Voodoo darkening - Titanium white darkening after it dries
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- Опубліковано 10 вер 2024
- The problem: Lighter mixtures with titanium white drying darker than when they were wet. The sinking in of darks, which can be "brought back" with oiling in does not help here. The actual value of the paint itself changes appearance permanently. The difference between the wet value and the dry value is a problem for indirect painters.
Conclusion: Whatever is happening with sinking in causes a reaction in which the actual value of the mixture changes after it dries. The thinner application, which sinks in the most, demonstrates the largest value shift. The thicker application, while still darkening a bit, does not darken as much (and also remains more glossy). The addition of stand oil (which helps prevent sinking in) helps. Gamblin flake white replacement, I believe, has stand oil already added to it, hence why it has less change than the other tubed paints.
This seems to be a low-key version of what all acrylics do, which is colors drying much darker. I'm not particularly sensitive to small value changes, so I never noticed it with Titanium White, but notice darks drying lighter and benefit from gloss varnishing to bring back richness. I can't tolerate painting with acrylics for many reasons, but value change in the drying process is one of them.
I think this explains what I see. If I paint a large area where color uniformity is needed (such as a blue sky) there is a lot of PW6 involved. The next day I tweezer off the fluff and occasional fruit fly, both of which leave a mark. If wet, I can just blend. If dry, I match colors and patch. The day after that, the patches look the wrong color, always darker. I am able to exactly match colors, so I just don't believe it's me. What looks perfect one day, doesn't the next, under identical studio conditions. I will try patching using PW1 instead.
The sinking in happens when is not enough oil I find. Also the substrate plays a lot. I use medium with 1/3 stand oil and indeed the sinking in is less obvious but still there; is frustrating.
Raw Umber can cause it too. And medium that includes solvent will increase refraction and make paint lighter when wet and of course dry darker as the solvent evaporates. So for patching I use solventfree alkyd gel. On my personal tests lukas titanium white held up the best straight from the tube. All other top brands titanium and lead whites darkened/yellowed considerably in storage and required sun exposure. But genuine raw umber is a huge player in this I have found. I only use a PR101 substitute now.
Again, no solvent was used. No medium at all. And in fact, while the stand oil does in fact lighten the wet mixture, it helps to prevent the darkening… which is the opposite of what you are saying. A good test to do would be using a totally different color to test than raw umber/ivory black. Will do that today.
@@JulieBeck nono, I just talked about solvent. Stand oil only is fine of course and works just the same, since it does not evaporate. I love to use sun thickened oil to float highlights on top of juicy wet paint, did not change a bit - so I agree with you. I just mentioned an alky gel for any top last minute corrections in my case. Only solvent as the evaporating culprit I ve meant up there. Any oxidating medium is fine instead of alkyd gel. Just wanted to rule out yellowing so I skipped the oils and took alkyd for my tests.
Amazing video Julie!!! ❤️❤️❤️
this was happening to me a couple years ago and never figured it out. glad i wasn't just imagining things. its a problem when you need to remix the colors visually then it dries darker than your previous layer... what a headache.
yes, what a pain!
very very helpful. Thanks!
Very interesting ty
Hi. Why dont you use liquin to get rid of the sinking in problem? Regards. jpd
I have a good understanding of why most oil paintings darken. Never used those methods. Self taught.
Thanks for the video! I did not know that stand oil doesn’t sink in as much as the others. Do you know if sun thickened L.O. sinks in as much as the walnut or L.O?
thats a good question. I'm not sure!
Manufacturing problem !?!?!. Did you tell them ?
The ground is too absorbent. Oil THAT in first maybe with a little varnish with the oil and wipe it off strongly. A color is not needed.
Interesting video. According to some other video reviews the gamblin flake white replacement oil paint tends to yellow excessively. Have you experienced that?
I have not personally but I use lead white. Im doing this test for my students. All oil paints will yellow over time but most can be brought back most of the way by placing in daylight/ sunlight
VOODOO!
Thanks Julie, that was so interesting. I’m experiencing exactly this issue.
I have heard so many positive reviews of lead white, and that would be my first choice but it is difficult, and hugely expensive, to get Lead White to New Zealand.
I use Michael Harding paints almost exclusively- my white is Titanium White 2 which is ground in linseed oil. I need very clean vibrant colours in my current floral painting. I colour match using a digital colour picker but have been dismayed and frustrated to see quite a shift to a darker value the next day. I don’t use solvents, and adjust viscosity with pure linseed oil. I’ll certainly try your stand oil technique 🤞🤞Thank you for sharing, you’re the best!
It also seems that if you paint a bit thicker, it will darken less
Is lead white toxic when touched when it is oil paint?
It's only toxic if you ingest it or rub it in an open wound.
What brand changed ?
the reason for this darkening phenomenon is the pigment umber. it is scientifically proven that it darkens.
That can't be the case as the phenomenon spots not happen with lead white and umber. Only titanium white
Following this up: I've experienced this with titanium white and Mars black (no other colour).