Why Paint on Copper?
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Many people ask me, "Why do you paint on Copper?". I was inspired by a painting I saw at the Boston Museum of Fine Art. This painting, by Frans Snyder a Flemish Artist, called "Still Life with Fruit, Wan-Li Porcelain, and Squirrel" was painted with oil on copper panel in the year 1616. I guess I loved how luminous the colors of the painting seemed. I also noticed there were no cracks on the surface.
For days I had been visiting many museums and had noticed the cracked surfaces of many canvas paintings. The cracks seemed distracting to me. I was noticing the cracks first and then the subject matter! This small Dutch oil painting on copper was also smaller. I wanted to walk up close and take a look at the details. I liked this. The smaller, luminous, well preserved painting was inviting me to further explore it! I had been gazing at these large paintings from far away and had not felt interest in looking at it further. I liked the intimacy a smaller painting provided.
This painting is by Jan Brueghel I called "View of a City and River".
It is an beautiful example of an Oil on Copper done in the year 1578.
I found some copper panels at a local weather vane factory. They were really nice and even cut the copper. These copper panels were pretty thick, not like copper sheeting for roofing. I called Gamblin Art Products, the Company who manufactured my Gamblin Artist oil paints I used regularly. They suggested lightly sanding the copper before I painted. Then they suggested I use Gamblin's Galkyd to seal the copper. The copper would not tarnish afterwards. The oil paint would further hardened and be protected by Galkyd. Then they suggested to use a watersoluable Varnish.
During the Winter I tend to experiment more. I discovered I can sketch a preliminary drawing with a fine tipped felt pen for a detailed painting. To sign my name, I use the back of my brush, and scratch in my signature. I leave some specks of copper free of paint stategically to further add depth to the painting. I use mostly transparent oil paints. I have found painting on copper panels with oils becomes easier when the room temperature is above 60 degrees. Below 60 degrees the oil paint does not have the transparency I admire. Below 60 degrees I use a medium. I use all kolinsky, sable, or synthetic brushes because of their softness. Bristle paint brushes leave streaks of copper left unpainted. I use paint boxes to store my finished paintings so they can dry without dust or sand settling on them. If something foreign does land on a painting, I use sandpaper to remove the object and then repaint that area. Painting on copper can be challenging but with perserverence copper can be luminous and beautiful.
Jan Brueghel also painted this painting,
"Restbreak while Escaping Egypt".
My husband, Robert, bought me a book called, "Copper as a Canvas". This book has been an excellent resource for me. There are two centuries of paintings on copper from 1575 to 1775. The book, produced by Phoenix Art Museum, describes how medival artists would prepare copper panels to paint on. They would rub raw garlic with their hands onto the panel before they would paint. The garlic created a tooth for the artist to work on. The garlic did not do anything to the copper as far as keeping the painting archival. The book mentioned the medival artists worked on copper and gessoed wood panels. When ready-primed canvas became available, painting on copper panels became more specialized. I enjoyed reading some of the benefits of painting on copper panels. I will quote you directly from this book "Copper as a Canvas".
Peter Gysels painted this Oil on Copper painting, entitled,
|"River Landscapes with Villages and Travelers".
"Under dry or commonly encountered indoor conditions copper does not readily corrode. Moreover, copper is not sensitive dimensionally to changes in relative humidity. Dimensional change due to temperature is much less likely in copper sheets than the repeated swelling and shrinking that occurs in canvas and panel paintings due to the combined effects of changes in relative humidity and temperature. Although copper is a good conductor and will respond quickly to changes in temperature, the thermal coefficient of expansion of the paint film is closer to that of the copper than to that of a wooded panel. This factor, combined with the lack of response to moisture in the support, the apparent absence of a glue size layer, and thinness of the paint film, account for the minimal amount of stress-induced craquelure that is found on paintings on copper,craquelure is observable only under magnification, and the absence of a crackle pattern to the naked eye, such as would be seen on a panel or canvas painting, forces us to reassess our expectation of these signs of age in three-hundred-and four-hundred-year-old paintings. The effect can therefore be startling, and although it is a separate issue, the presentation of the painting with respect to the condition of the varnish is all the more important to consider."
"Structurally copper is a sound and durable material when compared to canvas or wood. It does not suffer from infestation, nor from cracking or tearing. Consequently there has been no need for interventions to the structure that could affect the surface of the paint, such as lining in canvas painting."
"Having examined some of these copper paintings to gain insight as to how they were made, especially those created to "satisfy the desire of ...inquisitive eyes," we are left with an even deeper sense of appreciation and amazement at the quality and enduring condition of the best of them. It is as if we are not quite meant to lose sight of the artist's sheer practical skill, however much he may have been aiming at a loftier intellecual status." Isabel Horovitz wrote these comments in Chapter four, "Copper as a Canvas". Very interesting. Beautiful copper paintings too!
This is a copper painting by Jan Brueghel
I called "Stilllife with Flowers in a Vase".
I was fortunate enough to visit Holland and tour their Art Museums. One of my favorite oil paintings on copper was that of "Still Life of Oysters, Sweetmeats, and Dried Fruit" painted by Osias Beert I in the year 1609.
Jean-Simeon Chardin painted on copper as well for his painting, "Fast-Day Meal" in 1731. A beautiful painting of eggs and fish, teapot and other kitchen utensils. Rembrandt Van Rijn also painted on copper with a painting called, "Laughing Man". The book, "Copper as a Canvas" is very interesting.
 "Buoys will be buoys" This is one of my oils on copper. Unlike many copper painting artists, I leave some specks of copper visible. I like to vary my paint thicknesses throughout the entire painting. The surface of my finished painting are almost glasslike from the "Galkyd" medium I use. Thank you for reading about why I paint on copper. I hope this has inspired you!
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