Wednesday, March 16, 2016

How To Use Oil Painting Techniques

By Susan Bell


Considering all mediums such as watercolor, tempura, and acrylics, that artists use to paint, most consider oils to be extremely versatile to use. It is partly because the pigments are delivered in such a smooth and creamy consistency that keep its vibrancy and true color even as it ages. The creative possibilities have virtually no end with a variety of oil painting techniques.

Artists all over the world prefer this medium for several different reasons. For one thing, it has the broadest spectrum of color and the widest tonal range out of all the options. Another advantage is the slower drying time which allows the user to make smoother blends in their strokes and to do more intentionally precise corrections.

Yet another advantage to using this kind of paint is its suitability for whatever genre one prefers and practically any style. Both artists who prefer to do rapid style paintings and those who like to go slower and add carefully controlled details enjoy this medium. With this medium, certain nuances which are typically not possible to achieve with other types, come easily.

The base tools used, regardless of which style or genre one works in, are generally the same. These usually include rags or towels for cleaning, brushes in varied sizes and types, canvas, easel or table top work area, thinning medium, flat knife, color palette, and paints. Combining multiple applications and a little practice, wonderful art is easily produced.

Building a proper base is the key to creating a wonderful piece of artwork. Color blocking, a method by which the artist uses highly diluted pigment and small, or broad brush strokes to build a guideline for the various aspects of the work to be laid over. This generates an instant background which can be built up with thicker layers and more deliberate details.

Giving dimension to one's work can be done with a variety of applications, often being used in conjunction with each other to get some interesting results. Among these are the thickness of paint, layering, brush stroke size, contrasting colors, as well as methods such as pointillism and crosshatching. Each of these, alone or in combination, create depth and lend the feelings of movement and space.

When wanting to create the transparent look of still waters, crystal or glass, this particular paint type tends to be very successful. This is because of the smooth and creamy way in which it flows on to the canvas, the rich purity in the pigmentation and the utilization of effective contrasting. A seamless blend that becomes like a reflective surface with no clear differentiating between one tone and another can be done using continuous and unbroken strokes across the desired area.

There are any number of ways that an artist can use the methods, such as a range of brush strokes in different directions and sizes, keeping pigment pure, blending irregularly and varied levels of dilution to get the look they want. Using thick layers, deliberate strokes, and stippling are other avenues which bring convincing depth perception to the piece. Knowing how to implement the power of pure whites and deep blacks are also incredibly effective tools.




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