About Fine Art Construction
"A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link" - "a house built on sand will fall." The point being... the longevity of anything constructed is the direct result of the lowest quality of any single element included in it's construction.
..."to construct, to form by assembling or combining parts." Constructing can be quite creative - combined with skill, ART HAPPENS! Yet in today's world, when it comes to art, especially the "visual arts," many artists, including professionals, employ inferior materials and methods in the creation of their art. Whether or not this will influence the initial esthetic of a newly completed work is to be seen - however, be assured that it will have a strong negative effect on any work over time.
With regard to visual art, the overall ESTHETIC is the primary objective.
Less than a century ago this was not an issue. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, mass production, and the mechanization of most everything, the amount of time it took to manufacture a product was not as important as it is today. Artisans and skilled craftsmanship took pride in the quality of their work - and their work took time. In today's world very few artists make their own paints, mediums, supports and other materials like the artists of days-gone-by. Artists of the past were forced to do so and they knew firsthand the quality of the materials they used. Now we purchase goods from around the world with the click of a button and the selection is endless. Suppliers plea for our dollars and lure us with low cost (cheaply produced) goods. Many of the materials are so poorly manufactured their life span is extremely limited.
The foundation of my work is the vary material I paint on - the "support."
For well over a century and into today, the most commonly used material for support is gessoed cotton. The reason for cotton's great popularity is simple - cheap price. The average cotton canvas sold today has a thread count just slightly higher than cheesecloth and is a very poor choice for a support. Other popular materials supports are linen, wood, paper, and fancy cardboards.
(picture, 10oz cotton)
(picture, 10oz linen)
Wood's natural strength and rigidity are it's assets. Compared to stretched canvases which are prone to sagging, dents, and punctures, wood's strength and rigidity are real pluses. The major drawback to painting directly on wood is that (sooner or later) the surface will "check." (Priming the wood will not prevent this.) Utilizing wood's assets and linen's texture my choice support for a fine art painting (an heirloom) is the finest linen adhered to a hardwood panel. This is a solid foundation! Beautiful to behold and extremely durable. (However, the heavy weight is an issue when the compositions are large and is a serious consideration.)
Paper, cardboard, and the like are inferior supports for fine art oil paintings. Pastels and watercolors require these types of supports. But just as wood and canvas are more durable than paper or cardboard, so are oils more durable than pastels and watercolors.
Plastic and "plastic type" (acrylic) substances are a wonderful invention of the "technology age." Plastics (along with other technologies) certainly they have their place in fine art. But as with all information, new or old, the danger is misuse or misinformation.
Prior to the invention of acrylics, artist would apply a size to their canvas with a glue made from animal hide followed by an oil based primer. The dry glue is very brittle. This is one of the main causes of cracking in old paintings. Today acrylic gesso is most commonly used in place of glue sizing and oil primer. Acrylics are very flexible and not prone to cracking.
"Gesso" is the term used to describe the "one step" primer (most commonly used by contemporary artists) for preparing canvas and panels prior to applying paint. (Artists used to refer to this step as preparing the ground.) One of the primary reasons for applying a primer (or ground) is to isolate the support from the paint. Oils will cause organic fibers (like cotton, linen, or wood) to deteriorate. (What do you suppose will happen to the painting if the support deteriorates and crumbles?)
Along with cheap supports, today's mass suppliers offer cheaply gessoed supports and cheap gesso. Inferior gesso quickly becomes brittle and chalky causing the paint layer to chip.
Gesso can be purchased in an oil or acrylic base. If an oil based gesso is applied to the support, the support must first be sized (or isolated.) A a quality canvas prepared with a quality acrylic gesso is a great beginning for a quality support.
The final step in the construction process (besides varnishing) is to make sure your paints adhere to the support. The only difference between oil paints and watercolors, acrylics, or any other medium is the binder. In oil paints the binder is linseed oil. So many well meaning artists use solvents (like turpentine) as a painting mediums. Solvents destroy the oil leaving nothing to hold the pigments together and as a result, leave nothing to bind the paint to the support. Oil paintings constructed with this technique aren't much more durable than a pastel or watercolor. Try pouring turpentine on one and letting it set for a while - the painting will be destroyed. I have done this to my paintings for demonstration purposes with no harmful effects and conservators use solvents stronger than turpentine to clean well constructed paintings.
Oils and resins are invaluable to the durability and longevity of a fine art painting. Linseed oil alone is a strong binder. A painting with sufficient amounts of oil and thoroughly dry can be cleaned with solvents as strong as turpentine without damage to the paint surface. With the addition of resins the paint surface becomes even more durable. In centuries past artists used natural resins such as copal. Today, synthetic resins such as alkyds are use as painting mediums to improve paint texture and durability.
In conclusion...
A skillfully constructed oil painting will last for centuries with minimal care and even mild abuse. Reiterating a previous point - esthetic beauty is the primary objective of a work of fine art, but what could be the reason for wasting an artist's skill and God given talent by using inferior materials and methods?