2013 has so far been my year of experimenting with oil paints. Oil paints and myself are still very much getting to know one another. I was strictly a mixed media girl before 2013, I did not limit myself to one medium, I wanted to achieve as many effects, textures and styles within one painting as I could and mixed media is great for that. Only I was not as clued up on oils as I thought, and only from using them have I opened a lot of doors in terms of styles, application, techniques and effects.

I have now fallen madly in love with oil paints and although I will always use different materials for different pieces, oils paints have become another limb for me and my work.

My first worry was the stodginess.. I was dubious to hand over my painting ideas to a cakey finish, only this has been avoided in some cases with the use of white spirit. This thins down the oil paints and can give a great fluidity to a vast area. With this as an option, I can then decide where I want the stodginess to apply (and has become a more frequent part of my paintings) and decide where I want to emphasise texture.

My other worry was the time needed for oil paints to dry… This has also been side stepped in that I realised that during my painting process, I have never needed to wait for my work to dry. In fact, returning to a painting with the oil still fully manipulable is a relief to me now.

Once I began using oil paints, my misconceptions about their limitations seemed to be replaced with a while new batch of styles and enthusiasm to put my ideas onto canvas. I am still experimenting with styles, colours, methods and processes of oil painting and working them into my style rather than working my style around them.

Soon to try.. glazing!

(Stag commission – Royal Blue Palette – unifinished)