INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS PAINTS
Dear artist friends,
This is my first foray into “Blogdom”. For years now I have been answering countless emails, many on the same topic. I have been persuaded that this is the best way to communicate with all of you at the same time. This also gives you a voice which not only helps me but also will assist other artists on the same journey.
MY BACKGROUND IN PAINTING AND TUTORING Some forty years ago I was making a living painting first of all in acrylics, then oils. Tutoring became my primary focus. Oils were preferred in the studio because of the slower drying time and the ease in making complete or partial alterations to a painting in this medium.
CONVERSION TO GENESIS I remember reading about the new heat-set oils that were just being introduced to Australia, I think, in 2004. The incredible claims seemed too good to be true. I was disappointed with my experiments with water soluble oils so I dismissed this new medium, Genesis, without even trying it.
“Just some new mob trying to get gullible artists to spend money on a product that could not possibly do all that they claimed”.
A complete change of mind happened when I visited a gallery in San Francisco. Normally I can study a painting and work out exactly how it was created. The complexity of the amazing paintings of flowers on show meant that: (a) some areas had to remain wet for blending while (b) other sections must have had the underlying layers dry before the next application was applied — all at the same time. When I asked the owner of the gallery if this was the new heat-dried oils he smiled and said, “Of course”. I purchased a selection of Genesis Oils on my return.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS At first glance I decided that the small tubs of paint, ranging in price from about $9.00 – $26.00, meant that this was going to be an expensive exercise. How wrong I was. I have been using my original paints continually from 2004 and still have most of my originals — only replacing some of the more popular colours. The quality and intensity of the pigments is on a par– even superior– to expensive oils that can cost up to $60.00 a tube. Therefore you only need to add a very small portion of Genesis to modify a colour mix.
NO WASTE Here in the studio over the years buckets of oils have been thrown out because (a) too much had been squeezed out and (b) it had hardened on the palette. My oil painting students continually complain about lids not screwing back on tubes, paint leaking or going hard. Not so with Genesis, nothing is wasted:
- A smaller amount of paint is placed on the palette.
- Any pure paint not required can be returned to the tub.
- Mixed paint not required can be stored in small glass jars and used in later mixes.
- Leftover paint on a palette can be used again any time.
THE CONSISTENCY OF THE PAINT This is another advantage of Genesis over traditional oils. Some oil paints are hard, some oily. The cheaper ones are full of extender and the paint just flops out of the tube onto the palette. When I first scooped out a portion of the Genesis paint I was surprised to find it quite stiff and dense. However a quick mashing with the palette knife meant I could change the paint into the perfect consistency I needed — not too hard and not too soft.
PAINTING SUPPORT First up I tried a 3mm MDF board with the surface prepared with gesso. I found that the porous surface of the gesso tended to absorb the medium from the paint. This meant that my initial brushstrokes did not move effortlessly across the surface. For many years my students and I have been using only Tara Fredrix canvas glued to the 3mm MDF. The addition by the manufacturers of Teflon into the surface preparation inhibits the absorption of the medium enabling your brush to glide across the surface. Gesso is a totally acceptable surface on which to paint with Genesis and traditional oils. I am merely giving the reasons for our preference for the Tara Fredrix here at Art Studio 91.
MEDIUMS Here in the studio we use Sansador as the Thinning Medium. However this product cannot be sent through the post but is available from most Art Suppliers. Consequently I have not used the Thinning Medium but it would be added to your paint mix for tints, washes and the application of fine lines. It is more economical to purchase your mediums, Thinning Medium and Glazing Medium, in the larger (4oz) tubs. Those artists who enjoy texture and palette knife painting as I do should certainly include Thick Medium the equivalent of Oleopasto in oils. Satin Finish Heat-dried Varnish is used to coat your finished painting.
BRUSHES I use large and small soft angle brushes for washes of colour. Brights or Filberts with the stiffer bristles are the best for the application of pure paint. The wonderful Dagger and Script Liners with the addition of Thinning Medium or Sansador are perfect for the fine detail. (More about brushes under the heading of Genesis).
