I have heard of this technique of starting with a monochrome and then glazing over it many times.

From my research the fat-over-lean rule is sometimes misunderstood to mean that it has to get fatter and fatter (i.e., more and more oil) each and every layer. I have read that this is not the case and it is only important to ensure that each layer is as fat (oily) as the layer preceding it. So, if you start off with a monochrome with no oil and then use the same oil rub in every layer then you should still be sticking to the fat over lean rule. You could also use water soluble oils or acrylics for the monochrome if you want to get really washy and thin.

Hope this helps!

Daniel

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I have been endowed with the gift of painting and a love of doing it too, as you have.
Could you help me with some questions please?
Have you heard of the maniera lavata? Anthony van Dyke used that term for filling in the contours of a complete shape with a flat color, like a wash. I think he would do that on a dried monochrome underpainting and with very thin paint, possibly without any medium, so the modelling of the monochrome would stay visible. I see the strength of this method and want to apply it. But I have some questions: is it safe in respect to the fat over lean -rule to first cover the monochrome with a very thin film of linseed oil and then paint into that with just tube paint? I mean I certainly need some method of oiling out to restore the values of the monochrome, but maybe a rubbing with retouching varnish would be just as well? What do you think? Now after putting the thin flat color over a shape in the monochrome underpainting, would it be safe in respect to the fat over lean-rule you think to build up the lights using just tube paint and flake white (since flake white dries so fast)?
I wish to have a method of glazing that takes the least time to dry while obeying the fat over lean-rule. I prefer as simple a manner as possible and without the use of any solvent. [I doubt if solvents were used by the old masters other then perhaps for the first monochrome block-in and found by the way that the monochrome can very well be done using paint without any additions. And the flake white makes for fast drying.]
For possible final glazes I am thinking of just using a little linseed oil as a medium to help spread the paint, for that would be following the fat over lean-rule and those glazes do not have to dry really fast as far as I am concerned.

I Hope you want to help me by giving me your thoughts on these ideas of mine and maybe some suggestions (by e-mail). Thank you already and good luck with your painting!

Greetings from Holland,

Bas

That said, I usually spread a very thin layer of linseed oil out over my canvas before starting painting. This makes the paint and brush strokes flow really smoothly onto the canvas. I then also mix a little walnut alkyd with my paint on the palette. This helps thin it out a bit and also helps it dry quickly. So in essence I am mixing both linseed oil and walnut alkyd with my paint.

I think you can pretty much mix it as you want. Straight, with some linseed/walnut, or stand oil. The main thing is to just not overload the paint with medium.

Hope this helps!

Daniel

Now I think I will give it a dry by itself. Have you mixed it with walnut oil or linseed or stand with satisfying results. Thanks for you article.

phil

To get around this problem I now I have a totally sealed container filled with odourless solvent with a grill inserted in it. I use a rag to clean brushes most of the time while painting but when I really need to fully clean a brush I quickly open the container of solvent and rub the brush against the grill. The grill sits about 2cm above the bottom which allows all the paint pigments to fall through to the bottom of the container while leaving the solvent on top clean.

This method allows me to use solvents as little as possible and they last within the container for a long time without needing to be changed.

The main rule about “fat over lean” is to never do lean over fat. That is, never put more solvent in paint over a layer of paint with less solvent. Adding more oil to a paint layer makes it more flexible and slower to dry while more solvent makes it faster to dry but more brittle. So the main thing you want is the layers on top to be as flexible or more flexible as the layers beneath, as well as making sure they dry at the same speed or slower.

Because we are talking here about painting without solvents the rule is a bit more flexible – just make sure you either keep the amount of walnut alkyd medium the same in each layer or increase it.

I don’t think it would be a good idea to use a lot alkyd medium for the beginning layers to make them dry quicker and then use little or no medium on the subsequent layers. These layers would be slower drying and more brittle which could potentially lead to cracking problems in the future.