AGUADO IN OIL PAINTING

CSO - AGUADO
CSO's " Aguado" is an Oil Out Medium
that allows painting large sized oil paintings
with ease, speed and efficiency

CSO's AGUADO is new, it is not described in my book.
Scroll to see the CSO/AGUADO OIL OUT MEDIUM

INTRODUCING the NEW OIL OUT MEDIUM
ESPESO
Please see the page: VAN EYCK SECRET

The CALCITE SUN OIL/AGUADO method was developed in July 2009

This expansion of the 2002 creation of the Calcite Sun Oil/ Emulsions method, complements and gives the
painter increased power for painting large sized paintings. It can be used effectively for small sized paintings as
well, and provides the PLEIN AIRE painter a simple effortless procedure.
It does NOT eliminate the use of the CSO/EMULSIONS method as I will explain later.

Both, the CSO/EMULSIONS and the CSO/AGUADO methods can reach their full potential ONLY if the SUPERIOR
LINSEED/FLAX OIL of the Old Masters is used. This extraordinary oil can be easily processed by all persons.
Please see my other web pages for full instructions.

WHAT IS AGUADO?
It is an "OIL OUT" mixture. It is NOT a painting medium nor a paint thinner. As ab effective oil out..the cso paint
glides effortlessly on the surface of the support, and stays as placed.

HOW DO YOU MAKE AGUADO?
The AGUADO mixture is made of 1 part of the fast drying Superior oil with 1and1/2 parts of Calcium Carbonate
Chalk from Champagne France. It must be ground on a grinding table then stored in a capped jar. Adding chalk and
oil in a jar and stirring causes lumps.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO METHODS -- AGUADO and EMULSIONS?
The early Flemish paintings by the Van Eycks and others were generally - not always- of small size and on wood
panels. The smooth wood support and the method used... allowed micro-fine details with great versimilitude in the
photo realistic effects. The CSO/EMULSIONS method can duplicate those effects and the wonderful paint quality.
This is done without any use of Driers, Varnishes, Resins or Solvents. It depends in great part on the SUPERIOR oil
my book and site describe. The two EMULSIONS I developed are truly a 'Wonder Medium", and are an integral part
of the method.
HOWEVER- the 2 emulsions MUST be applied in a special way. This application method takes a bit of time to get it
right. This application method is ideal for smaller easel paintings up to 24" X 30" , but if an artist is faced with a 6
foot tall canvas, the task is daunting.

The huge Baroque paintings like those of Rubens required an easier method. These are the reasons for the
development of the CSO/AGUADO method.....Speed, Efficiency and Ease. My development of AGUADO occurred
through normal evolution of time and need. Only by using the perfected CSO/Emulsions method over several years,
experiencing its specific requirements and needs as I painted with it, and as were expressed to me by others, was it
then possible to understand the need for expansion, then to think, test, and develop.

The CSO/ AGUADO method could not have been developed WITHOUT first developing the
CALCITE SUN OIL/ EMULSIONS mixtures, the development of its application methods, and proving its value by
actual painting.

I am very excited of this breakthrough development. I have painted with it and I am amazed at its power.
Though there are some ratio mixture tests yet to be made, the method is simple and fool proof.

PAINTINGS MADE WITH CALCITE SUN OIL/ AGUADO

AGUADO = A HISTORY OF ITS DEVELOPMENT
Since the year 2000, when I unknowingly began this now 9 year trek of the Calcite Sun Oil / Emulsions method, I have never
HURRIED, nor even been concerned with the OUTCOME. Every step , every new DEVELOPMENT, each happened on its own time.
After having painted almost 45 years with TAUBES' resin solvent method I had NO IDEA I was to write a book ,
and less so, on OIL PAINTING WITHOUT Frederic Taubes' SOLVENTS, RESINS, VARNISHES and DRIERS.

NOTHING could have been farther from my mind. YET, now 9 years later, here I sit with a published book focusing precisely on
those important issues. Since 2004, because of my book, many very fine and great artists around the world, are now thinking more
about the oil they use, and about the oil in their tube oil paints, and about the REVOLUTION happing today : OIL PAINTING
WITHOUT HAZARDOUS SOLVENTS and without the other hazardous materials.

