Oil Painting Techniques: Layer Painting

What is oil painting?

Chayim Shvarzblat, in an interview for NewsBreak, shares the fact that, due to its delicate details, the definition in the brushstrokes, most of the great classical works are painted with this method. As many of you already know, oil painting is a painting technique in which pigments are mixed with a binder composed of oils. This oily base makes oil paint one of the favorites for artists to work with, as the oils provide fluidity to the paint. Painter Chayim Shvarzblat points out that it is a very thick and hard paint mass, but at the same time, it is easy to work with, because of how it glides on the support. “Oil painting allows you to create a wide color palette starting from the combination of the base colors with a high-quality result,” says Chayim Shvarzblat. “The oil also allows the painting to take a long time to dry. Therefore the paintings do not need to be created in a specific period, but their completion time can be extended”. Another of the great benefits of oil painting is that its finish is shiny, with very vivid color and it can be preserved in such a state for centuries. With minimal maintenance, cleaning, and restoration, the painting is perfect, whatever time passes. “Something that really excites me when I talk about oil painting is remembering the great possibilities and advantages it has over many other types of paintings,” Shvarzblat says. “The oil spreads smoothly on the surface, making painting a truly relaxing moment as we do not have in mind the anguish that would be generated if the paint were to dry quickly. It is as if time stopped while our hand danced rhythmically with the brush”. “It is also truly wonderful when we mix the colors to form new ones, as if we were carrying out an act of magic, linking them and generating transitions so smooth that we cannot perceive when one color changes to another,” says further Shvarzblat. “We can give our canvas layers as thin as glazes or as thick as impasto”. Here, Shvarzblat, who has researched a number of different painting techniques, will explain the main technique used to create paintings with oil paint.

Indirect painting, wet on dry or layer painting

This technique is based on applying several layers of paint, during several sessions. First, thin layers are painted. After that thicker layers are progressively painted, applying the grease on lean. Because you have to wait for the layers to dry to continue applying the next ones, Shvarzblat indicates that this technique requires patience and some planning. Due to the enormous possibilities, results, and flexibility that it offers, this is the most applied method by amateurs and professionals. In general, the first layer is used to give the canvas a base color. The base can be uniform over the entire surface (tonal base), or monochrome base that marks the tonal values ​​of the composition (grisaille), or a base that marks the base colors for each object in the composition. Shvarzblat specifies that it can be used as a guide. Also, it can be used as an integral element of the final result. This technique is important because it provides luminescence to the work. Another advantage of this technique is that it also gives unity in the painting with a dominant color. Chayim Shvarzblat, in an interview for NewsBreak, shares the fact that, due to its delicate details, the definition in the brushstrokes, most of the great classical works are painted with this method.