explained. FYI: I often share your videos on my social media pages, bc they’re so useful & well done. Ty for producing such quality videos on 🎨

@walcottfineart5088

2 жыл бұрын

Wow thanks for such a nice comment! I always did well in Chemistry in high school but most of my knowledge regarding oil painting comes from just reading and learning on my own. :) Thanks for watching!

Yesss,I can re-iterate exactly what {venetiancat 6 months ago} said. When I started painting at art school there was no "mediums".....there was no "fat over lean". Your instruction videos are excellent for bringing me into the current usages of mediums,fat over lean,and,the whys,and,hows. Thank you for going to the trouble to upload such valuable information. Unfortunately it's difficult for me to acquire some of the materials you use,not being in the USA,but,there are alternatives that just take some time seeking out. Well done Jason. I'll grab all of your videos,and,put in a nice rainy day.

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the nice comment! I'm glad you found the video useful. :) Thanks for watching!

Thank you for the video. I've been painting with oils for years, a art teacher as a teen and later with a group with a real art teacher. All this talk about cracking seems crazy . I've never had cracking in a piece and I paint the way you show in your video. The last nut job said if you paint light over dark it will crack every time, I have done that - thirty years later no cracking. Why are they saying things like that ? They will scare people away from oils.

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! I had not heard that thing about light over dark cracking and I do not believe that would be the case most of the time. All oil paint will crack over time, that is almost inevitable, but it usually takes 100 years or more to reach that stage. If good materials and methods are used then the cracking will just be cosmetic and not structural. Paint away! :)

I've been painting with oils for years and have always struggled with this. THANK YOU for explaining this so concisely! That really helped me understand this concept. Have you ever used liquin? Would I be able to use that in the same way (instead of linseed oil) in all of the top layers?

@walcottfineart5088

3 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful! Yes you can use Liquin the same way. Same with Gamblin's Galkyd too. Thanks for watching :)

@alexis_diachina_art

3 жыл бұрын

@@walcottfineart5088 awesome, thanks so much!!

Thanks .. It is really helpful..

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Great! I'm glad you enjoyed this. Thanks for watching!

That's really a good scientific explanation.. thanks

@walcottfineart5088

4 жыл бұрын

I'm glad you enjoyed it :) Thanks for watching!

Hey Jason, great videos, how do you go about painting snow? With the winter season in full swing, is there more to snow than just ultramarine and white oils?

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Ultramarine is actually perfect for shadows on snow...to the light areas you can add just the tiniest hint of either Yellow Ochre or Cadmium Yellow Light or in some cases even Cadmium Red Light to give it some warmth in the lit areas. Hope that helps. :)

That's a take on "fat over lean" that I hadn't heard before. I usually see an explanation that mentions you want more flexible layers over more rigid layers. (i.e. more oil leads to a more flexible layer.) I think I've seen conflations of the three core rules (Fat over lean, thick over thin, slow drying over fast drying) all coming back to the solution that "fat over lean" implies. It would be interesting to see your take on the other two rules.

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! I will add those other two concepts to my list of videos ideas. :) The main thing is you don't want a layer that dries faster and is less flexible on top of one that dries slow and is flexible.

Thank you!!

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Thanks, could you maybe make a video for those that don't work alla prima, but in several layers topped by perhaps several layers of glazes... that each subsequent layer should preferably be a little fatter than the previous one is easy to understand, but how does that translate into making sure that you consequently do so as you paint the various layers. And which (combination of) mediums would you recommend, and in what proportions and ratios, for say 5 layers of painting topped by 5 layers of glazes. Just keeping it elaborate to really understand the process and be comfortable with it, even as the number of layers build up. Would really appreciate that! :)

@walcottfineart5088

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Remember as I stated in the video, fat over lean really means the same or more. So you can do five painting layers with the same amount of oil, then increase it for the glaze and do five layers with that amount in glazes and so on. You just want to avoid a lean layer that will dry fast on top of a fat layer that dries more slowly. Hope that helps!

