Introduction to Oil Painting Techniques
by: Ralph Serpe
Oil paint is an amazing versatile medium.
It can be applied in a thick buttery fashion
or thinned down to a watery consistency.
This versatility opens the door to a number
of different painting techniques.
My personal preference is to begin my oil
paintings by first sketching out the composition
using acrylic paint or with water-soluble
oil paints. The popular approach to oil painting
is to thin the paint with turpentine to apply
your initial layers. Turpentine is quite toxic
and I prefer not to work with it. Acrylic
or water-soluble oil paints can be thinned
down with plain old water and are more pleasant
to work with in my opinion.
You can also begin your oil painting by first
drawing out your composition. There are a
few drawing mediums that work quite nicely
with oil paints. My two favorites are vine
charcoal and water-soluble pencils. I prefer
vine charcoal because it doesn't smudge like
other charcoals and it can be erased easier.
Water-soluble pencils are wonderful because
they can be applied like ordinary colored
pencils and can also be dampened with a brush
allowing you to spread out the color.
If you are the impatient type, you may want
to try your hand at the Alla Prima oil painting
technique. The Alla Prima method is when you
complete the painting in one sitting rather
than paint in layers and wait for the paint
to dry. Although I usually prefer to work
out my paintings in layers, I occasionally
enjoy this exciting and spontaneous approach
to oil painting.
If you are the careful, patient type of painter,
you may be interested in working with glazes.
Glazing has lost popularity these days, partly
because of the time needed to complete such
a painting and it's difficulty, but the results
are something truly unique to any other type
of painting technique. The composition is
first painted with an opaque monochrome underpainting,
usually in shades of gray. After this initial
underpainting is thoroughly dry, thin layers
of transparent oil glazes are applied. Colors
are not mixed directly but added in separate
layers to get the desired color.
If you are the adventurous type, put the
brushes aside and try a set of painting or
palette knives. You can achieve some very
interesting results with knives that aren't
possible with brushes. The oil paint can be
spread on thickly and scraped off with ease.
What I enjoy most about using knives is the
tendency to not focus on the small details.
I am forced to paint in a more relaxed fashion
that creates an impressionist style painting.
Get yourself a set of painting knives and
try to complete an entire painting with just
the knives. It's challenging at first if you
are used to brushes, but it's an enjoyable
exercise.
Perhaps you would like your painting to have
more body and texture. You could try the impasto
technique and apply your paint in thick heavy
strokes, leaving evidence of all those wonderfully
artistic brush strokes. Take a look at a Van
Gogh painting and you will see this technique
in action.
It's really no wonder why oil painting is
such a popular choice for painters. There
is so much to discover in oil painting. You
will never get bored trying out all the wonderful
tools, mediums and techniques. |
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