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What are some of my favorite things about oil paint, you ask? Well…

1. They are slow drying, giving you time to lay down a brush stroke, walk away, chat on the phone with a friend, have a cup of coffee, remember that you need to pick your child up from school…we can go on and on…and you can come back to fresh paint, ready for the next genius stroke!
2. If you don’t like the way something is going, rather than continuing to paint over and over (you all know what I’m talking about, we can poke and hope for days with acrylics!) you can just scrape if off and begin again! For me, I can get so off track with acrylics, I need to paint everything white to begin again. With oils, I can lose track on an eye or nose, use my palette knife to scrape off the excess paint, take a paper towel and wipe off the rest, and I’m back on track. It’s like an etch a sketch, only better!
3. The consistency of oils is delicious and the colors are incredible. You can do all the things you love with mixed media, you can paint thin, you can paint thick, you can add impasto, different mediums for quicker drying time, longer drying time, high gloss, glazing, you can wipe back certain areas, build up with waxes. You can use them to embellish over a mixed media painting, giving it a unique look and a bit of sophistication.

Now let’s address some of those silly little rumors going around about oils…

1. Oils are NOT Toxic. Nope. The pigments, the same ones used in Acrylics are toxic, so if you sand your painting, you might want to wear a mask, but you need to do that with Acrylic paints also. There are many brands that use Walnut Oil as a medium rather than Linseed Oil, which can make some people allergic. I myself use M. Graham brand oils, which are the least toxic on the market.
2. Oils are SMELLY! No, there are many brands that are no longer smelly. Walnut Oil doesn’t have a smell and a few brands I’ve purchased with Linseed Oil such as Winsor Newton and Gamblin haven’t had any odor that I can pick up. Even the new turps out there, Gamblin’s Gamsol Odorless Mineral Sprits are the perfect solution to home studios! Some people will become allergic to linseed oil over time so for me, I’ve stuck with primarily M.Graham brand oil paint made with Walnut Oil. They even have a Walnut Alkyd Medium to mix with your paint to make it dry more quickly.
3. Oils have to be varnished 6-9 months after painted, making them unsalable for so long. No longer! You can purchase a Damaar spray varnish and spray your painting 24 hours after completed. Most of my painting can be shipped out within a week of painting. If using very thick dark paint, I may need to wait up to 3 weeks before shipping.
4. Oils are EXPENSIVE! Ok now, let’s tally up what you’ve invested in all that lovely mixed media in your studio…this will seem like a drop in the bucket.

So have I convinced you yet that you, yes YOU, can not only handle oils, but you can master them like a pro? Yes, you are going to learn a little color theory too!