CLEANING THE BRUSHES Because the paint does not dry in your brush you do not have to clean up after each session. However, after some time, the paint will return to its original stiff consistency in the brush. As a result most students do still clean their brushes at the end of their lesson. We use Sansador to clean the brushes but you can also use Metho or Window Cleaner to take out the initial paint and finish off with Sunlight soap and water.
DRYING THE PAINTING Here in the Studio we are fortunate to have the large, fan forced, purpose-built oven which is constantly set on 130 degrees Celsius. It will accommodate very large paintings or six smaller ones at the same time. Before the oven arrived I did use the heat gun and my home oven. When using the gun make sure you keep it a hand’s width from your work and constantly move it around the area. If you hold it too close or constantly in the one spot you can blister the paint.
DRYING TIME In the oven I allow about three minutes for washes or thin paintwork to make sure the surface has reached the correct temperature. To dry thick impasto paint, Glazing or the final coat of varnish leave the painting in the oven for at least 8-10 minutes. If your oven is set on 130 degrees Celsius the painting should not reach a higher temperature. My oven is fan forced and has been constructed with the heating elements on the top not at the bottom like most ovens. This would mean that the paintings would probably dry faster than a normal oven.
It is more difficult to ascertain the temperature on the surface of your painting using the heat gun. Remember at 130 degrees both the oven and heat gun turn the surface of your painting into hot liquid paint. Allow the painting to cool off before test touching the surface with your fingers. My students hold theirs in front of the pedestal fan to speed up the cooling process.
HANDY HINT I would suggest that you consider buying, from any hardware or kitchen store, one of these inexpensive oven thermometers (pictured. Note the mark for 130 degrees) . This can be left inside the oven to make sure the temperature has reached the mark.
Hopefully the above has assisted you in the beginning of your journey with Genesis Paints. I will elaborate further under the heading of “Genesis Paints” about some of the practical hints and tools we can use to make the creating process easier and more enjoyable. Please post any queries or problems you might be having on this blog and I will reply within forty-eight hours. You might also have some handy hints that you would like to share with your fellow Genesis Artists.
Dalerie Patterson
www.artstudio91.com or dalerie@me.com
Link to artstudio91
Please visit my studio at www.artstudio91.com to see some of the paintings created by my students.
Dear Dalerie, Thank you for all of the information you have supplied on Genesis Heat Set Oils. I recently purchased these paints and have been experimenting with them for a few months. I am really impressed with many of their qualities and have enjoyed trying them out, but have also experienced some frustrations and I believe your tips will help me in my pursuit of how to use these paints and overcome obstacles I have encountered.
One question I have is after you glue your Tara Fredrix canvas to the MDF do you prepare the canvas in any way before you start painting with the Genesis, or do you paint directly on the canvas at that point? What type of surface does the Tara Fredrix canvas have, is it smooth? I have not used this brand of canvas, but most canvas I have used seems to need a coat of gesso or acrylic paint in order to make it smooth enough, especially if you are painting portraits or other detailed works.
I have experimented with gessoed and acrylic coated masonite panels (not canvas panels) and like the smooth texture but I have had some problems with the boards warping with repeated drying of the Genesis paints in an oven. Do you have this problem with the canvas glued to the MDF?
I have also had some problems with underlying paint layers pealing off when I am painting over them. Is this caused by the paint not being completely dry? I have experimented with longer drying times, but when I dry longer I have had problems with blistering so I am not sure what I am doing wrong.
When you varnish your paintings with the Satin Finish Heat-dried Varnish do you brush it on? How do you keep the texture smooth? When I brush on the varnish I leave striation marks that show up after the painting is dried. Do you do more than one coat of the varnish?
Thank you in advance for any information you can give me!
