Maxfield Parrish Prints

Painting Techniques

Maxfield Parrish Prints: The Garden of Allah When we think of how a painting is made, we think of the painter putting his brush to the canvas and creating a work of art. Creating a masterpiece was not always that simple; especially back in the days when Maxfield Parrish was dazzling people with his paintings. There was a process a painter had to go through to prepare his canvas for painting.

Preparation

His panels were treated with linseed oil, than dried before painting.
He always outlined in pencil before the first strokes of his brush would touch the page.
The under painting would often be a transparent color yet strong enough to be the dominant color in that area.

Drying

The process of drying was very important, the under painting had to be done before he could continue.
The panel was laid out to dry in the sun.
It had to be completely dried or there would be the problem with blooming (cloudy white haze) that moisture caused.
The varnish was heated up so it spread out over the canvas much easier.
After the panel was dry he would lightly rub the canvas with a dampened cloth dipped in fine pumice stone. This was a way in which any dust particles clinging to the surface could be easily removed.
It also allowed the varnished surface to have a slight texture in which to hold the layers of color to follow.
The surface had to be washed with a wet cloth after it was completely dry before it could be re -glazed.
He used linseed oil as a thinner to keep the layers of glazing as thin as possible.

Painting

Using a small palette knife, he proceeded to thin the paint to the proper transparency.
The glaze was applied with a normal paintbrush creating shadows with the varnish to his liking
He built up his paintings layer by layer.
A painting was not complete without a thick layer of varnish.

Tools

He used a stipple brush to create smooth gradations between two colors.
Another useful tool he used was blotting paper. This technique was most often used in the texture of cliffs and rocks.
Cheesecloth was another tool Maxfield Parrish used frequently. He used it for wiping brushes and areas of glaze that were not perfect. He also used it to break up textures.
Although he used pencil knives mostly for black and white illustrations, they were useful for defining the finer areas of his color paintings as well.
Because the drying process could take a long time, he often painted a few works of art at the same time.