Oil Painting
I'll just start out by saying that, for some reason, oil painting completely intimidates me. Maybe it's the idea of anything I create being judged too harshly, or just realizing that I suck at it beyond belief. But in the back of my mind it's always been an interest. My grandparents were both artists, oil painters, so it's not like the concept or the supplies are completely foreign to me – but there's still that fear.
One thing I really enjoy though is watching Bob Ross paint (PBS Create runs his 'The Joy of Painting' TV series, I haven't figured out the schedule yet.) He makes the whole painting process look completely effortless, and it really is a joy to watch. Almost like watching Food Network when you're hungry.
One of these days I'll actually pick up some oil painting supplies and start covering some canvas!
—
I added a link to water soluble / water mixable oil paints in response to Moose's comment about using mineral spirits to thin oil paints. 🙂
Tags: bob ross, oil painting, oil painting supplies, the joy of painting
spudart said,
All these links in this post are making my head spin. Which one do I click? I feel like I'm reading the description to the Astronomy Picture of the Day: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
April 29, 2009 @ 1:52 pm
unlikelymoose said,
Bob Ross' televisions programs are great. It's always hard to pinpoint when they are on TV, but whenever they come on I am happy to watch them.
I have NEVER painted with oil paint. In the past year I've probably painted 200+ paintings all of which are acrylic. I've always been curious how I would work with oil, but the smell of oil paints doesn't do much for me and I'm less than enthusiastic about using mineral spirits to clean them.
Don't let me damper your spirit. I want to see some sparx paintin's.
May 4, 2009 @ 7:26 am
sparx said,
They make water soluble / water mixable oil paints that are supposed to be really good now. You can use either mineral spirits or just plain water (I'd used distilled, not tap water) to thin them out. If I were to jump into oil painting (like I really should), I would definitely use them rather than traditional oil paints.
May 4, 2009 @ 7:57 am
spudart said,
Oil? About about acrylics?
May 4, 2009 @ 4:23 pm
sparx said,
I know absolutely nothing about acrylics.
May 4, 2009 @ 4:25 pm
unlikelymoose said,
acrylics are essentially liquid plastic. They dry a lot faster than oils. Drying time will vary on how much paint you put on the canvas and whether or not it's mixed with water or other mediums. Generally acrylics dry to the touch in about 30 minutes to an hour.
Most people who are oil users do NOT like acrylics. Most people who are acrylics don't mind oils.
May 4, 2009 @ 5:43 pm
spudart said,
I like acrylics. Much easier and forgiving.
May 5, 2009 @ 11:06 am
sparx said,
I had assumed that oil was easier and more forgiving – given the drying time.
May 5, 2009 @ 11:08 am
spudart said,
if you make a mistake with oil, you have to wait for it to dry. hours and hours of waiting. If you make a mistake with acrylics, you only have to wait 15 minutes for it to dry. And then you can just paint right over the mistake.
The sign of an amateur oil painter is that they over-work the canvas and the colors get all muddied up.
May 5, 2009 @ 12:20 pm
spudart said,
A chicago painter writes about how to first paint a base layer with just two colors, because you shouldn't just paint directly onto the canvas–the artwork would lack a feeling of depth. And it's much easier to paint an undercoat than to sketch it on the canvas with a pencil. Read the blog post with the complete details and explanation at: http://theprittefulpalette.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/my-first-video-and-a-new-painting/
May 13, 2009 @ 11:47 am