BACK TO OILS and When you see it...

Still working on my own brand of Expressionism but I decided to go back to oils on my latest cat painting.  Acrylics are great but my first love will always be oils and I will just have to put up with the slow drying time.  I might just start a number of paintings so one will always be dry for the next layer.

I am enjoying exploring different cat expressions and poses.  This one will have an electric look to it and more expressive brushwork than the last one.  I have been developing my own style that is a blend of Impressionism and Expressionism for such a long time that this deliberate intent to emphasize my expressive side is tricky.

I keep wanting to go back to a more analytical approach of light and shade rather than arbitrary color.  This is a great experience for me and I plan to continue for quite a while but I just have to get back to oil paint.



My husband and I are a little technologically challenged.  He is better off than I am which is why he took the job of setting up our new land line.  He was taking so long to do it that I asked him from the computer room how much longer it would be.  He said when I see it flying past the window, I will know he is done.



Here are some Oil Paint facts that may only be of interest to artists but maybe not!

Oil paint revolutionized art. Because it’s slow to dry, it freed artists to take their time with a painting, change their minds, make corrections, and even start over.

The earliest known oil paintings, Buddhist murals found in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan caves, date to around the 7th century CE.

Pigments can be made from minerals and organic materials, including semiprecious stones and snail mucus.

The most expensive pigment was ultramarine—deep blue. Made from lapis lazuli, it was once more costly than gold.

Until the 19th century, artists had to mix their own oil paints each day by hand.

The paint tube was invented in 1841 by American painter John Goffe Rand. Before then, oils were stored in animal bladders.

Oil paints dry to the touch within two weeks, and are generally dry enough to be varnished in six months to a year. It may take years for a painting to dry completely.

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