When a new canvas is started, as little paint as possible should be applied. When the paint is put on too thickly, it is almost impossible to put on a second layer before the first layer is dry. The best brush to start with is a wide flat one of 3 to 7 cm made of white silk or pig's bristles. The paint is not diluted with medium or turpentine. You only dilute, if you work with thin brushes 0 and 00. The paint can then be used as ink, for example to paint twigs of trees, blades of grass and hay. The canvas can also be primed in such a way that the oils keep the paint wet, penetrate more or less the undercoat. This makes it possible to apply a second layer without mixing the coats of paint.

To work canvas yourself you have to proceed in the following manner: You need unprocessed linen (preferably double-woven), lime, powdered chalk and water. First, the canvas is mounted loosely on the square canvas stretcher. Take into account that linen shrinks 10% when processed. The large sizes (from 60 x 70 cm) must therefore be mounted quite loosely. Once the canvas is mounted, there are three phases.

First phase. The oil that is in the paint must not come into contact with the linen. That's why a protective coat must be applied. This coat consists of size of 70 gr. lime per liter of water. To make size you let the lime grains soak one night in cold water. When you heat (don't boil) and stir it, the lime dissolves easily. The size is applied to the linen with a wide brush.

Second phase. When the first coat is quite dry, it is brushed lightly. Powdered chalk is added to the size. 3Ž4 liter of chalk is added to 1 liter of water. This mixture is applied on the first coat.

Third phase. When the second coat is quite dry, brush it lightly again. Add chalk to size that only contains 40 gr. of lime per liter. Add at least 2 liters of chalk to 1 liter of size. Thus you obtain a pulp that is just liquid enough to be applied easily and yet gives a few millimeters of coating. When the third coat is quite dry, it can be brushed. First brush with coarse, then with fine sandpaper.To process and apply the different coats the mixtures must be heated. Be careful to keep the temperature under the boiling point.

Most paint brands offer different qualities, expensive and less expensive ones. A lot of painters think they have to use the most expensive paint to obtain the best results. Nothing is further from the truth: you have to use the paint that  suits your purpose best. Expensive paint contains a lot of dye and little filler such as chalk, beeswax or cork. This paint has a strong color power and is only meant to be applied very thinly. For example, in order to glaze or to neutralize strong colors. Some will work with a palette knife and spread the paint too thickly on the canvas. The expensive paint will crack quickly for lack of fillers, but the cheaper qualities have enough body to keep the applied coat of paint in perfect condition.

It is also good to know that the properties of some paints don't allow wrong treatment. Zinc white, for example does not lose color, but has the tendency to crack. Titanium white, on the contrary, is elastic but turns yellow. Consequently titanium white is suitable for the undercoat, whereas zinc white is suitable for the upper coats. I always use cremser white, which combines the good properties of the paints mentioned above. If you apply a good coat of varnish, it remains colorfast.

My color palette is limited to the 15 colors below:

• Cerulean Blue
• Ultramarine Blue Deep
• Burnt Umber
• Burnt Sienna
• Naples Yellow
• Cadmium Orange
• Permanent Green
• White
• Viridian
• Yellow Ochre
• Indian Yellow
• Cadmium Red Deep
• Cobalt Violet Deep
• Black
• Madderlake Light

I use few brushes to paint. It is advisable to have a second specimen of each size: one for the light and one for the dark colors, in order to avoid constant cleaning. I prefer working with flat brushes of 3 and 7 cm, a sable's hair pencil or imitation of 10 mm, an 0 and a wiper (long hairs of 3 cm n°4).

Always place the canvas level and perpendicular and never let the sun shine on the canvas while painting in free nature. Painting is to be done under mediocre circumstances, never with perfect light, because when a painting hangs somewhere inside a house the light is never perfect. A painting should always be made with a lighting that is less good than the lighting in the place where it is finally hung.

When painting a landscape, the horizon should not be in the middle, but on 1/3 or 2/3 of the canvas. However, when high trees or nearby houses are to be painted, the horizon must be low. As the horizon is always at eye level, a tree or house would barely come above the horizon if the horizon is high and would thus only be two or three meters high. When the sky is dark, the landscape must be light and vice versa. You have to do this in order to obtain the contrast that is needed for the authenticity and strength of the entity. To obtain the depth in a landscape, everything in the background has to be painted vaguely, in form and color. The foreground should be painted with contrast. A meadow in the foreground can be painted really dark at the bottom, with a light green part above. To sum up: in the foreground a lot of contrast is used, in the background only a little.

It is very important to know that color changes according to the ground on which it is painted. Orange is quite different on a white ground than on a green one. Green on a red ground is different than on a white one. Blue on yellow-orange gives a much warmer shade than blue on white. I always paint a dark red coat under everything that must be green, like trees and meadows. I paint the ground of bricks and tiles dark green and the ground of skies warm yellow-orange. It is good to know that a lot can be achieved with a Grey color, made of ultramarine blue, umber stained and white. When a painting comes across as too heavy, its edge can be coated lightly with Grey, which is applied on a dry brush of 7 cm. The points of light (Naples yellow, white or orange) which give life to a painting are applied toward the end. The effect can be heightened by putting a dark small stripe under a point of light.

It is important that not everything is developed in detail. When all the bricks in a wall are developed in detail, it will soon become boring to look at it. It is better to paint a few bricks clearly and others only vaguely. Thus the spectator can finish the image himself and will think that he sees all the bricks.

The painter must not be tempted to put immediately on canvas everything he sees. First he must study the composition of the subject. I divide the work of a painting in three phases.

A great artist once said he looked at his works as if they were painted by his worst enemy. That seems exaggerated to me, because being too critical is as inadvisable as being not critical enough. Instead of working on a painting endlessly, I try to learn from my mistakes and to avoid them in the next painting.

How can a painting be judged in the best way? A good criterion is the opinion of an outsider, someone who is a layman in the art of painting. Another method is to put the painting upside down or to look at its mirror image. When I work on a painting for a long time, I sometimes start something new to be able to look at my work with a fresh view.

About the author: Belgian artist Leon Engelen creates his paintings based on his observations of nature and life. Visit his web site at http://www.engelen.com/.