Indirect Painting: The Glaze

Glazing is the process of applying a thin layer of transparent paint over a more opaque layer. This allows preliminary layers of color or value to influence the top, most visible layer. In its essences, a glaze is achieved by adding a higher ratio of medium to pigment. Naturally by increasing the amount of medium, the paint becomes more transparent and its viscosity more fluid. Chelsea Classical Studio’s Fat Medium is perfect for using with this painting method along with a small amount of dryer, such as Winsor & Newton's, Liquin, allowing thin layers to dry within 24 hours. By working in layers the pigments react in a unique manner--they appear physically combined but are optically mixed. This preserves intensity of hues, opposite of what traditional subtractive color mixing, as on the palette where saturation is lost the more a color is combined with another, creating muted or even muddy tones. Allowing the grisaille to establish value, the end result is a luminous glow that seems to come from within the painting.