Artists love to use oil paints on canvas because of its many advantages. While its slow drying process may seem like a drawback, especially for those who prefer to finish their pieces faster, for most artists it’s an advantage. This is because it gives them enough time to work on a piece of art in different sessions without worrying about parts drying out faster. They also find it much easier to make changes to their creations thanks to the slow-drying characteristic of oil paints. Oil paints also have the advantage of creating luminous colors that are difficult to use. It’s also much easier for the paints to blend with the surrounding colors, so you end up with an attractive piece of art.
If you’re new to oil painting, you might consider taking oil painting classes so you can start off on the right foot. But you can still use the following simple tips to start getting to grips with painting and ensure that each of your artworks oozes life.
Tip 1 – Use thick paste in the foreground to convey volume
The three dimensional appearances are quite lifelike and indeed it is possible to achieve this when painting with oil. Oils and acrylics have the advantage of creating thick impastoes compared to pastels and watercolors which lack in quality. To achieve the 3D look, apply the thick oil paste to the foreground of your painting and then thin with receding planes on your piece. In the end, you will have a very similar coat of paint in the distant background creating the three dimensional illusion.
Tip 2 – Create texture in your piece with dry brushing
Texture is very important, especially in pieces with leaves, grass, and crashing waves and the like. By using a dry brush technique, you can ensure that the texture is visible to the eyes. Dry brushing is skipping the brush to get the paint off and get the desired results. When you hold the brush horizontally and brush across it, you can tickle lower surfaces by dragging them in different directions to create a weathered look for your wood or make water foam on paint look bubbly. There are so many effects you can create with the method to make your painting realistic.
Tip 3 – Create interest by varying your colors
Instead of adding a series of variations of the same hue in a given area to get rid of boring solid monochrome colors, create more interest in your oil painting by partially mixing colors on the palette to neutralize saturation and squeeze the paint under a lot of pressure. so you can see subtle color variations with each stroke. It may seem challenging at first, but you’ll love how realistic the painting becomes once you’ve mastered the technique. This variety of color mixing can be used on different types of oil painting, including those with grass, rocks, and foliage for a variety of paint that makes them look like the real thing.
