Oil Paint

Keywords :

Oil painting

Oil paint is the only paint, which by drying slowly, lets you retouch the work several days after you've painted with it originally. It's the oil that serves to bind together the layers of paint and slows down the drying process in general.

Invented long before the Renaissance, the mother of all painting styles certainly deserves its reputation! You will quickly fall for the richness and smoothness of the subject that's painted in this way.

Caution: the strong smell of the thinner can be harmful. Asthma sufferes should steer clear.

The advantages of oil painting

You can work on it over a long period.
Strong and resistant colours.

Supplies

Tools

Palette or piece of card.
Tubes of oil paint. NB: To start off, get a range of base colours that you can add to as you go along.
Turpentine to dilute the paint and cleanse the material. NB: Turpentine is toxic and flammable.

Long-haired paintbrush: rounded brushes and paintbrushes, that are small and fine.
Blade
Piece of cloth
Shirt

Materials

Canvas or cardboard wrapped with canvas (less expensive than a frame wrapped with canvas)
Paper towels
Scrap paper to make many attempts

Directions

Choose a well-ventilated room.
Mix your colours together, using the turpentine to dilute the mixture to help you.
NB: From the moment it leaves the tube until the moment it dries, oil paint changes its appearance. Have a few goes with it in order to get used to these changes before you start on a big project.
Below are examples of what you can get by playing around with paint thickener and thinner.
Depending on how much you thin the paint, it can take any time between a week and a month to dry.