by Jane Sutherland

Transferring a Drawing to Canvas

What is the most effective way to transfer a smaller drawing to a bigger canvas? 

There are a couple of ways to transfer a drawing to a canvas. One method is to project the drawing onto the canvas with a slide, opaque, or overhead projector. If you have a slide projector and a 35-mm camera, you can make a slide of your drawing to project onto the canvas. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find local photo shops that still process slides on-site, but if you look in a telephone book or on the internet you can find companies that offer a quick turnaround time for this service. If you are using an overhead or opaque projector, make a photocopy of the drawing—reducing it in size if necessary—and project it onto the canvas. A photocopy protects the original drawing from the heat of the projector lamp.

The other equally satisfying, and older, method for transferring a drawing is the grid system. Although this method may sound complicated, it really is quite simple. Cover the drawing with tracing or visualizing paper and tape it down. With a ruler and a pencil mark off the four sides of the picture and then draw a one-inch grid in pencil over the image. Depending on how much bigger the canvas is than the drawing, mark off a grid on the canvas to scale. For example, if the canvas is five times bigger than the drawing, the size of each square will be five inches. Now transfer the image from square to square. Some artists recommend numbering the boxes in the grid in order to keep your place while doing this.

Hanging Paintings for a Temporary Exhibition

Our art association has the opportunity to exhibit our paintings in a local conference center. There is a security guard during the day, but the center is occasionally open to the public at night when there is no guard on duty.  Do you have any recommendations for how to install the paintings so that they will be secure but not permanent?

There are a few different types of specialty picture hooks that are made to deter casual theft by the use of concealed T-head screws behind the picture frame. Each of these systems has the added feature of keeping framed paintings hanging level on the wall. However, the installation requirements for these locked hangers involve drilling holes approximately one-quarter inch in diameter into a drywall (Sheetrock) surface. On hard or solid wall surfaces the installation process is a bit more complicated. For a temporary exhibition, the expense, time, and installation requirements may be more than the art association or the conference center wishes to undertake. If your local framer is unable to locate specialty picture hooks, you might consult the installation department of an art museum in your area.

Because the conference center is not a secure site, it is probably also true that there is no insurance for artwork that is lost or damaged while on the premises. You may find that many of the artists are willing to take the risk and exhibit their paintings anyway, but you should require each artist to sign a consent form stating his or her understanding of the lack of insurance and security.

Preventing Oil Paint From Hardening

Is there an additive you would recommend for oil paints that seem to harden a little in the tube when the temperature changes from warm to cold?

Additives are not recommended and should not be needed to keep oil paints from hardening, as long as they’re stored indoors at a consistent and moderate temperature. One situation in which oil paints harden is when air accumulates inside the tube. To prevent this, remember to squeeze paint from the bottom of the tube and keep the cap screwed on tightly. Paint can also harden when too many drying oils have been added during the manufacturing process. It should have a buttery consistency when it comes out of the tube. Always be sure to use a fine-
quality artist oil paint.

The Difference Between Intensity and Value

I am having a difficult time with the concepts of intensity and value. I understand the definitions but find they are similar. Please explain the difference. 

Intensity refers to the brightness or dullness of color, and value refers to the relative lightness or darkness of color. The intensity, or chroma, of a color is the amount of saturation of hue (the name by which colors are distinguished). The more mixed or broken a color is, the duller and less intense it becomes. A simple way to identify value over intensity is to squint your eyes while looking at two colors next to each other. Because the existence of light makes it possible for us to distinguish color, when we reduce the light by squinting, the colors are “grayed,” or toned down, and we see value (lightness/darkness) rather than intensity (brightness/dullness).   

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