|
Painting in oils requires more than just oil paints. How much more? Well, that depends on what you want to achieve, and most especially how patient you are! As we all know, most things in life which are worth having need to be worked at, and that usually means being patient with the associated activities. Painting is much the same – but the great satisfaction one can achieve from learning to paint is worth the patience and effort one puts in. In learning to accomplish something there is always a learning by doing element. But where painting is concerned that, in itself, can be a source of great pleasure. The first picture I painted looked like someone had stepped on a few tubes of paint! The second one looked as if the tubes might have been arranged before they were stepped on! But the third really did bear a recognizable resemblance to what I was trying to represent. Patience… Compared to other mediums, such as acrylics and watercolours, oil paint generally takes much longer to dry. How much longer depends on such factors as how thickly the paint has been applied. Nature of the pigment is also important because some colours dry faster than others. Titanium White, for example, is a fast dryer. But for any colour, the more thickly one applies the paint the longer it will take to dry. And one is storing up trouble for the future by adding more paint when that underneath is not fully dry. An initial layer of paint must be thoroughly dry before adding more if subsequent sagging and cracking is to be avoided. …And Ways Around The Problem So this really is something in which one needs to be patient. On the other hand, many artists work on more than one painting at the same time. Hence, having spent, say, a couple of hours on a painting which then needs time to dry, one can carry on with another, and so forth. That also keeps the activity varied. All that said there are ways to accelerate the drying process. One way is to buy Winsor & Newton’s Griffin Alkyd oil paint. Alkyd resin and solvent is used in the suspension of the oil pigment, which reduces drying time. The paint will dry in a day or a couple of days depending on atmospheric conditions and which pigment has been used. And it can be possible to complete an oil painting in one session. There are also fast drying mediums available which one mixes with the oil paint to shorten drying time. An example is Artisan Fast Drying Medium. Liquin Original not only improves the flow of paint but also cuts drying time by approximately half. Linseed oil is often used by artists to thin out oil paint, especially when additional coats of paint are being applied to prevent subsequent cracking, but Drying Linseed Oil will also accelerate drying time. Liquin Oleopasto is a medium, which is fast drying and does not yellow with time. Most suppliers of artist’s materials carry a range of drying accelerants and their catalogues (often available through the internet) describe their individual characteristics and uses. This is also so for paints themselves; many reputable manufacturers of oil paints have web sites which provide swatches of their actual colours plus various characteristics of the paints. Using thin layers of paint will also shorten drying time. An example of this is when using a glazing technique where very thin layers of paint are used. Due to their thinness, the paint dries very quickly. So, although patience is still needed, it is possible to reduce its necessity somewhat. But as soon as you begin to see the results of your efforts, that will largely cease to be a problem. This article is copyright but may be reproduced providing that all this information is included. This will take you to paintingsinoil.co.uk main page of original images painted by A K Whitehead. All the paintings in oil here are by A K Whitehead, who is aself-taught artist, and are original oils and not copies. The approach is traditional, making use of various techniques, including impasto and glazing. This link will take you to the main categories of landscapes, seascapes, snowscapes, waterscapes and still life and all are provided with free frames and fastenings. Free delivery is also included within the UK.
Related Articles -
Drying time, glazing, fast drying medium, drying linseed oil, griffin alkyd oil paint, oil paint, painting in oils.,
| 