Several times during this long trek, I have said to myself, "I AM FINISHED!". Only to be awaken to the fact that I was NOT finished.
The rest break times were important. I am a slow contemplative type thinking person. I dream concepts at night with answers and
solutions coming slowly during the day.

I HAVE met many fine painters across the globe because they bought my book and through numerous letters we became fast
friends. I have only met a couple who had an axe to grind, but the rest were respectful, gracious and very knowledgeable about oil
painting. Recently, I met Mr. MAURICIO FERNANDEZ- GUTTIEREZ whose fine paintings can be seen at :
www.mauriciogallery.com . This fine painter is a resident of the 450 year old, but modern city of PUEBLA, MEXICO .
During our conversations he brought up one VERY GOOD QUESTION, about the CSO/EMULSIONS method. He asked how it would
be used in large mural sized paintings. Of course he was referring to the method described in my book on the application method
of the ' OIL OUT' with the EMULSION.

MY FIRST RESPONSE was that the Old Masters had WORKSHOPS with working students to do the menial labor. They were in the
business of earning money, and teaching. They hired their finest students to help them complete commissions. Rubens had a huge
WAREHOUSE studio in Antwerp, Belgium. I have seen it inside and out. The grinding of colors, preparation of paint, preparation of
canvas and panels ...was NOT done by master Rubens...as neither was the grisaille underpainting. OF COURSE there were
paintings he did on his own -and his letters show he offered them at a higher price.

BUT, I TOOK MAURICIO'S comment serious. There is a huge difference--in SIZE--between the small paintings of the Flemish
masters of the 15th century, and those HUGE paintings by the BAROQUE master RUBENS in the 17th century. THIS FACT, led me
to develop an EXPANSION of my original CSO/EMULSIONS method, which uses the EMULSION as the 'OIL OUT". Those who do
not know, this EMULSION must be applied correctly, and the detailed instructions are in my book. The application takes time and
one works on relatively smaller areas. a 30X40 inch painting appears very HUGE with this method. YET, the original
CSO/EMULSIONS method is a method of perfection, allowing the finest detailed work and an ease and CONTROL of the paint not
equaled by the SOLVENT-RESIN methods.

A SECOND THING happened AT THE SAME TIME as Mauricio's question.
THIS was my development of a SIMPLIFIED method to teach HIGH SCHOOL students NON SOLVENT oil painting on a shoestring
budget, WITHOUT THE EMULSION and WITHOUT THE SUPERIOR OIL. The challenge caused me several trials and many errors. I
finally did develop a workable method, and in a year or two when I do revise my book, It will be included in detail.

NOW. BACK TO PROFESSIONAL PAINTERS
INTRODUCING the new, " AGUADO" mixture of oil and chalk.

THE REMAINDER OF THIS ESSAY WILL DESCRIBE THE EXPANSION OF THE CSO/EMULSIONS METHOD.
This advancement can be used by painters who paint LARGE paintings, as it allows speed. Yes, it can also be used in making
small paintings too. HERE IT IS:

1. PREPARATION OF THE SUPPORT: Of course the support, whatever you paint on, MUST BE SEALED, MADE COMPLETELY
NON ABSORBENT. There are several ways to isolate the priming ground. My book gives several.

2. DRAWING: Drawing can be done wet or dry. WE KNOW VELAZQUEZ did not draw with pencil, charcoal, nor ink..as VAN EYCK
did. Velazquez drew with a medium dark paint [ not black]. After Rubens met Velazquez in 1628- Velazquez switched to light colored
pale grounds- like Rubens used. After draw-painting his dark image, Velazquez scratched guiding lines into the wet dark paint.
They served him as a guide. These were easily covered up [ but 350 years later the translucency of the paint allows us to see the
scratch lines].

3. AGUADO OIL OUT= The oil out process serves many important functions. I have named it "AGUADO" in order to identify it and
to be able to discuss it. The word, " AGUADO" is Spanish for ' THIN" , as in when a liquid mixture is very loose and thinned.
ITS OPPOSITE WOULD BE " THICK".

