Oil Painting

Oil painting is characterised by brilliant colours but it does require a long drying period. Since the 15th century painters have chosen oils as an unsurpassed medium to express their creativity.

There are several different techniques: glazing, whereby several transparent colours are applied over one another; or painting to completion. The oil paint can be applied very thickly to create textural effects (Impasto).
When painting you should follow the rule “thick over thin”. This means that the first pigment layers should be applied with a quick drying solvent or they should be applied more thinly than the upper layers. This prevents the painting from cracking when drying.
To protect the completed painting a transparent varnish is applied (solution of soft resin such as Damar, Mastic or similar in distilled turpentine).

Oil paints consist of pigment suspended in oil. The suspension can be linseed oil, poppy oil, sunflower oil or walnut oil. As the pigment is bound together with the oils a solvent is needed to thin the traditional oil paints. The drying process is an important factor in the durability of oil paintings and should not be compromised, e.g. by overly thinning or using impure solvents. Always use a pure solvent specially suited for artists, these do not leave any residue after evaporating from the pigment film.

Balsam turpentine oil is the most effective solvent. It speeds the drying process so that you can work in layers. Using too much can however impact negatively on bonding. Linseed oil can be added to enhance glossiness and improve flow properties. Too much linseed oil however slows down the drying process enormously.

Two sorts of brushes are used: soft brushes made of natural or synthetic hair for glazing, stiff brushes made of hog bristle for thick pigment application. Brushes and tools are cleaned with turps, a turps substitute or brush cleanser. The brush hairs will last longer if they are subsequently washed with soap and water.

Recommended Hahnemühle Paper
Oil paints and the accompanying paint media, solvents etc. possess a lower surface tension than water-based paint systems. If you use unprimed paper as the painting base the oils are immediately absorbed into the paper. This produces a halo effect around the pigment. If you wait a bit longer, the paint bleeds through the paper. That is why oil painting papers are primed. They are produced as follows:
A properly sized, bright white paper with a linen structure is primed with an oil resistant, highly transparent and colourless synthetic layer making it suitable for oil painting.

Amongst the most popular canvases the Hahnemühle Oil and Acrylic Paint Board 230 gsm is ideal. The new Hahnemühle FineArt Oil and Acrylic Selection Pad contains two sheets each of five different qualities that demonstrate the variety of the surfaces and grammages in the Hahnemühle range. This selection pad is ideal for trying out your painting skills.