Preparing a Canvas for Oil Painting
A piece of canvas must be prepared before paint can be applied to it. First, the cloth is tacked to a wooden frame called a stretcher. It is then coated with a special glue. This glue is made from the hide of an animal, such as the rabbit. The coating of glue shrinks the canvas slightly. This is done to make sure that no air spaces are left between the threads in the cloth. Next, gesso (a pasty, white, lead paint) is spread onto the canvas with a knife. Gesso protects the canvas from rotting. The layer of gesso also prevents the oil paint from being absorbed into the canvas.
Oil paintings are produced by painstaking labor. This labor begins with the preparation of a canvas. But on the canvas, the painter must portray his or her thoughts, feelings, dreams.
A great painting tells us something about the artist who painted it. It also tells us about the age in which that artist lived.
Tools
There are many kinds of paints and brushes for a painter to choose from. To paint well, the artist must know the different kinds of materials. He or she must also know how they are used.
Paint consists of a pigment (color) and a liquid substance, such as water or oil. Most pigments are produced by chemical processes.
Exercise 34. Look through the texts and tell what is the best way to prepare a canvas for oil painting. Enumerate all the tools applied in painting.
Exercise 35. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate word.
1)Some elements of the composition suggest painter's ________ with works by the French impressionist Monet.
a) family b) familiar c) familiarity d) female
2) In modern urban society people don't live in ________ with the world of nature.
a) harmful b) harmonies c) gammy d) harmony
3) The painter and his________ consider their native landscape as the embodiment of divine presence.
a) counterparts b) room-mates c) contemporaries d) temporary
4) This masterpiece and its ________ are the bright examples of the painter's first use of sequential imagery.
a) descendent b) pendant c) pander d) attachments
5) The last ________ of the book in Paris with a famous painting as its frontispiece had a great success
a) addition b) addiction c) edition d) indication
Exercise 36. Write the answers to the following questions:
a) What painting styles do you know?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
b) What are some of the most influential movements in painting?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
c) Who is your favorite artist? Why? What is the style of his/her work?
What is the style that appeals to you most? Why?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
d) Do you think the real artist belongs to a certain style or he/she has the unique individual style and can invent something new that would become a general style?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Exercise 37. Imagine you are a great painter who has no money. What would you do? Explain why.
a) you would paint on demand/commission;
b) you would look for a job that brings money;
c) you would continue to paint what you wish without looking for another job;
d) your variant.
Exercise38. Complete the sentences.
1. Modern Art is… .
2. A great painting is … .
3. Tools are…. .
4. Gesso is … .
Exercise 39. Discuss the following questions with your group-mates:
a) As a child, were you fond of drawing? What did you like to draw?
b) Do you keep any of your childhood drawings? If so, can you tell why you do? What memories do they bring?
c) What is the difference between the way child draws the first pictures and the way an adult painter creates the first serious works?
d) What advantages does a child have in painting/drawing?
e) What advantages does an adult have in painting/drawing?
Exercise 40. Match the answers with the appropriate questions.
| a) Should I Paint on Paper or Canvas or What? | 1. It depends on what your budget is. |
| b) Do I Really Have to Learn Color Theory? | 2. Yes, you can mix different brands of paint and artist's quality and student's quality paints. |
| c) Can I Mix Different Brands of Paint? | 3. Color is one of the fundamentals of painting and the more you know about the colors you're using, the more you can get from it. |
| d) Can I Mix Water Soluble Oils With Acrylic Paints? | 4. As many as you like. If you're painting with oils, you can have a different brush for each color as the paint won't dry in the brush in a hurry. |
| e) How Many Paint Brushes Do I Need? | 5. It depends on the brand of water-mixable brand. |
| f) What Brand of Paint Should I Buy? | 6. You can paint on practically anything provided the paint will stick and provided the paint won't rot the surface |
Exercise 41. Make a presentation about Mediums of Painting.
Grammar Practice