by Norman Stratford

Created on: September 09, 2010   Last Updated: September 11, 2010

Painting in oils is very versatile and it is possible to consider the painting at stages in development . The initial situation is obtaining a surface that is likeable to your needs as a painter. It is easy to buy a ready made prepared canvas from an art suppliers, yet it is possible to use paper, cardboard, cotton duck, flax, hessian, linen, and wood. These are all acceptable forms for oils.

The next consideration is the priming of the material and recently it is Acrylic paint, but many years ago it was rabbit skin glue. The more coats of primer used can make the canvas more absorbent and therefore faster drying. There is also a difference in the tooth of the canvas giving a smooth or a rough surface to work on.

Perhaps we could say that there is a drawing stage and this is when the painter wants a few outlines and measurements. This can be done in Charcoal or a water based paint. Some people prefer to paint it with the major color at first in thin wash using very little oil and just turpentine.

The oil paints have the ingredients for painting already prepared in the tubes and it is possible to buy a medium that would suit your needs. Linseed oil is the usual one that is used, however, it is perhaps worthwhile to try out others such as quick drying liquin or Dutch stand oil. Suppliers could have a combination of oil and varnish that is also available.

The craft of painting in oils is to start thin, go thick and finish thin. The process is the gradual application of paint, however if the paint is used thick at the start then the process is wet into wet. This means that the thick paint can be mixed directly on the canvas without the use of a palette. Paint can be mixed up first into the color required, or can be used like glazes. It may be that the drying time is longer by using thick paint called impasto. It is added by knife or a loaded brush directly onto the canvas.

Once the surface of the painting has to much, it can be scrapped off or if a little needs to be removed then it is possible to just put the newspaper there to absorb some the paint.

The painting can resume and it is usually done via the bristle brushes, flat, round and filbert. We can have a very distinct brush mark or not depending on the person creating the painting, in fact he does not need to even use the brush and could use his finger or hand.!

White Titanium is often used for lightening colors, however it used to be lead white or flake white. Materials that come from the suppliers such as

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