In my early days at Chalk River, Roger was my inspiration and mentor, even though at a tender age of 20 he was some 10 years my junior. He was also indirectly responsible for my learning downhill skiing. This happened since he was considered an indispensable staff member, because he produced up to fifteen papers a year in a field where two papers was considered quite adequate. The hierarchy was so scared of losing him that he was granted the privilege of taking every Wednesday off in winter to go to a ski hill some 90 kilometres away. He also had the privilege of inviting staff to accompany him.
In conclusion, a painting is a painting whether it is done in oil, water colour, crayon, chalk or acrylics. From the scratchings on a cave wall by our ancestors, they all can create outstanding results and they can speak to us through the eons of time. From my own experience I have created works from the very small to the huge (8′ x 8′). In 1973, my 4 year old son and I painted a huge mural, oil on masonite (two 4′ x 8′ pieces). It was permanently attached to a wall in the house where we lived. It is called “Order of Good Cheer”. This was in remembrance of our French tradition. The early French settlers found the Canadian winters long and dreary so they would have these family celebrations. We moved away from that house and left the mural behind. The family that bought our house are of French descent and kept the mural intact. My older son visited them recently and took this photo of it. I had long forgotten about it. So it is over 40 years old.
I have sold my paintings and I have given them away. I’ve even had them stolen. I thought about going with gallery but they wanted large pieces and a lot of them. In other words they wanted massed produced product they could sell to institutions like banks. That’s not my style. When I look at my work I see a lot of faces, a few landscapes, seascapes, animals, birds. I also tend to make political statements because I think that is one of the purposes of art and music. So I may continue with this essay with some of paintings …if you are interested?
As for canvas, almost anything goes for oils – bristle board, masonite, stretched canvas, canvas board, even slabs of wood. However, water colours do need something that is slightly water absorbent and that is why a special water colour paper is desired.
Again there is a similarity in equipment used in both oil and water colours. For fine art work a sable brush is preferred. I have heard that sable brushes can be confiscated if you are travelling and crossing some borders. In this day and age sable can be quite pricey. Dollarama has some products that do fairly well and at a bargain price. Sponges and almost anything goes for an applicator when an odd texture is desired. The palette knife is probably not used for water colours but can be handy for oils and acrylics.
Another technique which is frequently used in both mediums is glazing. Glazing is when a successive layer of thin washes of colour are applied and allowed to dry. This is a method I prefer and it also is used by Glen Loates and Robert Bateman, who are naturalists. Both Loates and Bateman are prominent Canadian artists of international renown. What glazing achieves in oils is a certain depth that water colour can’t quite manage. This is due to the physical properties of the oil as the light is refracted through the successive layers of glaze.
Another similarity between water colour and oil is the variety of techniques that may be employed. There is the wet-on-wet where the paper is wet first before colour is applied. This is the procedure for water colour. In oil, the entire canvas is worked on at the same time while the oils are still wet. I believe this method was used by the Spanish artist Velazquez (1640). He could complete a painting of enormous complexity in two hours. In both mediums a blurred effect is usually achieved. In the wet-on-dry method the paint is wet and the canvas or paper is dry for water colour. For oils, the oils are allowed to dry before continuing with the work.
Left: Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez) (Spanish, 1599–1660). Portrait of a Young Girl, ca. 1640. Oil on canvas, 20 1/4 x 16 1/8 in. (51.5 x 41 cm). The Hispanic Society of America, New York, NY. Right: Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez) (Spanish, 1599–1660). Camillo Astalli, Known As Cardinal Pamphili, ca. 1650–51. Oil on canvas, 24 x 19 1/8 in. (61 x 48.5 cm). The Hispanic Society of America, New York, NY
Another area that presents a problem to both oil and water colourists is composition. This problem is largely a matter of balance between negative and positive values. When a painting is predominantly composed of dark values the eye is immediately drawn to the light. The opposite is true when a picture is primarily composed of light values. Anyone who has composed a picture can appreciate the effect of having the focal point at the very centre. It stops the eye dead. When a positive element in a picture is off centre, it too can cause a problem. The eye keeps trying to compensate for the imbalance. Two positive values of equal size are also unsettling because it forces the eye to go back and forth. The ideal might be to have a composition of positive values of varying sizes and arranged so that the eye is lead into the painting and continues to move in a circle and on into the depth of the picture.
Landscapes in oil are abundant. The American artists Asher B. Durand, “Kindered Spirits” (1849) oil on canvas and Thomas Moran’s “Grand Canyon” (1872) are only two, but two very successful examples of landscapes in oil. Oil handles the panoramic sweep of the Rockies to the dramatic phenomena of the wild or barren wilderness with ease. A slight application of the brush to blur an outline can create both movement and depth in the painting.
In landscapes both water colours and oils perform well. One of the more famous water colour artists is Turner, born in 1775. Apparently in the 1780’s water colours of gothic architecture became fashionable. They were thought to be inspired by part of the sentimental rather than the violent phase of the romantic period. Tuner could dabble in both the real and the surreal. In his “Crossing the Brook” one can almost step out the window to his scene. In Turner’s “Snowstorm” one comes away with a physical feeling of cold rather than the visual sensation of Hannibal and his army crossing the Alps.
Portraiture is another area where both water colour and oils have been used. The techniques used are quite similar. After preliminary sketches are made the final simplified sketch is transferred to the canvas. In both oils and acrylics successive layers of transparent washes are applied. With both mediums certain areas are blocked in until form and texture are subtly developed. In the acrylic portrait done by George Sottung or his daughter, there is a gentleness and refinement of colour. The picture itself has a faint sense of surrealism but that may have been done intentionally by the artist and does not detract from its charm. In Rembrandt’s painting of “An Officer” (1629) the man “lives”. One can almost feel the hardness of the metal in his collar. The feather in his hat is like gossamer as a gentle breeze moves the individual fibres. The eyes of the solder, and this is the telling part in my opinion, are like limpid pools that reveal the man’s very soul. The eyes in Sottung’s painting of his daughter are reflective and introspective.
In Willem Kalf’s “Still Life” the sparkle of the wine and the plumpness of the fruit is outstanding. Warhol’s painting “Soup Cans” is nothing more than a photographic poster. A little aside from that is, it was Warhol’s painting than inspired me to paint. I found his work so incredibly awful that I knew I could do better than that. If I were to have only seen Willem Kalf’s “Still Life” I would have been so overwhelmed with his skill and I never would have attempted to paint myself. I’m not a great artist but have reached a certain level of skill that I feel confident to compare my work with Warhol’s any day.
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