@vickrdable

3 жыл бұрын

@@walcottfineart5088 thank you for such a wonderful answer to this question. I hope you don’t mind if I ask a couple more lol. 1) To clarify, subsequent layers with the same ratio is ok? if that’s true then why do people talk about the fat over lean rule so much, if we could just do the same ratios forever? I just don’t get it haha 2) Let’s say I’m painting an arm with a hand, for example. But I can’t finish the whole arm and hand on the same day so I stop at the wrist and decide to continue with the hand the next day or in the next few days. I come back and that layer is touch dry. Would I HAVE to continue to paint the hand on that same layer with a fatter medium necessarily, or as I suspect like you said, the same medium ratio from before would be fine to continue on that same layer? and if so, I suppose you would just oil out a little bit of the arm I was painting before with that same medium and same ratio just to smooth out the transition? I see a lot of artists on instagram with paintings in progress and I’ve always wondered how they continue the next time in terms of medium ratios. 3) I also hear about artists going back to an old painting of theirs, a year or two old for example, and they continue it. I’ve always wondered how they knew at what medium ratio they were at before abandoning it...? Like how do they know what ratio to use to continue the painting? Do they just apply a random ratio of medium since the painting is “fully” dry? EDIT: 4) oh and also: how do you add the medium to your paint blobs? with a dropper, or do you dip your brush in a cup of medium and then into the blob? if we do this, is the fat over lean rule still protected? I guess as long as it’s a constant amount of medium (like 20% to paint blob) throughout the layers then we’re good? Thank you for reading this long... these questions have really been bugging me and I’m not classically trained or anything. I love your channel! :)

Would request a practical / actual demonstration

I'm still a bit confused over how a medium like Liquin figures into this rule. Is Liquin considered 'fat'? If so, does mixing Liquin into the paint make it fatter? I frequently thin my paint somewhat with Liquin when doing my initial block in and then come back and paint over the block in with just the paint without the medium. The paint/liquin mixture dries more quickly than the pure paint so I have always felt that I'm fine putting a slower drying layer over a quicker drying layer but am I actually violating the fat over lean rule in doing this? Thanks again for all of your highly informative videos.

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and great question! In the case of Liquin that is actually an alkyd based resin. It's kind of like an oil-based acrylic in a sense. So painting over it once it's dry with regular linseed oil is OK. Liquin isn't really "fat" the same way as linseed oil.

Hey love the channel, but I'm confused. I understand the expansion issue, but what about the top layer getting more exposed to oxygen from the air. If you used the same fat level for every layer, wouldn't the top layer oxidize faster (bc it gets more oxygen) and so you'd have dryer, expanded paint on top of wetter, contracted paint?

@walcottfineart5088

Жыл бұрын

I'm not 100% sure but from what I understand it doesn't quite work that way. The leaner layers will still dry faster. Some oxygen does come through the canvas from the back. Even so, those fatter layers at the top have more oil and so are more flexible and less likely crack. Thanks for watching!

Hi, I have a question regarding this. Does the paint with more stand oil / solvent is fatter or leaner?

@walcottfineart5088

3 жыл бұрын

Any time you add oil you are making it fatter. As long as it's the same or more (and not less oil) it will work fine. Thanks for watching!

Hello, I do this method and in art school they taught me to mix one part thinner one part oil for second year and one part thinner and two part oil and so on as the layers go on, but when I do that and go on painting it seems to lift the previous layer off. Does that happen because the previous layer wasn't fully dry? Thank you in advance

@walcottfineart5088

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it sounds like your paint is not drying long enough. Oil paint can feel dry without being fully cured yet in which case the solvent (thinner) will still lift the paint. It means longer time between layers, but try to let it fully dry and see if that helps. It could be as long as two weeks. Thanks for watching!