HERE IS HOW TO USE "AGUADO" as the oil out.
USING the superior oil , GRIND the chalk with the oil RATIO: 1 part oil ...with... 1and 1/2 parts chalk.
APPLY it to the support with a wide brush.
WIPE IT DOWN evenly, removing all excess, with a rag, it becomes colorless.
You will note that the chalk causes the fluid viscous oil to remain where it is placed.

To those of you who have my recent copy of my book, dated October 2008, on page 53 ,under the heading ; ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION, you will note it says " The Calcium Carbonate, like the egg, adds body and provides stability to the paint,
preventing sagging or dripping".
The next paragraph describes how to use CSO as an OIL OUT. When I wrote this, my experiments had proven
what I wrote --but I had not envisioned at that time, this expanded use of this mixture named, "AGUADO".

This use of AGUADO is a wonderful expansion of the CSO/EMULSIONS method. IT DOES NOT ELIMINATE the use of the VISCOUS
or the NON VISCOUS EMULSIONS, but rather COMPLIMENTS and EXPANDS the CSO METHOD ... making it more versatile.

-Louis R. Velasquez , July 4, 2009

LOUIS PAINTS A PORTRAIT WITH THE
CSO/AGUADO METHOD - July 4 and 5 , 2009
This painting is now featured on the new DVD.
Here I show only a couple of photos

SUPPORT: 12 INCH x 12 INCH, 1/2 inch birch plywood. Traditional Rabbit
skin glue size, and traditional Rabbit skin glue gesso made with Calcium
Carbonate.
One coat of Size, Two thin coats of gesso. One thin gray coat of Size to
seal the ABSORBENT gesso, to render it NON-ABSORBENT. IT is VERY
important to isolate the gesso so it will NOT remove oil from the paint.
There is NO NEED to create a MECHANICAL LOCK. If your eyes could for a
moment see at the microscopic level, you would see the gesso is full of
cavities. A layer of glue does not fill those cavities as liquids conform to the
shape of their surface.

UNDERDRAW : VELAZQUEZ would not have drawn with a pencil. He drew
with the dark paint. I drew the image with pencil. I did not fix it.
I mixed a little VENETIAN RED TUBE PAINT with the AGUADO, to give it a
warm color on the GRAY gesso. I brushed the AGUADO mixture on the
surface with a wide brush. I used a rag to wipe it evenly. Excess was
removed. This took seconds. INTO THIS wet paint film, I continued the next
step.

UNDERPAINT: I believe in leaving BLACK to the finish stage. One gets all
the darks one needs by mixing BURNT UMBER and ULTRAMARINE BLUE
in equal amounts. AS with the CSO method, one mixes 50/50 of the CSO
with the tube paint. THIS creates a viscous sticky paint. A BRISTLE BRUSH
is needed to underpaint as it easily moves the viscous paint. The viscous
paint blends extraordinarily easy, yet the CSO mixture keeps all
brushmarks sharp if not blended. I used this darkpaint to define the image
and some shadows.
I mixed what I call a HALF-WHITE. This is a mixture of Titanium Dioxide
WHITE TUBE OIL PAINT with enough BURNT UMBER to about a level 3 or
4 on a VALUE scale [ PURE WHITE is 1 and PURE BLACK is 10]. This
HALF-WHITE keeps the white value in check and eliminates the CHALKY
white effect. WITH THIS half white I painted
into the wet paint and created what is known by many names: DEAD
COLOR/ MONOTONE/ GRISAILLE. I put in some arrows to show the pencil
drawing. VAN EYCK would have made a detailed pencil drawing and would
have carefully INKED it. I draw with loose gestures.
THE SMALL PHOTO shows the loose dark background.

USING VELAZQUEZ technique, I used the brush end to scratch a DOVE will
completely cover up the lines..until hundreds of years later-as the oil paint
becomes more translucent..the lines will peek through thin paint.

I used two brushes.
One a 1/4 inch ROUND BRISTLE and the other a thin fine sable.
THE LINES OF THE FEATHER were scratched into the wet paint. Light
colored paint applied with the thin sable brush are visible.

