The great works of art that came from the Renaissance era and continues to be appreciated today are all created using a painting technique that makes use of oil as a medium for drying and adding gloss and protection for the resulting canvas.
The beauty of these oil paintings has existed for the past generations and these artworks made by the great painters of the Renaissance era continue to be appreciated by the coming generations of art enthusiasts.
Creating a canvas oil painting can take a lot of meticulous efforts and time to finally achieve the great results on using oil.
For a great number of painters who are beginning their art career in the field of oil painting, a few tips on how to create beautiful masterpieces on canvas can be very helpful in getting stunning results for an amateur painter.
As an amateur painter, it is highly advisable to start being extra careful with the materials used in the painting and must be efficient from choosing to the application of the necessary substances needed for the accomplishment of an oil painting on canvas.
The first material that a painter gets is the canvas and this particular material needs to be primed before use or must be pre-stretched and treated with acrylic gesso, which can be applied in multiple coats to remove the coarseness caused by its quick drying effect.
A procedure called "fat over lean" must be strictly followed and refers to the amount of oil present in every layer of paint - painters must be careful in applying the oil because this is a significant step preventing paint cracks and in bringing out the intensity of the paints used.
The oil is most essential ingredient in this kind of painting and it is important to keep in mind that the more layers a painting has, the more oil should be applied, thus the term fat over lean to remind painters to use more oil.
Solvent and resins are great enhancements for paintings and can modify the results of the oil painting in a good way.
These solvents and resins are often available in flammable and odourless forms and some may induce a quick drying effect, like the alkyd-based mediums.
The canvas oil painting is glossed and protected by drying oils, which can also add a yellowish effect to the final work of art.
There are several types of drying oil that artists can make use of which may depend on their desired results.
Some of the most common drying oils include linseed oil from the flax plant, which can be used for a wide variety of colors and dries thoroughly; stand oil provides a smoother finish that resembles enamel-based paintings but will require more time to dry up compared to linseed oil; Poppy seed oil comes in a very pale yellow tone and are best used with light colors and white and also takes more time to dry compared to the linseed oil; the safflower oil, which is similar to the poppy oil but dries at a much faster rate, and lastly, the walnut oil is very useful in making the paints more fluid and can be easily applied in thin layers.
With the proper selection and application of these crucial ingredients, the oil painting will definitely live up to the artist's composition of the particular art subject.