Painting in oil has become one of the primary means of artistic expression since its development in the 15th century. It provides the artist with many advantages. With linseed oil as the binder for the color pigment, an extended drying time and a durable and flexible paint layer were the most important improvements over previous media along with many qualities of painted surface resulting in smooth to rich thick impasto brushwork. Extended drying time gave the artist time to rework and blend paint layers into fine gradations called chiaroscuro and impasto gave portions of the painting a dimensional texture that expressed the painters paint application style. The artist, in the later stages of painting, could use a medium of oil to create glazes of transparent color to enhance the color and surface of the painting, creating an incredible likeness of the real world.
Artists have used the medium of oil paint through the centuries to extend its possibilities in technique and style. From the classical masters to the current contemporary masters it provides an enduring media in the visual arts.
When I first started learning painting in oil, I was 16. I had gained experience from paint by number sets. It was wonderful to fill in the shapes and have a painting of a schooner on the high seas soon appear. With a strong desire to create my own oil paintings I acquired a set if oils, brushes and a bottle of linseed oil and a pint of turpentine. I painted on canvas panels and figured this was all I needed and began painting. There were no art museums and very few galleries in my city, so for inspiration in my solo efforts I subscribed to the Time/Life Art Library series of books on artists. Each month a new book would arrive. One month Rembrandt the next month Picasso. It was extraordinarily inspiring as I read of the painters lives and times and viewed their paintings.
One of my first paintings, I remember, took almost a month to dry. I took it outside in the hot sun to speed up the drying. I know now what caused this frustrating result but at the time it was a struggle, to learn the appropriate techniques to gain the results I desired. The library was some help and I filled note books with bits of information on the painting process. I had read about the schools, ateliers, where artists in Europe studied with master painters. I wanted that kind if information. What materials and tools to use, the preparing of canvas and the procedures of applying oil paint to create the ideas I envisioned.
When I went to study at the university, I learned a great deal about art but not about painting. There was much more emphasis on expression rather then technique. But I new enough about the basics and put to practice everything I came across, from building large stretchers, using different canvas grounds, under-painting and over-painting to mixing mediums from oils and exotic resins. Some I preferred and kept, others I discarded. It took a long time.
Practice and desire are the key. I have exhibited in galleries and museums. You can reach your goal by many different approaches. When I began teaching I had to learn the art of sharing my knowledge. This took observation, experiment and time also.
Most all of us learn to ride a bicycle. Shaky, nervous crashes and then we got back up and tried again. Then came a time when we did not even thinking about riding. It was inside of us. Persistence, practice and patience are also tools of the artist.
I have simplified my teaching approach in terms of materials, tools and technique, into a basic foundation that will help beginners in their initial learning. A quality but very affordable supply list and a classical step-by-step approach to creating an oil painting, helps the beginning painter to proceed in confidence, practicing a method that heightens learning and increases ability, in the art of oil painting, for whichever personal style the student will develop.
Edd Cox
Oil Painting Workshop
http://www.eddcox.com/oilpainting_wrkshop.html
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