Questions on the Transferring/Drawing Process + First Couple of Painting Layers....

by Oliver Wall
(England )

Hi there,

So once I've primed my canvas I need to transfer the drawing, I have a couple of questions about that process...

Firstly, should I use charcoal or pencil to outline my preliminary drawing?

Once I have my preliminary drawing, I understand that I have to outline it in brown ink.

Once that's dried however, how do I remove the under-layer of pencil, should I simply wipe it down with linseed oil or white spirit?

What is the best way to remove the pencil so I only have the ink outline left?

Additionally, I'd also like to ask, for the Imprimatura and Umber Layer, would it be appropriate to use Liquin as a medium instead of linseed oil? (the 7 week drying time between each layer sounds like a real headache!)

It would be really great to get some professional advice,
Thanks so much :)

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Oil painting for beginners
by: Delmus

OK, Charcoal or pencil is just fine in your drawing stage. Which ever you feel more comfortable with.

Brown ink or Black ink that is waterproof. And NO SHARPIES. (This has some form of petroleum byproduct that bleeds through your paint layers) use only Indian (India) ink.

Wiping over with Linseed or spirits will get rid of your charcoal and or pencil just fine. Or you can leave it. As you tone the canvas, this will get blended into the paint.

I use Liquin and turps in my earlier layers. But not a large amount. The burnt umber dries pretty quickly on it's own, but just a touch of the Liquin within my mixture speeds it up to overnight drying.

Hope this answers all!
Best wishes, and happy painting!

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