Arguimbau.net -

Layne Arguimbau is a native of Darien, Ct., and moved to in Greenwich in 1986 with his wife, Mary, an Iyengar Yoga Instructor, and their two children. They both have studios in an idyllic rural setting with 1850’s chestnut barns. Arguimbau paints in Flemish Technique ('Arguimbau Painting Techniques' Article under 'Home' page) creating dramatic light effects of sky wind, and water. Layne has replicated the light of the Dutch studios in his own studio by opening shutters on the north wall which is all windows creating shafts of light to stream down. He grinds his own pigments from powders, mills his own hard wood panels('Milling Hardwood Panels' Article under 'Essays') and coats them with gesso, lead grounds for canvas. He cooks oil mediums in Flemish Technique which allows him to paint deep luminous transparencies and glaze glowing rich tones, and hand finishes his frames, all of which give his paintings an old world quality.

Arguimbau has been going Venice, which took him to Murano, the glass capitol of the world to investigate material for his book, “The Invention of Oil Painting From the Renaissance to the Present”. Arguimbau believes the Flemmings starting with Jan van Eyck invented oil painting by incorporating the knowledge of the many crafts being developed at the time including glass manufacturing.

RULES OF THE ROAD FOR PAINTING LIGHT EFFECTS

Peter Arguimbau Painting Course

1. All art is Abstract. Including photography. The camera is the one-eyed liar. It distorts perspective, light and color Learn to draw. Painting is drawing with a brush.

2. The classical principles of Art for translating relationships found in nature.

Perspective, composition, form, and color.

Perspective breaks down into linear perspective with one conic section, two conic sections, or floating 3-d ocular perspective, very rare.

Composition is subjective or objective. Subjective is emotional or intellectual and you are on your own with this one. Objective is the same but uses abstract designs in nature, natural growth progressions, dynamic symmetry, golden mean, lazy S’s, cyma recta and much more.

Form breaks down into light and shade where the division of the light and shade is core shadow, a critical point. Light areas are more or less opaque that is usually above orange value in scale plus highligt. Light areas can also have a cast shadow which is a penumbra shadow because it is made up of transmitted light. Shadow is most effective when transparent. It is the negative space that is not generally used for information or detail because it makes the subject illustrative especially if opaque. Shadows throw cast shadows, and cast shadows invite reflective light on the edge of the form where the cast shadow begins. This is where an accent is appropriate. Cast shadows by nature must be transparent.

Color is last and can be painted right in or glazed on top or both. Thin umbers violets, grays, pinks and blues blend together and develop the color scheme, primarily earth colors, where strong greens and cadmium colors contaminate the painting and should go on last. For color glazing an understanding of prismatic color theory is advisable.

3. Paint small: a small mess is much easier to fix than a large mess. If the small study turns out well make a bigger painting. The general rule is a small painting should look large and a large painting should look small with detail.

4. Painting should be done in a north light studio where the light is constant throughout the day. At our latitude of 42 degrees a 60 degree angle for a skylight is preferable. A shade or curtain can be used to control the effect. Still lifes can be set up in a shadow box for more dramatic effects. Indoor painting develops form and outdoor painting atmosphere, each needs the other.

Outdoor painting is the reverse. When painting outdoors paint in the shade with both panel and pallet in the shade. What you don’t realize is your eye shuts down outside and you see only light and shade. By painting in the shade your eye opens and you can see half tones. Use a small thumbnail box. Develop your effect quickly and expect the effect to change within twenty minutes. One word of advise; do not follow your effect around all day, stick to what you saw.

5. Oils are preferable. Water color, gauche, conte and charcoal drawing and then acrylics. First start out with charcoal in an abstract design that can easily be wiped off if necessary and fixed with fixative after the desired drawing is finished. Start a black (Brown or Sepia) and white under painting emphasizing the light effect, draw in the drawing with a brush in umber then fill in with earth colors and start to develop half tone. Don’t be afraid to blend it all together and start over on top with the same process glazing in towards your final effect.

6. Colors: Flake white, naples yellow, yellow orcher, terra rosa,, alizarin crimson, terra verte, ultramarine blue, raw and/or burnt umber, ivory black. On the side use with control Cad. Red Light , cad yellow, and thalo blue. Wide range of brushes: large 4 inch to pointed small rounds bristle also fine sable drawing brushes. Large brushes to begin and mass and fine sables to finish and write.

7. Oil Mediums, gum spirits of turpentine, linseed oil or stand oil , dammar varnish. Paint fat over lean. For outdoors 9x12” or smaller gesso panels, canvas board or lead canvas grounds.

Smile --- do a nice one.