First, I made a grisaille. Then I applied a couch of calcium carbonate and linseed oil paste, and then glazed into this couch while it was wet. I found that using calcium carbonate as a couch to paint into unified the surface, and gave me better control while rendering. I find that oil paint out of the tube is often so concentrated that it is difficult to control. Diluting oil paint with a filler like calcium carbonate reduces the tinting strength and makes it easier to create soft transitions. Calcium carbonate is particularly useful when working on top of a grisaille that is highly developed and has a high oil content. It is useful when I don’t want to change the shapes, but model the form of the shapes that are already established. If I did want to change the shape of something, then a more opaque mixture would make sense.
Charlie Antolin Artist 