I kind of go with it! If I want to do art, but that’s ok if you don’t, Picasso didn’t know much about physics,

@cars.796

4 жыл бұрын

Chemistry...

As we use Fat over lean do we need to wait for each layer to dry? Or it will dry from the inside out? Or do we need to wait for each layer to dry completely?

@walcottfineart5088

2 жыл бұрын

You can paint on it as soon as it's touch dry/or dry enough that the next layer of paint won't disturb the one underneath. Oil paintings take months to actually fully cure. Thanks for watching! :)

@jacobthomas9364

2 жыл бұрын

@@walcottfineart5088 The videos are beneficial especially for self-taught artists. Thank You 🎨

If one works alla prima, and no drying agents as in Liquin how long could one wait to restart but not increase the oil? Hours? What adds oil? I'm a watercolorist attempting to get a handle on this. I have a come here, get away relationship with the medium. I feel alla prima woukd be my method as well. Does that mean I work the entire painting straight from the tube as though all the paint acts as one color or layer? But I seem to make a muddy mess.

@walcottfineart5088

4 жыл бұрын

Alla prima means "all at once" so by that very nature you would be finishing the painting in one sitting. In that case fat over lean is not really an issue because, as you said, it essentially becomes one layer. You can add medium to make the paint more workable if needed. If you did want to work on a painting when the previous layer was dry or over several sessions, you can start as soon as it is touch dry. Using a medium typically adds oil. The main thing to remember is never to use a LESS oily layer on top of an oily (ie "fat") one. Several layers straight from the tube are fine. Hope that explains it! Thanks for watching! :)

@paultaylor6167

4 жыл бұрын

@@walcottfineart5088 thanks for the reply. All in one sitting can dictate the size especially when one is nre to the process and medium. I'll start small. Of course, that doesnt mean the entire surface is covered for larger pieces. I have seen it where painting is done left to right. I dont think there are any rules as far as that's concerned. Can I ask though, when an oil is done, alla prima, are all shapes made individually, and then additional paint is placed on top of previous paint for highlights or value change? I think that's where I mess up. Using more in those stages prevents mud. Save the mark.

@walcottfineart5088

4 жыл бұрын

@@paultaylor6167 Yes you are correct about oil painting. I have a video called "Paint Application" that may help you get started. kzread.info/dash/bejne/douikteNgsKpddI.html If you are used to watercolor then oil will basically be the opposite. You start with darks that are kept relatively thin, then add light on top to create form. In oil paint the opacity of light colors creates the illusion of solidity.

@paultaylor6167

4 жыл бұрын

@@walcottfineart5088 I did a small 8 x 8 panel recently. It was started directly, tube paint only, but, I have to be honest, I did add a touch of mineral spirits to a foreground and that seemed to dry much earlier than the rest of the wet on wet. I discovered that I cant touch too many times and expect clean color. I'm trying to avoid blending rather using value changes by shape and stroke. But, I have seen some start with a thinned wash to get the shapes filled it. Then thicker over that building up. Which is a desired approach and is it better to begin with a marginally thinned layer over tube density directly? Thx

@walcottfineart5088

4 жыл бұрын

@@paultaylor6167 Yes that thinned paint on top will dry faster if you added just some thinner. You may find that area develops some cracks at some point in the future. The thinned colors using only solvent, should be the first layer so the fastest drying layers are at the bottom. If you need to make a color more fluild for a top layer, add a medium to it that also contains oil.

I started a very large painting and I did not use any medium on the background. So when I do the subsequent layers I need to also not use any medium? Is that correct? The background has been drying for about a month because a lot of things got in the way of my schedule, but I plan to start sketching the picture soon in charcoal. I guess I am asking if I should proceed or start over with a new canvas 24x36, what would you recommend?

