Practice question · Sort into groups
Sort each decision by whether it obeys the rule of fat over lean or breaks it.
Groups: Obeys fat over lean · Breaks fat over lean
- A final glaze carrying more medium than any layer below it
- A lean retouch over a passage finished two weeks ago in a fat medium
- Each successive layer a little thicker than the one beneath it
- A thin scumble of stiff, solvent-thinned paint over a still-soft impasto
Hints
- Anything that puts the faster, harder drier on top is breaking the rule.
- Thickness follows the same argument as oil content.
Show the answer
Obeys fat over lean: Each successive layer a little thicker than the one beneath it, A final glaze carrying more medium than any layer below it
Breaks fat over lean: A thin scumble of stiff, solvent-thinned paint over a still-soft impasto, A lean retouch over a passage finished two weeks ago in a fat medium
Why
The last item is the one that catches people, because it feels like a small repair rather than a layer. It is a layer, it is leaner than what it sits on, and it will craze first, which is why retouching is done with a medium at least as fat as the passage being repaired.
Practise Oil, Fat Media and the Rule of Fat Over Lean
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