Hi!
I want to add body to my oil paints, so I was researching about mixing marble dust with linseed oil and use that as a medium.
I don’t have access to a lot of variety, fine art materials wise, so that seemed like a simple enought option.
I have a few of questions though:
1-Would it be better to just use linseed oil or would stand oil be a better alternative?
2-Could I use that mix in the initial layers, and then on the next layers use just pure paint? Or would I have to up the ammount of oil content for the next layers?
3-What ratio should I aim for? The consistency should be of pure oil paint from the tube?
Thank you!
Hi Brian! Thanks for the quick reply.
The answer was great even if it not a “do it this way and you’ll be fine” kind of thing.
I just wanted to be sure I wasn’t doing anything that was dead wrong.
I did try and mix the marble dust with oils, but I’m finding the results to be underwhelming.
The mixture is too coarse. I can literally feel the grains on my brush.
I bought the finest dust i could find, and it seemed really fine.
Is it a matter of spending more time grinding the dust into the oil?
I’m only using a spatula, as I don’t have access to a muller.
Ok, I’ll try to find a muller and see if there anre finer dust.
Thank you!
The choice of drying oil for this would be based on tendency for yellowing and handling properties. Stand oil would make a much more sticky medium and would be far fatter. Sun thickened oil would have a different “feel” as would walnut and other drying oils.
If you made a relatively lean medium of oil and marble dust (quite dense and not flowing) you could add it in similar proportions throughout painting, but I would always err on adding a bit more to subsequent layers. As far as proportions of medium to paint, the marble dust will not mask yellowing to the same degree as most pigments. You should keep this in mind when adding your medium. In general, smaller additions are preferable to larger.
You do need to follow your aesthetic aims, though, just do so with stability in mind. That is probably less useful than you had hoped.
Like the answer to so many questions on MITRA, you should experiment before committing to a process for your artwork.
You really should use a muller, or for a messier job, a mortar and pestle. If you do not have access to either, make sure to really grind the powder and oil together on a glass plate. Continue to do this for more than 10 minutes if you are making a very small amount. If making a substantial amount work in small batches and combine and mix they together at the end.
The grittiness may be from it being underground/dispersed but the marble dust may also be too coarse. You would need to a get a finer variety of calcium carbonate. I have had no issues with the natural chalk that I used for this. The largest particles are 20 microns but it does contain finer particles as well.
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