VISIONS IN THE MISCHTECHNIK

~ THE CARUANA HOLDEN SEMINAR ~
IN VISIONARY METHODS & MATERIALS

~ REQUIRED MATERIALS ~

We will provide the Easels, the Prepared Panels,
The Ingredients for making the Painting Mediums and for washing Brushes.

However, the Students must bring their own Oil paints & Brushes.

STUDENTS ARE ALSO REQUESTED
TO BRING THE FOLLOWING:

- A palette or plate for your oil colors.
- A clear plastic picture frame with clips on the sides (8"x11" or smaller). Slip black paper under the plastic. This will be used as a palette for your whites. (A black plate also works fine).
- At least 4 extra-small jam jars with their screw-on tops (c. 3/4" in diameter). These will hold your medium while you're painting. (Clip on cups also work, but they must have lids).
- A palette knife.
- A mahl stick. (We'll also have some available...) You should get in the habit of using one!
- A white glass plate or enamel bowl for mixing your glazes. (c. 9" in diameter).
- Lots of rags.
- A sketchbook and pencils.

~ RECOMMENDED OIL PAINTS & BRUSHES ~
       Every artist should begin with their preferred palette of standard oil colors. Typically these include warm and cold versions of the three primaries - Cadmium Yellow light & Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Red light & Alizarin Crimson, Phthalo Blue & Ultramarine Blue. Add to this the three secondary colors - Cadmium Orange, Magenta and Phthalo Green - as well as a White (like Titanium) and a Black (like Ivory). Finally, for flesh tones - Naples Yellow, Yellow Ochre and Burnt Umber.
       Visionary colors are different. They tend to be brighter and more saturated, evoking unique spectral hues. Also, they have to glaze well (for which reason, 'Lake' colors are preferred). Here are the Visionary oil colors we like to use.
Maura Holden's preferred Palette of Visionary Colors

My preferred brands of oil colors (in order of first to last…) are
Old Holland, Williamsburg (best American company – excellent paint),
Rembrandt, and Winsor & Newton.
Laurence Caruana's preferred Palette of Visionary Colors

Before apprenticing with Fuchs, my preferred brands were Rembrandt
and Winsor & Newton. Afterward, I changed my palette completely,
& have been using only Old Holland's amazing palette of oil colors.

- Old Holland Titanium White
- Old Holland Cremzer Wit
- Old Holland Zinc White
- Old Holland Scheveningen Yellow Lemon
- Old Holland Scheveningen Rose Deep
- Old Holland Manganese violet-reddish
- Old Holland Ultramarine violet
- Old Holland Ultramarine Blue Deep
- Old Holland Caribbean Blue
- Old Holland Viridian Green Deep
- Old Holland Scheveningen green deep
- Old Holland Burnt sienna
- Old Holland Venetian red
- Old Holland Ivory Black Extra

- Talens Underpainting White
- Old Holland Cadmium Yellow Medium
- Old Holland Indian Yellow-Orange Lake
- Old Holland Cadmium Yellow Extra Deep
- Old Holland Brilliant Pink
- Old Holland Alizarin Crimson Lake Extra
- Old Holland Magenta
- Old Holland Bright Violet
- Old Holland Caribbean Blue
- Old Holland Ultramarine Blue
- Old Holland Cinnabar Green Light Extra
- Old Holland Golden Green Deep
- Old Holland Viridian Green Deep
- Old Holland Burnt Umber
- Old Holland Ivory Black Extra

Maura Holden's Notes on the Oil Colors
Laurence Caruana's Notes on the Oil Colors

*White: Titanium white – Old Holland Classic Oil Colors - A-1 Titanium white. A cool opaque white, good for brilliant grounds, first layers and covering.

*White: Lead white - Old Holland Classic Oil Colors - A-3 Cremnitz White. (Lead carbonate). Semi-transparent warm pearly white. Poisonous.

*White: Zinc white - Old Holland Classic Oil Colors A-2 Zinc white. (Zinc oxide). A cool, very transparent white. Use Zinc white if you do not want to handle the toxic lead white… If you are prone to accidentally smudging paint on your hands, this is recommended.