Lana McHugh
Indiana, USA
Hi Lana,
Thank you for your query. Before I commenced this blog I noticed that most questions revolved around the same topics. Hopefully these answers will help others who are experiencing the same problems. The most prominent difficulty arrises from artists using the cheap stretcher canvas which has been prepared with poor quality gesso. As a consequence the medium in the paint is absorbed into the surface as the paint is applied. This results in (a) the brush dragging as the paint is being applied. (b) the paint feeling dry when it not. The Frederix Canvas is coated with a non-absorbent, teflon finish which enables the paint to glide effortlessly across the surface while not drawing the medium deep into the surface. I prefer the Tara brand because it has the finest finish and is perfect for portraits. This surface is perfect as is and certainly does not need any additional coats of gesso. The reason your paint layers are peeling off is because the first coat was not dry and therefore did not adhere properly to the surface. This happened because of the reasons I gave in (b). Some Genesis artists prepare the cheap canvas with an initial coat of quality gesso. When that is dry they apply a thin but consistent coat of Glazing Medium to the whole surface. To me this is false economy. Even though the Frederix canvas cost more you spend no time in preparation and enjoy the fluidity of the brushwork during the painting process.
You will notice that I have included an image of the inexpensive heat guage that I place in the oven with a mark to show 130 degrees. Do not trust the readings on your oven. The paint should not blister unless your oven gets hotter or you hold your heat gun too close or too long in the one spot. The special oven I have here has the element above the art work and is fan forced to keep the heat circulating evenly. (And it is set constantly on 130 degrees). Your oven is probably not fan forced and the heat is coming up from below the boards. I have not had a problem with the board buckling at the correct temperature.
It is important that you really mash up the Satin Finish varnish to a thin consistency before applying with a large varnish brush. Apply initially with criss cross strokes aiming for a thin but consistent finish. Hold your painting at an angle to the light to make sure you have not missed any parts or applied too much varnish in some areas. Now lightly (gently, sensually) brush horizontally with this same brush to take out the original brush marks. Only one consistent coat is needed.
I hope this will solve all your problems. Enjoy painting with Genesis as I do — and all my students!
Cheers,
Dalerie
Hi Dalerie,
Thank you so much for your response and advice. I couldn’t wait to try out your suggestions. First I bought an oven thermometer and learned that my oven runs much hotter than the setting, so I was heating my paintings way too hot! I was in the middle of painting a portrait of my son and was having issues with blistering and now I know why. I was able to finish the painting with the correct heat settings and had much better luck. I also tried your hints for varnishing and the results were smoother. The finished painting can be seen on my blog noted below.
Next I bought some Tara Frederix canvas and mounted it to MDF following your instructions. It was very easy to do. I just tried it out by painting a few test color swatches and I am thrilled with the results. I can’t wait to do a painting on one of these canvas panels!
Thanks again for all of the great information regarding Genesis paints!
Lana
Dear Dalerie,
What if I rubbed a thin coat of Liquin over the gessoed mdf board to lubricate the board for easier brushing?
Hi George,
Do not use Liquin on your gesso board. Liquin is not designed to be exposed to 130 degree heat. You could use Genesis Glazing Gel (medium). However it would probably more economical to use Frederix canvas which has the surface sealed and coated with a ‘Teflon’ finish to enable your brush to just glide across the surface. If you are part of an art group it would be worthwhile purchasing a roll of Frederix Tara canvas (53 inches by 7 yards) and splitting it between the group.
Your second suggestion of using Genesis Heat Set varnish on the gesso would work. Don’t you just love the versatility of this product?
Happy painting….
A couple of years ago I painted a portrait of my deceased parents from a photo. I was very pleased with the Genesis paints and happy with my painting. But I got cold feet when it was time to paint the glasses over my mother’s eyes and set the painting aside until i could get my nerve up to finish it. Now my father’s face has turned a definite green cast. If i heat set it now will it go back to the original color? Have you had problems with fugitive colors? Would this have happened if I had heat set it before i set it aside? Can it be saved? Susan