The Magic of Oil
Other than pigment, oil paint is the best stuff in the world! I started taking my art seriously at about 15 or 16 and this was when I was first introduced to oil paint. Until then, I could never quite get other mediums to do what I admired most in my favourite artists and paintings. With patience and practice - both in abundance - I started to get to grips with this forgiving but mucky stuff.
Detail of Do they know it’s Socrates? No, because they keep saying it’s Santa! Bust of Socrates (or Santa) - Oil on Canvas Paper 2020
Titanium White over Indigo, both from Jackson’s Art Supplies.
Many will disagree but I think you can do so much more with it - it can be thin, it can be thick; it can be bright, it can be dull; it can be glossy, it can be matte; it can be fun, it can be infuriating! It is intimidating because unlike other paint, there is so much more paraphernalia that goes with it. Again, the traditionalist and purist will scoff but Winsor and Newton’s ‘Liquin’ makes it much simpler and allows you to just get on painting, with the added bonus of speeding up the drying time.
Detail of Marc & Rachel: 8 Today - Oil on Canvas 2020
Impasto and glazing can be seen here, using Alizarin Crimson, Naples Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Titanium White and Prussian Blue, from Winsor and Newton and Jackson’s Art Supplies. I love using opaque colours and transparent colours together as it builds up depth and creates interesting effects.
Building up layers in oil paint takes time (best to have more than one painting on the go, otherwise you will be waiting a long time before being able to get on with it) but it creates wonderful depth in a painting and allows for so much variety. Different colour combinations emerge with thin layers and glazes, often pleasantly surprising but always something different. Working in layers also helps keep the colours pure, intense and bright. The glazes give your bright areas a real luminance and glow, as if the painting is actually giving off light - just check out paintings by Ken Currie.
Three Oncologists, by Ken Currie - Oil on Canvas 2002