oil-painting experiments

I´m used to working with acrylics and watercolor, both paints that dry fast. Having just bought some oil-paints to experiment with, is both fun and challenging. The biggest difference of course is the long drying time. I guess that is both the advantage and the disadvantage with the oils. It means that there is a different way of mixing the paints, a different way of applying them, a different way of using the brush…

The first thing I ever tried was using a spatula, great fun! Second I wanted to try actually painting with a brush.

My first attempt is below. The skin-tones are pretty good, it´s really nice mixing them, making them blend there and then. I tried to use a thin layer of paint, but found a difference in constancy in the oils. Some of them were smooth, and easy to apply, others were thicker, which resulted in a thicker layer of paint. I am only using the water-soluble oils, but have learned that even though they might appear to dry in 3-5 days, that´s only the surface. The paint actually needs 6-12 months to oxidize (or dry, as I would call it).

So what I am not so excited about is having to do the layering needed in order to actually make a good painting with details and such. In acrylics, I would just the paint dry, then go in with layer upon layer of paint mixed with medium for a see.through effect. I can´t do that now. Or, of course I can. But once a week? Or month? I can see the draw-back for impatient people like myself.

Anyhow. Continuing the experimentation. Since it´s gonna take months before the final results anyway, might as well try very different things, and keep working on them. In other words, nothing to get excited about just yet….

Second out was a more classical still-life motif of some grapes. Still only the first basis. I have to read more about this. Do oil-painters do it all in one go, or do they make layers, like I think I have to? In any case, maybe in a couple of months I can work in some life-like details on the grapes…  (they tasted very nice and sweet 😉

Here I actually made a black base background use with watered out oil last night, which appeared completely dry his morning, but when I first added black in a corner to cover it and make it completely black, the background just came straight off. Probably because the paint I first used was a bit thick, but still, not what I expected. SO I had to add a little water to the paint to make it more smooth before applying.

Thirdly, I tried a more naivistic girl, Mindy Lacefield-style. The first one on the orange background is on acrylics, the second one in oil. (They were painted oil first, acrylics after) Never mind the softer colors in oil, but I think you can tell I am more certain in technique in acrylics. The colors are bolder, the strokes rougher… I just have to tell myself, it´s all part of a learning-process.

Tip: I don´t clean my brushes in white spirit. I use normal food-oil. First olive-oil, then washing-up liquid soap and really hot water. Repeating the process until no more color is added to the olive oil. Much friendlier to the environment (and me 😉