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December 07, 2003
oily oily
The oil paint, what a marvellous fellow he is, mostly. Gorgeously thick and buttery. [Butter that has been out of the fridge just long enough to spread easily, but no so long that you can pour it.] There are times, it is true, when the oil paint is hard work. This is a Good Thing.
Oil paint is about the right stuff, earth pigments, bits of rock ground up and heated, real things mixed with oil. So there are differences. Some colours are smoother than others, some colours are gritty, some colours are transparent, some opaque. It is these different qualities that gives oil paint its versatility and flexibility. It is also these different qualities that make learning how to use oil paint a long process.
It’s worth all the angst of being a painter to open a tin of thick rich colour, breathe in the pungent smell of the oil, plunge a spatula into the gloop and lift up, sucking and squishing, a large dollop of paint, and plop it onto the palette. Oil paint must be one of the most delicious substances on earth.
Flux level: steady to moderate, remaining fair, increasing later.
Posted by john at December 7, 2003 02:58 PM
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