Level Three - Printmaking/ Oil paint

Lesson 1 - AKO | Learning outcome: What is OIL PAINT?

Waihanga | Create - 

Write a blog post that answers the following questions:

1. What is oil paint made of? Dry pigment powder mixed with refined linseed oil creates a paste that is then milled and that is your oil paint.

2. What are three benefits of painting with oil paints? Oil paints take longer to dry which provides the artist time to make changes if need be. Oil paints offer a wide range of colors and a rich color depth, and lastly, oil paint can be made into thin glazes or thick impastos. 

3. What are three disadvantages to painting with oil paints? Oil paints blend effortlessly with one another, although once the color is “muddied”, it is difficult to “unmuddy” oil paint, Linseed oil paints tend to darken or yellow with age. The slow drying time of oil paints can be a disadvantage to some artists due to those who purposely work with dry underpainting or like to use a sequence of washes in quick succession. 

4. Why do you need to prime your surface before painting with oil paints? To avoid canvas rot, it is important to prime and seal the canvas first when you are using oil paint.

5. How do you clean up your brushes and equipment after using oil paints? Using solvents such as turpentine, paint thinner, and mineral spirits is the most common way to clean brushes after using oil paint. 

6. What is the impasto technique? The impasto technique is paint that is applied to a canvas in quantities to make it stand out from the surface. 

7. What is “Imprimatura” or “grisaille” in painting? Imprimatura means “First paint layer”. It is applied so lightly that it becomes a transparent layer that allows the white background underneath to show through.