Oil Paintings

Oil painting is an ancient technique that can be traced back to the earliest civilizations. This technique has continuously been redeveloped over the centuries into present day oil painting. Oil painting involves a process that must be understood to be able to paint better. The process itself is not complicated. The world is full of several artists who developed their skills in paintings. Oil painting portraits became increasingly popular in European countries over the next few centuries, with masters such as Rembrandt in Holland and Gainsborough in Britain completing some of their most famous and exquisite portraits. In the 18th and 19th centuries, American artists completed important works of art.

The Importance of Oil Painting
The great painters and the artists of the past chose to work on oil paintings because it rendered a very realistic output. The paintings differed from those produced by water colors, because the oil paintings looked very rich and attractive.

Oil paintings originated during the middle ages, when the requirement for waterproof painting was at the peak. Great artists opted for oil paintings because of their durability and long lasting resistance. Thanks to those great men because of the usage of oil paints only, we are able to enjoy the stupendous collection of various artists.

Painting In Oils
The first step in your production of oil paintings is to make sure that the area in which you are going to paint is well ventilated. You need a window or door that can be opened as you work, a good fan and a space that is fairly open so air is able to circulate.

If you are going to work on your oil paintings outside you'll have to be able to secure everything so the wind doesn't end up blowing things all over. Keep in mind that bees, and various other insects will flock to your citrus thinner.

The first thing to do is put down your drop cloth, your tarp, your plastic bag and so forth. Secure the edges of each by using masking tape. This will keep it from getting bunched up. You're going to set up your oil paintings work area on the drop cloth so make sure the area is roomy enough for your comfort. If you are going to work on your oil paintings with a table easel set up on a table, you'll want to cover the floor below the table top and the place where you will stand or sit.

Before you start painting your oils, don your paint attire - gloves included. You'll need one container that has paint thinner and one container that holds a combination of two parts paint thinner and one part walnut oil. These containers should be about three inches high and two inches around. Each should be filled to the half way mark. You'll need a comfortable set up with an easy reach for your paint palette and knife, your brushes, the two containers, as well as paint rags and tubes.

Now set up the paints you'll use for your oil paintings. If you have a variety of colors, you don't need all of them squeezed out onto your paint palette. Start with just two or three colors. If your choices are only primary colors, then squeeze out onto your palette a dime size spot of cadmium red, yellow and blue. Space them as far from each other on the palette as possible, as if you are putting dots on the three points of a triangle. In the center of this paint triangle squeeze a nickel-size spot of Titanium white oil paint. Next use your knife to mix these colors.

Rigors Of Oil Paintings
Oil painting is said to consume a lot of work because it does not dry up easily, and if the artists wants to paint in layers, he must wait for the paints to dry at each level which may devour a week. The oils employed would dry at their own pace. The artist will be able to make changes during the dry period of the painting, which is impossible in water paintings. Oil paintings do no dry through evaporation, they have to be oxidized. And then these paints are varnished after six months or a year. Some art conservators consider an oil painting to be dry only after its 60-80 years old.

Oil paintings reached the pinnacle during the renaissance, where artists began to select wooden panels as their base medium. They would stretch their canvas over the wooden panel. Artists used a variety of brushes to produce different kinds of unique effects, knives and blades were also used. Some artists painted with their fingers too.

Oil Paintings Today
Oil painting is an astonishing art form and even today there are many artists who work fabulously on oil paints. But now there are more sophisticated tools to produce oil paintings such as water miscible oil paints. These paints can be thinned and cleaned up with water rather than using the turpentine. Earlier turpentine was used as a cleaner in oil paintings. These water miscible oil paints reduce the deep odor of toxic chemicals. Those days artist coated a blended mixture on the canvas before they started painting, this was done to protect the canvas from the toxic nature of the paints. But now all these safety measures are less required.