AGAIN, THIS IS A DEMONSTRATION, but the underpainting stage is easily
done. It is smooth, fast, unhindered. Very little blending is required
because the bristle brush easily blends the viscous CSO PAINT.
THIXOTROPY is a wonderful quality. You can see the fine wet LIGHT
COLORED paint lines are painted ON TOP OF the wet DARK PAINT
LAYERS. They blend as one wishes. LINES and brushmarks are at your
command. You can leave them sharp or blend them smooth...easily.

THIS WAS THE END OF THE FIRST DAYS WORK. THIS
BEGAN AT 11AM and FINISHED ONE HOUR LATER.

THE NEXT DAY - 20 HOURS LATER / AT 8 AM-
I BEGAN TO OVER PAINT IN FULL COLOR.
The paint from the previous day was dry.
This FANTASTIC quality is one of the benefits of the SUPERIOR OIL of the
OLD MASTERS . I use no additives to my oil. It certainly helps to paint with
UMBER and ULTRAMARINE BLUE in the lower stages as these colors are
fast drying colors. MIXING the umber with the white helps dry the white
paint- known to be always a slow drying color. THE CSO METHOD is NOT
impacted by the FAT ON LEAN principle. The essay above explains why.

EACH OF THE TUBE COLORS was mixed with CSO.
The surface was brushed with AGUADO and wiped evenly.
THE OIL OUT APPLICATION IS EASY .

IN THE SPACE OF one and a half hours,
I finished the COLOR STAGE , the painting to the right.
The other details show the scratch lines that defined the dove, which
are covered. The lines of the branches are left visible on purpose..
THE FINISH STAGE [ not shown here ]
COMES NEXT
It is the hardest yet most rewarding part.
That of living with the painting, seeing it everyday under normal family
conditions. Hearing the comments of others
and, more important seeing ALL THE BAD THINGS I DO NOT LIKE in the
painting. Also, IN MY sleep I solution the difficulties of the painting. I am
never in a hurry to FINISH the painting. This stage is where the glazes, the
fine details, the corrections are slowly made. It is seemingly never ending.

DURING this stage ,
I RECOMMEND switching to the VISCOUS EGG GLAIR /OIL EMULSIONS as
the OIL OUT MEDIUM.

THE AGUADO is 98% TRANSPARENT.
THE VISCOUS EMULSION is 100% TRANSPARENT.

ANOTHER CSO/AGUADO PAINTING
PETER PAUL RUBENS was the most influential painter on VELAZQUEZ' method of painting. In 1628, Rubens visited Madrid
for 8 months. On RUBENS' advice, VELAZQUEZ switched to pale colored grounds, leaving behind the mid toned darkish
dull red of his teacher. The pale grounds in combination with VELAZQUEZ' use of calcium carbonate mixtures in his paint
created the beauty of his paint. History records the absolutely incredible number of paintings RUBENS made in those 8
months. It is very clear to me that IT WAS HIS OIL and his THIXOTROPIC METHOD of application and layering that allowed
him to do this. I take nothing away from his prodigious skill, which I believe is unequalled by anyone...including HALS or
VELAZQUEZ. MY painting below is made with the same superior FAST drying oil RUBENS used, and shows the flowing lines
and energy found in RUBENS' work.

Modern science clearly shows RUBENS - like VELAZQUEZ and REMBRANDT- added Calcium Carbonate to his oil paint.
As of this date I am unaware of HOW VELAZQUEZ discovered the use of Calcium Carbonate additives to his paint. It is found
in his earliest works painted after leaving his teacher PACHECO, dated c.1619. I have found no evidence in PACHECO'S
book of use of Calcium Carbonate in the paint. Science shows Rubens used a mixture like AGUADO.. for his OIL OUT, as
well as another mixture similar to the CSO- VISCOUS EMULSION.

THE LION AND THE BIRD

THIS PAINTING IS NOW
FEATURED ON THE NEW DVD
OIL PAINTING
WITH CALCITE SUN OIL

DAY ONE : 7/17/09
1/2 inch birch plywood. Sealed with one coat of clear
Rabbit Skin Glue. Two thin coats of Traditional coat
of clear Rabbit Skin Glue

NO UNDERDRAWING. Oil out with AGUADO.
Tube paint mixed with CSO 50/50. The image was
painted in one color. Venetian Red. Scratch marks
to define vague areas serve as an invisible drawing
that will be covered.

