Oil on Canvas

Yes! I have found that the underpainting really adds to the tone of the painting and can add a really color effect beneath transparent paint. The underpainting is basically toning the canvas with your color of choice, diluted in Gamsol mineral spirits.

It was a bit of an experiment to see if I could paint with oils on top of gold and silver leaf, but the answer is, you definitely can. It does take a bit longer for the paint to dry. Now if you want to add gold leaf on top of oil after the paint is already down, that is a little trickier. Make sure to use an oil-based adhesive rather than the typical water-based adhesives that typically come with most gilding kits. I added gold leaf to the box in the Box of Rain painting above!

I still find the many different mediums for oil to be quite confusing, particularly when you need to add a second layer after the first layer has dried to the touch. Fat over lean, or thick over thin, they say. My first pass is usually done with hog bristle brushes in a very thin layer, which I find dries pretty fast without much solvent. When I want to create more glow in the paint, I do add venetian medium, which has little pieces of glass in it that help the glowing effect. When I need the paint to move more freely, my medium of choice is Gamblin solvent-free, which you can get in both an oil and a gel. For varnishing, Gamblin Gamvar Gloss works great!

The best advice I have found so far is to use Murphy's Oil Soap to wash paint brushes immediately after use, and then follow up with regular soap and water. It works quite well and my paint brushes stay nice and soft and are always ready.

My favorite part of painting people is definitely the face, but painting hands has become a close second. Something so difficult at first has definitely become easier with practice! Right now I can't get enough of painting people. What will it be next?