Last week, I began a quest to paint with oil paint, specifically oil sticks. Why? I love the purity of color and I want to plein aire paint without struggling to keep the acrylic paint wet. My first attempt:
I started small to get the feel of the paint. I really enjoyed the feel and the vibracy, the purity of the color. Attempt no. 2:
In this experiment, I tried to use the color to its fullest…a bit of water, a bit of sky, some lights, some darks. The sticks are very creamy, like lipstick, and blend beautifully. You can see my bin of tube oil paint in the back, but the sticks are by far my favorite…and no brush to clean! Attempt no. 3:
I wanted to try working on a different surface and chose a cradled gesso board panel. I had a smooth surfaced one handy, but discovered the paint just slid across the surface. I didn’t even finish the piece. I just tried different things all over the panel to see what I could do with the paint. I tried to smooth and scrape, started all over by wiping off…nothing was applealing to me. SO, I will try a textured board in the future. I think that will work better. When in the future? I don’t know…I was sent the wrong set of sticks a second time, so I will have to look for those paler colors individually. These three aren’t even dry yet, a timing differential from acrylics that dry too fast here in New Mexico. Next, I think I might try a bigger piece, maybe even finish one…like a real painting, not just practice…from the studio
studio 18 art 