END OF DAY ONE. ALLOWED TO DRY OVERNIGHT

DAY TWO= 7/18= NEXT DAY The paint was dry.
You are ready for the next layer when a vigorous oil
out application of the AGUADO with a bristle brush
and wiping off of excess agauado...will not smear
the underpaint layer from yesterday.

I do not use BLACK in any underlayers. I use PURE
BLACK only in the FINISH STAGE.
I make a DARK color by mixing equal amounts of
BURNT UMBER and ULTRAMARINE BLUE tube
paint. I use OLD HOLLAND brand..
IT is mixed 50/50 with CSO. This gives the weak soft
tube paint ..a luster and hardness in drying and the
CSO gives it the reqisite VISCOSITY to allow
THIXOTROPIC applications of WET paint on top of
WET PAINT.

The dark paint, is thin and with a bristle brush and
on the aguado oil out it glides effortlessly on the
surface.
NOTE: I now have the THREE important tones...
the pale gray from the toned gesso (as Rubens did],
The mid tone of the Venetian Red. and the DARK
tone. The grisalle seen next, is an important tone.

INTO this wet surface I began to paint in some local
color--the tan of the lion..the blue of the back
ground, and some GRISAILLE in the bird and areas
of the lion.
I do not use PURE WHITE for good reasons.
I make a 'half-white" which is a mix of Burnt Umber
and White [ your choice, I use Titanium Dioxide]
* The umber accelerates the drying of the white and
any raised impasto
* The lowered value of the half-white keeps the
VALUES in check., and increases color variety

THIS STRUCTURE was allowed to dry over night

DAY THREE = 7/19
The paint was dry and I applied the AGUADO OIL
OUT.

ALL colors except BLACK were mixed with CSO.
The painting progressed with some details and
improvement of textures, etc.

DAY FOUR : 7/20
The next day the paint was dry. Oil out with
AGUADO. All colors mixed with CSO.
PURE BLACK WAS USED FOR THE FIRST TIME.
The painting is 90% finished.
As time permits, the next steps will be to continue
the color development.

7/21/09= I did no work on the painting.

The ultra thin ' oil out' with the VISCOUS EMULSION
is a PERMANENT LAYER of the painting. DO NOT
CONFUSE it with removable resin varnishes of
dammar that become yellow and last only 40 years
and require removal and replacement. THE
VISCOUS EMULSION oil out film is part of the
ACTUAL PAINTING. It is PERMANENT.
IT DRIES to a crystal NON YELLOWING FILM,
as all thin films of flax/linseed oil will,
when exposed to sunny rooms.

WHERE the AGUADO is subdued in sheen,
THE VISCOUS EMULSION dries to a HARD, 100%
crystal clear, non yellowing, PERMANENT satin
sheen, that fully shows the depth and luster of the
CSO PAINT.

I RECOMMEND that when an AGUADO 'oil out'
is used in the painting....
that a FINAL ultra-thin layer of the
VISCOUS EMULSION should be applied.

1. THE AGUADO MIXTURE IS REALLY BUT A THINNED
SMALL AMOUNT OF CHALK...THEREFORE, IT IS
FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH THE TWO EMULSIONS.
they can be used together in the same painting.

2. SINCE THE AGUADO MIXTURE IS 98%
TRANSPARENT,
AND SINCE THE EMULSIONS ARE 100%
TRANSPARENT,
I RECOMMEND USING THE EMULSIONS AS THE OIL
OUT ON VERY FINE DETAILED WORK AND ON THE
FINAL FINISH LAYERS.

3. THE EMULSION OIL OUT HAS MORE USES AND
WILL ACCOMPLISH SOME THINGS THE AGUADO
WILL NOT.
BY GRINDING THE EMULSION WITH IMPASTO PAINT ,
THE EMULSION WILL PREVENT WRINKLING -
WHEREAS THE ADDED VISCOUS OIL OF THE
AGUADO TO THICK IMPASTO WILL NOT.
THE EMULSIONS CAN BE USED TO THIN THE PAINT
THE EMULSION WILL BE PREFERRED FOR FINE
DETAIL TECHNIQUES