*Yellow: Pigment Yellow 3 or PY3. Old Holland Classic Oil Colours. Colourname: Scheveningen yellow lemon. Colournumber: 10. This is the ingredient pigment you should look for on the back of the tube. The reason this color is labeled with a number instead of a chemical name is that it is a member of a class of clear yellow pigments called arylide yellows. There are numerous different arylide yellows, any of which can be used in my technique. However, PY3 is my preferred pigment because it is the most lightfast.

*Red: Quinacridone. Old Holland Classic Oil Colours. Colourname: Scheveningen rose deep. Colournumber: 29. A clear cool brilliant red.

*Purple: Manganese Violet. Old Holland Classic Oil Colours. Colourname: Manganese violet-reddish. Colournumber: 190. A strong but transparent purple, of a reddish tone. Its chemical name is Manganese ammonium pyrophosphate.

*Purple: Ultramarine Violet. Old Holland Classic Oil Colours. Colourname: Ultramarine violet. Colournumber: 199. This is made from the same chemical as ultramarine blue, but the color is changed by subjecting it to heat… Usually if the chemical name is listed on the tube at all, it is called Violet 15 or PV15. It is a very pale purple ranging from cool lavender to pink. It is so pale that other pigments generally must be added to a glaze for anything but the most subtle “bruised” look.

*Blue: Ultramarine Blue. Old Holland Classic Oil Colours. Colourname: Ultramarine blue deep. Colournumber: 244. In modern paints this color is usually synthesized in a lab and called Synthetic ultramarine or Blue 29 or B29. Unlike the previous blue, it has a purplish cast rather than a green one, and is good for cooling clear purples and making cold blues.

*Blue: Phthalo Blue. Old Holland Classic Oil Colours. Colourname: Carribean blue. Colournumber: 232. Extremely strong color intensity, brilliant transparency. The chemical name is Phthalocyanine. The same chemical manifests in many shades of green and blue-green, which are equally lovely and strong. Due to the nature of Phthalocyanine, even colors labeled Phthalo blue will have a greenish cast.

*Green: Viridian. Old Holland Classic Oil Colours. Colourname: Viridian green deep. Colournumber: 47. Pigment Green 18 or PG18. The chemical name is Hydrated chromium hydroxide. It is considered toxic, so if you are concerned about getting it on your hands, please choose the following green pigment instead.

*Green: Pthalo Green. Old Holland Classic Oil Colours. Colourname: Scheveningen green deep. Colournumber: 49. This is a variation on Pthalo Blue, listed above, and generally has all the same qualities: high color intensity, brilliant clarity and low cost. It is also called Pigment Green 7 or PG7. Its chemical name, also like the blue, is Pthalocyanine.

*Brown: Burnt Sienna - Old Holland Classic Oil Colours, Colourname: Burnt sienna. Colournumber: 61 (Synthetic iron oxide). A clear transparent reddish brown.

*Brown: Venetian red. Old Holland Classic Oil Colours, Colourname: Venetian red. Colournumber: 64. An opaque reddish brown.

*Black: Ivory black. Old Holland Classic Oil Colours, Colourname: Ivory black. Colournumber: 74. A transparent warm black.
*White: Talens Underpainting White - Over time, I've found this to be the best white for fine gradations and dispersal when underpainting in oil.

* Yellow: I love warm golden yellow hues, for which reason Old Holland's Cadmium Yellow Medium, together with their unique Indian Yellow-Orange Lake are useful for glowing halo effects.

* Orange: Despite the name, Old Holland Cadmium Yellow Extra Deep is a brilliant glowing orange, such as one sees in the sky at sunset.

* Pink: Strange as it may seem, Old Holland Brilliant Pink is the most essential color on my palette, and the most used. Since multiple glazings lead to a greenish tinge, this corrects it and warms things up.

* Red: Old Holland Alizarin Crimson Lake Extra has quinacridone (excellent for glazing) plus dihydroxyanthraquinone. Used sparingly, it evokes the glowing red vignettes of stained-glass windows.

* Purple / Violet: This color touches the very limits of the visual spectrum, for which reason I love to play between Old Holland Magenta (quinacridone), which moves toward infra-red, and Old Holland Bright Violet, which moves toward ultra-violet. (Unfortunately, both are quite expensive...)

