Oil painting CAN mean easy clean up. Seriously!

If you're anything like me when I began painting I avoided oils like the plague. They seemed too complicated to me and the thought of cleaning up with harsh chemicals every time I felt the urge to paint was a little overwhelming. I stuck with Acrylic and that worked for me.

The mysterious world of oil paint would have to wait, and wait it did. More than twenty years an artist before I was basically pushed into using them by my spouse. (I was gifted a french easel and a full set of oils and brushes for christmas. Oh, the nerve!) I couldn't let it sit around taunting me so I decided to begin my foray into the mysterious world of oils.

Turns out... not so mysterious after all. That was all in my head.

A Wet Brush Learning Experience

I often find myself painting in more than one color at a time and using more than one brush at a time. I always make the same mistake and end up not only mad at myself but spending time correcting a painting that could be better spent.

The picture below shows how I usually end up holding brushes without even thinking about it.  I just naturally end up holding brushes this way when I'm in the zone and don't realize the error until the "oopsie" is made.

Multiple brush no-no

Sketching and Color Blocking, Developing my Process

In the past, when I worked exclusively in acrylics, I would start by diving right into a blank canvas with what could only be described as a hurried frenzy of thick paint blending together on the canvas.  I rushed through paintings, sometimes setting a timer.

My most popular pieces (judged by sales) were completed in 15 minutes.

Fast forward to my new interest in oils.  Although I've been using oils less than a year, I am thoroughly and wholeheartedly a fan, eager to learn more and more.  At first I hated oils, mostly due to my having not worked with them.  The drying time was the most difficult thing to get used to.