Description
This version of Tom's quartz ground has an additional red earth pigment - providing a warm, muted red, hue. Slightly more matte in finish and stiffer in its working consistency when compared to the other two varieties.
The painting ground was developed and handmade by Tom Robertson - it is based on a unique historical ground Rembrandt was known to have used - it is also a simple formula which is exceptionally robust and performs very well.
Very refreshing to use against the backdrop of ubiquitous acrylic grounds - like many of Tom's products, it can open new doors in working practice.
With a generic, modern, acrylic ground you apply it and that is it, maybe you can slightly adjust the smoothness, with this the ground becomes an integral part of the painting process, and the options for the final painting surface are limited only by imagination. It also avoids the slightly incongruent plastic/oil paint combination.
The ground is absorbent and very flexible.
Applied with a palette knife rather than a brush - this gives scope for manipulating the painting surface in many different ways - adding texture or smoothing it as it dries enabling a polished finish - which remarkably (I tried it on a panel) still has 'tooth' or drag even when extremely smooth.
Designed to go onto a traditional size such as rabbit skin glue - I have also used it on PVA and acrylic sized supports with no issues. It is an absorbent ground, so any concerns about 'sinking in' can be mitigated by a final application of varnish.
For use with all oil paints, however it has a particular harmony with Tom's paints such as his lead white substitute. Highly recommended for all the indirect painters out there!
Oil Painting Ground
