Oil Paintings
Paintings are one of the most beautiful creations of man, the Vatican City demonstrates this perfectly. A good painting has the power to trigger extreme emotions from its spectator. Oil paintings are beautiful art forms, and these antique elements continue to mark their stand through generations.
The Creation of Man by Michelangelo at the Sistine Chapel
Why Oil Paintings you ask?
The great painters and the artists of the past chose to work on oil paintings because it rendered a very realistic output. The paintings differed from those produced by water colors, because oil paintings provided a rich and vivid visual effect.
Oil paintings originated during the middle ages when there was a high demand for waterproof artwork. Oil paint became known for its durability and long lasting resistance. But for the durability of oil paints, we would not be privileged to see paintings from hundreds of years ago. Having said this, some famous paintings do get touched up from time to time so they are at their best presentation.
Behind the beauty of oil paintings is the hard work of the artist. A classical work may take several weeks to months to complete. Color pigments and binders are the constituents of the oil paints. Linseed oils, poppy seed oils, safflower oils and walnut oils are the oils that get mixed with the pigments. Brushers made up of different fibers are used to paint. Oil painting is said to take a lot of work because it does not dry up easily, and if the artists want to paint in layers, they would have to wait for the paints to dry at each level which may take up to a week. The oils used would dry at their own pace.
Unlike water paintings, changes to oil paintings can be made during its drying period. Oil paintings do not dry through evaporation, they have to be oxidized. And then these paints are varnished after six months or a year. Some art conservators consider an oil painting to be dry only after its 60-80 years old.
Oil paintings reached the pinnacle during the renaissance, where artists began to select wooden panels as their base medium. They would stretch their canvas over the wooden panel. Artists used a variety of brushes to produce different kinds of unique effects, knives and blades were also used. Some artists painted with their fingers too.
Typically, my Grandfather painted on canvas, but when he ran out and we haven’t had time to buy new ones for him, he would paint on anything! He has painted on wooden boards, back of other paintings, and believe it or not, he’s painted directly onto the wall of his dining room!
Oil paintings today
Oil painting is an astonishing art form and even today there are many artists who work fabulously with oil paints. But now there are more sophisticated tools to produce oil paintings such as water miscible oil paints. These paints can be thinned and cleaned up with water rather than using the turpentine. Earlier turpentine was used as a cleaner and / or thinner in oil paintings. These water miscible oil paints reduce the deep odor of toxic chemicals. Those days artist coated a blended mixture on the canvas before they started painting, this was done to protect the canvas from the toxic nature of the paints. But with the improvements of paints, some of the older safety measures are no longer required.