Reasons to Go for a Ready to Hang Painting

We all like to make our houses or our offices more pleasant place to be in. one way to do this is by putting paintings on the walls. A several panels oil painting for example will make your house more beautiful in terms of interior decorating for example and will also provide a visual comfort. Also a ready to hang painting will only raise two questions: where to hang the painting and where to put the nail. Most of today’s paintings have ready to hang systems attached to them.

There are different kinds of paintings, different styles, and different materials one can use to paint. Some of the most famous traditional techniques used for painting are acrylic paint, oil paint, charcoal, drawing, oil pastel, pen and ink, pencil, pigment, tempera and watercolor painting. Since painting is a very old form of expression there are several painting styles. Some of them were made famous by painters others not very successful remained relatively unknown. Amongst the most known ones are the Abstract, the Art Deco, the Baroque style, the Cubism, the Futurism, the Contemporary art, the Expressionism, the Impressionism, the Modernism, the Surrealism and many more. While the older styles made famous by painters like Picasso and Van Gogh became extremely expensive paintings, today’s not so famous artist offer wonderful paintings at affordable prices.

Today’s most common tableaus are the ready to hang painting and the several panels oil painting. Also the most wanted themes are the floral paintings, the figure paintings, the abstract paintings, the landscape and seascape paintings and the paintings done on several panels that put together form a single painting. If for example there is a 3 panels oil painting with flowers it can be put on the wall as a single painting or it can be put on different walls as different paintings without looking like something is missing or something is out of place. The same is valid with figure paintings out of which the most wanted ones are the African dancing figures which bring a note of exotic and mystery in one’s life. For some this is keeping their art alive for others is remembering the places they traveled and making their house more beautiful.

The advantage of having a multi-panel oil painting is that you pay for a single painting and you get several smaller ones that can be put together to form a bigger image or can be put in separate places without looking out of place. Also in the case of flowers or abstract paintings you can switch the panels between them and make your own painting. Since each of them is ready to hang and comes even with the walls hooks in the box, making your own art from someone else’s art is fun and can give your friends the impression that you have a new painting on the wall each time they come visit. The main painting can be divided in identical size squares or rectangles or it can have different sizes rectangles. The newer paintings also have different shapes thus adding to the idea of decorating your walls. Symmetry seems to be outdated so don’t worry if your paintings are not a square or a rectangle, but a variety of both.

Everything you ever wanted to know about Buying a Canvas Painting

If you have decided to you want to become a collector of art, you might be unsure of how to begin and what you need to know. The world of art is a very diverse place that offers a huge range of varieties from modern art to the classics. You will also have to consider if you are interested in the abstract, realist, or impressionist type of paintings. Next, you have to determine if you want to concentrate on painting created from one type of medium and what type of base such as board, canvas, or paper.

First, look at your home and the items you have furnished it with. Many homes have modern pieces of art hung in them to match the contemporary style of the architecture. You might be interested in hanging some canvas painting but will need to consider the mediums such as oils, watercolors, and acrylics that are available. If you want, you might even consider the paper or board base. The actual number of possible combinations can be very high, so you will have many options to consider.

If you have decided on a canvas type of painting, you will have to think about where to purchase your art. A traditional gallery is an excellent place to begin and many will reframed or frame a piece to suit the décor of your home. Another option is to consider using an online site to buy a canvas painting, as it is often not as expensive to send you pieces that have been created on canvas than on other bases such as board or something that is covered with glass.

If you are curious as to why so many different bases exist that can be used to create art, each medium is often best suited to different bases. An oil painting usually requires a canvas to work on to help prevent cracking of the paint and because it is unlikely to move. Watercolors, graphite, and ink pieces are best created on paper. Acrylics can require the use of canvas or boards.

Contemporary art refers to painting done since the 70s up until today. This type of art usually will bring out strong emotions from the people who view the art and it will be created in two styles from abstract to representation. The abstract is often a swirl of colors that may not look like anything in particular but it can bring out interesting images when gazed upon. The representational piece usually has an image that one can recognize.

Modern art pieces usually include works created from the 1900s to the 1970s when contemporary work began. Picasso and Pollack are just a couple of the artist you might associate with this time of work. Of course, classical art includes work from before the 1900s such as the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.

Canvas paintings can come in many styles and if you are unsure about which you are looking for, check out the Internet for some help. Prices can be significantly different depending on which artist you choose. How famous the artist might be, how rare the work is, the size and style used to paint the work can all have an effect on the cost of the final piece you are interested in.

Secret space- Abstract brown cream gold textured original deep canvas painting

www.contemporary-canvas.co.uk Contemporary 36″ x 36″ canvas with a depth of 4″ in gold, brown, oxide brown and use of white cream hints with use of high quality paints and other hints. Fantastic dark and light shades of brown in a moody abstract painting with textured gold middle. Signed by Hardeep S Ghatora and is ready to hang http Thanks for viewing this video clip.

Encaustic Painting

History

Encaustic is considered one of the most ancient painting mediums in the world. The word “encaustic” comes from the Greek encaustikos, “to burn in,” referring to the process of fusing the layers of paint together. The oldest surviving use is the famous Fayum portraits painted on tombs from Roman Egypt around 100-350 A.D.  After disappearing for much of history, it was revived in the 1950s by Jasper Johns, who is often considered the father of contemporary encaustic painting. He used the medium most famously in his Flags and Target paintings.

