by Judith Northwood

Remember, your question can be answered here! Just post a response or send me an email with any of your painting quandaries or frustrations, and I’ll select from those for future columns. This week’s question is from comments made about my first column on selecting a brush.

Q: How thick or thin should paint be when painting a miniature?
A: That sounds like a straight-forward question, but the answer honestly is: “It depends…”

All acrylic paint lines I’ve ever used have needed to be thinned at least a little for every technique I’ve tried, but the consistency desired depends on the technique and the step within the technique, and the amount of water and/or medium to add depends on which paint line you’re using and sometimes which paint within a given line.
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by Judith Northwood

Remember, your question can be answered here! Just post a response or send me an email with any of your painting quandaries or frustrations, and I’ll select from those for future columns. This week’s question is from comments made about my first column on selecting a brush.

Q: How can I get colors to work together well when layering to avoid a dull or chalky appearance?
A: Problems like those result from the way layering works, which ultimately stems from some differences between the physics of light and how pigments work in paint.

Let’s start with some basics. Layering (similar to washes or glazing in fine art flatwork) is a technique where thin, translucent layers of paint are applied to create a gradual transition from mid-tone to highlight and shadow colors. It’s an excellent way to avoid harsh delineations between shades of paint. This technique achieves its goal so well because some of the prior layer shows through. It comes with some complications, though, just like it has advantages.
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by Judith Northwood

Remember, your question can be answered here. Just post a response or send me an email with any of your painting quandaries or frustrations, and I’ll select from those for future columns. This week’s question is from comments made about my first column on selecting a brush.

Q: How can I care for my brushes to keep them in good shape as long as possible?
A: To a certain extent, that depends on the situation, but overall it’s a fairly straight-forward process.

The first thing to keep in mind is the medium you’re using. If you’re painting with oils or enamels, you’ll need the appropriate solvent-based cleaner for at least the initial rinse. For oils, your options include turpentine, mineral spirits, and various turpentine substitutes-these last products often have citrus oils as a major ingredient. If you’re using some of the hobby brand enamels, your best bet is to buy the thinner or cleaner for that line or read what it says on the bottle or the brand’s promotional literature, as enamels can be quite specific as to what will dissolve the paint and what will make it turn gummy and nearly impossible to remove. A lot of artists will stop with this step, but others go on to clean the brush with soap and water at the end of the day.
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by Judith Northwood

Remember, your question can be answered here! Just send me an email with any of your painting quandaries or frustrations, and I’ll select from those for future columns.

Q: Help! My miniature turned cloudy when I sprayed it with sealant. How can I prevent that?

A: The easiest answer is to move to Arizona, but that’s not practical for most of us. Fortunately, there are alternatives.

That cloudy finish is called bloom, and it’s caused by moisture being trapped under the sealant, also often called varnish in the fine art world. The two most common causes are paint that’s not fully dry and atmospheric humidity. Paint should ideally be allowed to dry for 24-48 hours before applying sealant of any sort, but you can speed that up by putting the mini under a warm light source for a few hours. It’s more risky, and can make the paint film a little more brittle, but a good sealant protects the paint well enough that it’s usually not an issue.
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by Judith Northwood

Thanks for taking a look at the first of what I hope will be many Q&A columns on painting miniatures. To kick things off, I’ll answer a few of the questions I often hear while teaching classes on painting, but I’d rather respond more directly to what’s concerning you right now, so please send me an email with any of your painting quandaries or frustrations, and I’ll select from those for future columns.

Selecting a Brush

Q: What should I consider in buying a brush?

A: At its simplest, the answer is Fiber Type, Construction and Preference.

There are a variety of fibers used in making brushes, most of which are completely unsuitable for painting miniature figures. Hog bristle (yes, just what it sounds like) is too stiff, and squirrel is too soft. The first one will leave visible brushstrokes and the second one won’t hold the fine point we need for detail work.
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