* Blue: Old Holland's Ultramarine Blue contains synthetic ultramarine B29, which is as close as you can get to the lapis lazuli pigment of the Netherlandish masters. Meanwhile, Old Holland's Caribbean Blue (phthalocyanine) is an important spectral color, evoking the glowing cyan hue of prisms or rainbows.

* Green: Most greens are 'earthen' rather than visionary. One exception is Old Holland's Cinnabar Green Light Extra (Cadmium zinc sulphide - do not inhale!), which evokes the unique lime hue of the color spectrum. Otherwise, Old Holland's Golden Green Deep is good for Dalinian sunsets and their Viridian Green Deep for Fuchsian gemstones.

* Brown: Da Vinci loved it; Dali hated it. For me, Burnt Umber creates a warm underpainting that gives shadows greater depth.

* Black: Because it's so strong, black is often banished from the palette. But I find that black (I use Old Holland Ivory Black Extra) can give important accents when used sparingly.

* Flesh tones: A great foundation for flesh tones is Old Holland's Naples Yellow Reddish Extra. Add to this touches of their Flesh Ochre and Caput Mortuum Violet Mars (Such a great name! It provides the 'dead color'). Then, the flesh tone can be built up with touches of many pigments like Brilliant Pink, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Umber and even Ultramarine Blue.
Old Holland
 Winsor & Newton
(Avoid student colors!)
Williamsburg
Rembrandt
Maura Holden's preferred Brushes
Laurence Caruana's preferred Brushes
*I use a variety of brushes. The principle I look for in all brushes are: synthetic bristles that feel soft but springy to the touch.
* Keep in mind that, for the Mischtechnik, you will need watercolor brushes as well as oil brushes. Egg tempera is mixed with water, and you'll need a soft sable brush that flows well with water.
*I often use Blick Scholastic Golden Taklon Round brushes, for a variety of reasons: 

 #3/0 - This tiny round brush is good for the finest lines - delicate hatch work... radiating light beams... hair...
 
#2 - This medium round brush is good for distinct but coarser lines - coarse hatch work... contours... expressive bolder lines...
 
 #4 - This larger round brush is good for glazing in tight, defined areas, where filling in an even but small patch of tranlucent glaze is the goal...
 
 #8 - This largest round brush is good for glazing in medium sized, defined areas, where an edge is wanted, but a larger amount of space must be covered quickly...

Blick Scholasti Golden
Taklon Round brushes
 *Blick Studio White Synthetic Flat brushes #16 - This large flat brush is good for glazing the whole picture at once with a nice trancslucent film of paint...
 

Blick Studio White
Synthetic Flat brushes
*Robert Simmons brand #4 Fan brush with synthetic white sable bristles - This fan brush is good for blending & evening out slightly thicker glazes, or for blending a transition between two wet colors or shades of a color...

Robert Simmons brand
Fan brush
* I use watercolor brushes to apply, not only egg tempera, but also oil paint. And, I find that these work well - even better than oil brushes (Just be sure to clean them well afterwards).

* For general painting tasks (oil or egg tempera), I use the Isabey Kolinsky No. 6, which has long sable hair with excellent control.

* For finer lines, I use the Isabey Kolinsky No. 3. It's a fine sable brush with hairs at least half an inch long.

*Don't buy a brush that's too short - you'll be forever dipping it in your medium to reload. The longer the sable hair, the more medium the brush will hold. The key to fine lines is in the fine tapering hairs at the tip of a long brush.

Isabey Kolinsky No. 1 - 9
* It is also very important that you bring blending brushes, since these will help you disperse whites in the underpainting, and colors in the glazes. I prefer oval camel-hair brushes to fan brushes. These allow me to disperse paint by gently tapping rather than dragging. But any full, soft hair brush (like a cosmetics brush) will do.

oval camel-hair brushes
* An essential brush for glazing is a wide, fine-hair brush (such as this Isabey petit gris spalter). This allows you to pass a fine glaze over the whole painting. It's also necessary later, for varnishing. Soft hair or synthetic nylon is preferable to hard bristle. Watch out - they're expensive!

Isabey petit gris spalter
* Last of all, bring a number of different sized brushes - every brush type has its uses!

A variety of brushes