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Stand Oil & Turpentine Painting Medium Question
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Posted
I hope you enjoy Mr Mayer's book, Robert. He had a certain style. Dry, matter of fact, and eloquently authoritative. He doesn't bore the reader with what amounts to a three-act play, full of patronising, cringe-inducing, presumptuous personal opinions regarding how a painter should think(!) One customer reviewer on Amazon.com (the American site) complained that Mayer's book was written in the style of another age---well, I can, and always have, identified with that "other age". Much of what the man wrote still goes. As for a battle of the experts---or their staunch defenders---I think a little battle can provide some scintillating entertainment. And if these personages are unfamiliar to many readers, there may just be some who will be intrigued enough to acquaint themselves with them.
Posted
I agree with all of that! Concord and harmony rule....
As I remember, disagreement with Ralph Mayer centred on the use of mediums, but I look forward to getting stuck into that again. And yes, Virgil - with whom I maintain a dialogue, chiefly via Facebook - is a man of strong opinions ... he has a lot of contacts in the conservation world, though. And incidentally is a much nicer man than one might think from reading those opinions. I still value his book: but am looking forward to reading Mayer again, especially to find the updates.
A book I also enjoyed - not for entirely the right reasons - was Sir Alfred East's (I get names wrong in my old age, but I think that's right... and it's available as a free download - a good friend sent me an original copy, with the lovely old colour plates you don't get - I think - in the download ). Well worth a look, though pigment names have changed, as have practices generally: I enjoyed his frequent injunctions to paint in a "manly" way - standing up to the canvas and basically confronting it. Manly or otherwise, I agree with him, but find it difficult to stand before the canvas for long these days... anyway; just a thought - it's quite a fun read, if you happen to come across a copy.
Posted
I think you mean Charles Eastlake, Robert. Have not read him, but did read The Painter's Methods and Materials by A.P. Laurie. Mr Laurie asserted that the masters of the 15, 16th, and 17th centuries painted on white grounds(!) He also gave it as his opinion that Rubens was the first painter to employ transparent darks and opaque lights. Ahem.
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