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! If your first layers had no medium then just make sure any layer you put on top of it has more oil in it. You can use a medium as long as there is oil in the medium which will add flexibility to the layers. You don't need to use medium though, you can proceed on your painting with paint right out of the tube. :)

@paultaylor6167

5 жыл бұрын

So, I hear you are saying, start a painting with tube oil paint, and if it dries, continue with tube paint. The oil content within each application is the same. Correct? How does one know when more oil is added in relation to the previous layer that had oil added? Is there a method to this recipe? I would prefer alla prima myself.

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

@@paultaylor6167 Yes, as long as the oil content is the same or more in each layer it's fine. You don't have to be super exact about it. There isn't really an exact method for it. You just don't want to put a very thinned down, lean layer on top of an oily one.

@paultaylor6167

5 жыл бұрын

I guess I see it. Tube paint can be applied thinly or thickly. I would then, if using a thin layer over a dried thicker lean layer, make sure its "oiled up." Can you say what sort of shapes or other techniques would be best used for the fat layer? Blending, line work as in trees etc? Detail work where the heavier tube paint wont flow. Now, theres a question. What can be useful for flow but keep the paint lean? Thx

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

@@paultaylor6167 Typically the fatter layers are thicker so they go on last, like highlights or impasto. If you need paint to flow to go over a dry layer, you add both thinner and oil as well, to put the oil "back in". This is where fluid mediums help. You can do a simple one of half and half thinner and linseed oil. You can also use Liquin or Galkyd which is are alkyd mediums and will thin your paint without violating fat over lean.

I'm confused. If it dries, shouldn't it be fine?

@walcottfineart5088

3 жыл бұрын

If it were to dry until completely cured, yes but that can take a year or more. Most artists want to continue to paint over the surface once it's touch dry. In that case the underlayer can still shrink and crack the top layer if the top has less oil in it. Thanks for watching! :)

If i slightly dry my oil paint so its stiffer would that be considered lean compared to the paint straight out of the tube? Could i paint with stiff dryer paint and then paint straight over it in a wet on wet impasto style with the paint from the tube? Or will the paint wrinkling or crack? Thanks

@walcottfineart5088

3 жыл бұрын

The answer to your questions is no. One has nothing to do with the other. The amount of oiliness a paint layer has does not change due to it "drying". Technically oil paint doesn't dry as in evaporation but rather polymerizes and changes from a liquid to a solid, but the amount of oil in the layer stays the same. I hope that clears it up for you. Thanks for watching! :)

@harrymonk6

3 жыл бұрын

@@walcottfineart5088 will i be able to paint with a paint thats had oil absorbed out of it from blotting on a paper towel wet on wet and can i use oily paint from out the tube on top of the stiffer(less oily paint) paint? Thanks again mate 👍

@harrymonk6

3 жыл бұрын

@@walcottfineart5088 so if i leave oil paint over night on a paper towel it still has the same amount of oil in it as if i just took it out the tube ? Cheers

@walcottfineart5088

3 жыл бұрын

@@harrymonk6 Yes in the case of allowing the blotter paper to pull some oil out, then you are still following fat over lean, because the actual amount of oil has been lessened in that first layer.

@harrymonk6

3 жыл бұрын

@@walcottfineart5088 thank you so much. So the blotted (dryer) oil paint is more lean that straight out of the tube. So with this method i can still paint alla prima in layers without the paint wrinkling? 👍

Hi, I'm experiencing a horrible problem with my oil based paint. I keep getting solvent pops/boils, will adding refined linseed oil prevent this?

@walcottfineart5088

4 жыл бұрын

I'm not quite sure what you're describing...I've never heard of anything like that. But it certainly could be an issue with too much solvent. You won't hurt anything by adding some linseed oil, so try it and see if that helps. Thanks for watching! :)

It's incorrect to say oil paint "dries" at all. It oxidizes. They are entirely different chemical processes.

@walcottfineart5088

5 жыл бұрын

Yes, I have mentioned that oil paint actually oxidizes (and polymerizes) in several videos. The term "dries" is just easier to communicate what I mean.