Materials and Tools

Encaustic paint is usually made from beeswax, damar resin, and pigment. The beeswax has a relatively low melting point, approximately 150F, and is strained multiple times to remove impurities.  Because of this low melting point, damar resin is added, which serves both to raise the melting point to about 165F and to act as a hardening agent, so the encaustic has a slightly enamel finish when cool.  

Beeswax, being both a sealant and a preservative, allows for various materials such as paper to be collaged into the work.  As long as the paper is completely covered by the paint it will not degrade because the wax seals it off from oxygen.

There are several tools needed: first is a heat source. This can be as cheap as a hot plate or pancake griddle, or fancy ones can be bought from R&F Paints. Most artists keep the griddle temperature anywhere between 180F and 230F. The paint itself can be bought readymade (it can also be made from scratch, although that is beyond the scope of this article) and comes in blocks.  These are melted down on the griddle in anything metal – old soup cans, muffin tins, etc. New colors can be made by mixing paints together when molten; they don’t tend to mix on your ground because the paint begins to harden as soon as it is taken away from the heat source. Colors can also be extended or become more translucent by adding encaustic medium. Medium is just the beeswax and resin without any pigment; it is completely clear in its molten state. 

Encaustic is compatible with a few other mediums: oil paint, pigment sticks, and oil pastels can be added to the painting in addition to the encaustic. Anything plastic or water-based, like acrylics or watercolors, is not compatible. 

There are also particulars to the ground used. The support must be both rigid and absorbent. If it is not rigid (like canvas stretched over stretcher bars) the painting may crack, usually because of the weight of the wax in the middle of the canvas.  If it isn’t absorbent enough the encaustic might later begin to peel away from the ground. For this reason, acrylic gesso and oil primer also cannot be used. Some possibilities for supports and grounds: wood panels (luan, birch, plywood), claybord, untempered masonite, hardboard primed with Holy Grail, or raw canvas stretched over board or wood panel.

The final major tool that is needed is something to reheat and bind every layer to the one beneath it. Proper fusion is necessary so that the layers of paint do not separate over time, and so that air bubbles do not form between them, which can lead to chipping. Many different tools will achieve this: tacking irons, propane or butane torches, heat guns, etc. Heat guns are probably the safest and one of the easier tools to use because they don’t have an open flame, they often come with multiple temperature settings, and the stream of hot air can be used to blow the paint in various directions. The precise temperature and distance that the tool is held from the surface of the paint can vary and require experimentation. Different temperatures and distances yield different results.  Encaustic cools in seconds, but fusing tool can be used to reheat and rework the painting at any time – even years later.

The paint can be manipulated with anything you can find: palette knives, dental tools, even fingers. Brushes should be natural hair bristles; most artists use one brush per color and keep them lying on the griddle so they stay warm. Encaustic is conducive to heavy layering, so paint can be added and scraped back: it is both a positive and a negative process. 

Safety

Encaustic should never be heated so high that it smokes, which means that it is giving off toxic fumes. Depending on the griddle or hotplate being used, the paint usually doesn’t start to smoke until 250F. Below this point, encaustic does have a unique scent. To most people the aroma is slightly sweet, because of the beeswax, but some find that it causes headaches, nausea, dizziness, breathing difficulties and other respiratory problems, although it is not toxic. Your studio should always be well ventilated with exhaust fans or a ventilation hood. 

The flash point of encaustic (the temperature at which the vapor directly above the paint ignites) is 385F. Obviously, the paint should never be heated this high. 

Water should never come into contact with the molten wax because it can explode. 

As oil paint is compatible with encaustic, flammable liquids like turpentine will probably be involved. These chemicals should always be kept far away from heat sources.  The amount of oil paint used should also be taken into consideration. Encaustic “hardens,” and oil paint “cures,” thus there should not be equal amounts of the two materials or the finished painting will not harden or cure. As long as there is more encaustic than there is oil paint, the painting will dry fine. 

Finally, there are a series of safety precautions associated with dry pigments, which is only used when making your own encaustic paint.

Finished Paintings

Once the painting is considered finished and has cooled, there is nothing more that needs to be done – varnish or something similar is not necessary. The painting can be buffed with a paper towel or a soft cloth, which removes bloom (any impurities in the paint that have risen to the surface during the hardening process), dust, dullness, and restores the surface to a glossy finish. The hardening process will actually continue for a long time and it may need to be buffed every so often to remove any bloom that develops at a later time.

The paint is stable in temperatures ranging from approximately 40F-110F. In cold temperatures it will shrink slightly and if it is very cold it may crack. In high temperatures the paint might soften but there should not be any lasting damage.  Paintings should be hung out of direct sunlight.

Frida Kahlo Speed Oil On Canvas Painting by Timothy Teruo Watters (TTW)

www.timothywatters.com http Artist Timothy Teruo Watters (TTW) paints an original oil on canvas tribute painting of Frida Kahlo, sped up from start to finish.