Busacca Gallery

By artist John Rush: Oil painting on a Fredrix Canvas Board Panel, unframed This is one of a series of paintings of antique dresses that I have produced over the past several years. The seated figure is loosely painted with thick paint. The emphasis is on the dress with the woman wearing it barely indicated. My real interest is not dresses, but the beautiful, complex abstract shapes that flowing drapery creates spontaneously. About the Work of John Rush: John's paintings and illustrations have appeared in several major graphic arts publications, including the Society of Illustrators Annuals, American Illustration Annuals, Communications Arts, Print, and Graphis magazines. He has received many commissions for art work from clients such as: National Geographic, The U.S. National Parks Service, Wells Fargo, Ford Motor Company, United States Steel, American Airlines, Microsoft, Time Life Books, Random House, Alfred Knopf Publishing, Playboy magazine, and the History Channel. His paintings are exhibited at the Eleanor Ettinger Gallery, 119 Spring St., New York, NY. Prints are sold through the Frederick Baker Gallery, 1230 West Jackson, Chicago, IL. He has had work exhibited at the Chicago Cultural Center, the Hong Kong Art Expositions, French Bicentennial Expo, throughout the U.S. in various galleries, and in the Society of Illustrators traveling shows. His work is included in the permanent collections of The U.S. Department of the Interior, the French National Government, United States Steel, Wells Fargo, the Brauer Museum of Art, and in many private collections. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Danea, and continues to divide his working time between painting, illustration, and printmaking.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_painting

Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil — especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body and gloss. Other oils occasionally used include poppyseed oil, walnut oil, and safflower oil. These oils confer various properties to the oil paint, such as less yellowing or different drying times. Certain differences are also visible in the sheen of the paints depending on the oil. Painters often use different oils in the same painting depending on specific pigments and effects desired. The paints themselves also develop a particular feel depending on the medium.

Although oil paint was first used in western Afghanistan sometime between the fifth and ninth centuries, it did not gain popularity until the 15th century. Its practice may have migrated westward during the Middle Ages. Oil paint eventually became the principal medium used for creating artworks as its advantages became widely known. The transition began with Early Netherlandish painting in northern Europe, and by the height of the Renaissance oil painting techniques had almost completely replaced tempera paints in the majority of Europe.

Traditional oil painting techniques often begin with the artist sketching the figure onto the canvas with charcoal or a "clean", which is thinned paint. Oil paint can be mixed with turpentine, linseed oil, artist grade mineral spirits or other solvents to create a thinner, faster drying paint. Then the artist builds the figure in layers. A basic rule of oil paint application is 'fat over lean.' This means that each additional layer of paint should contain more oil than the layer below to allow proper drying. If each additional layer contains less oil, the final painting will crack and peel. There are many other mediums that can be used in oil painting, including cold wax, resins, and varnishes. These additional mediums can aid the painter in adjusting the translucency of the paint, the sheen of the paint, the density or 'body' of the paint, and the ability of the paint to hold or conceal the brushstroke. These variables are closely related to the expressive capacity of oil paint. When looking at original oil paintings, the various traits of oil paint allow one to sense the choices the artist made as they applied the paint. For the viewer, the paint is still, but for the artist, the oil paint is a liquid or semi-liquid and must be moved 'onto' the painting

Traditionally, paint was transferred to the painting surface using paint brushes, but there are other methods, including using palette knives and rags. Oil paint remains wet longer than many other types of artists' materials, enabling the artist to change the color, texture or form of the figure. At times, the painter might even remove an entire layer of paint and begin anew. This can be done with a rag and some turpentine for a certain time while the paint is wet, but after a while, the hardened layer must be scraped. Scraping may also be used to smooth a portrait before scumbling and glazing. Many oil paintings reveal evidence of scraping on close inspection. Oil paint dries by oxidation, not evaporation, and is usually dry to the touch in a day to two weeks. It is generally dry enough to be varnished in six months to a year. Art conservators do not consider an oil painting completely dry until it is 60 to 80 years old.