Fat over lean

Fat over lean refers to the principle in oil painting of applying paint with a higher oil to pigment ratio ('fat') over paint with a lower oil to pigment ratio ('lean') to ensure a stable paint film, since it is believed that the paint with the higher oil content remains more flexible.^{[dead link]}^[1]

alla prima painting, may result in a cracked and less durable paint film.^{[dead link]}^[2]

It has been claimed by some paint manufacturers^[who?] that the 'fat-over-lean' principle can be circumvented by using synthetic, alkyd-based painting media such as Galkyd and Liquin. These media do provide consistent drying times, increase the paint film flexibility, and promote adhesion between paint layers. However, because classical painting media, turpentine, natural resins, and certain plant oils (linseed, walnut and poppy) have lasted for centuries when applied properly, some artists choose to avoid synthetic media since their long-term stability is unknown.

References

^ The Oil Colour Book (PDF). Winsor & Newton. 2001. p. 75. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18.
^ Traditional Oil Painting. Watson-Guptill Publications. 2007.

External links

The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, by Ralph Mayer

[1] The Oil Colour Book (PDF). Winsor & Newton. 2001. p. 75. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18.

[2] Traditional Oil Painting. Watson-Guptill Publications. 2007.

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