What Are The Benefits Of Oil Painting?

But that’s not what we are going to talk about in this article. Today, we are going to talk about the good ol’ art medium that has been used by thousands of professional artists around the globe and throughout the history of mankind - oil paint.

From Da Vinci to Magritte and from professional studio artists to outdoor street artists, many creators have chosen this medium as the vessel to portray their creativity.

And in this article, we are going to discuss why. So, go ahead and give it a read!

How is Oil Painting Different From Other Mediums

Objective Reasons

The following are some features of oil paint that set it apart from other conventional mediums like watercolor and acrylics.

These features give immense control, freedom, and versatility that stay unrivaled to this day.

Gorgeous appearance

Oil paints have a higher pigment count than most other mediums. Because of that, oil paint produces rich and luminous colors that produce amazingly vibrant paintings.

The artworks made with oil paint have unparalleled beauty, elegance, and life-like resemblance only because the medium gives immense freedom when it comes to saturation and contrast.

Gradual drying process

Oil paints dry up significantly slower than any other medium. Many artists consider this as a serious downside even though you can cut down a substantial part of the process if you take some simple measures.

Anyhow, there are some notable advantages of the slow drying.

For one, it gives you incredible control over the process. Since you paint in layers with oil colors, you can choose when to apply the next layer depending upon the kind of mix you want.

Another benefit shows when you commit an error. Because of the time the paint takes to dry up, you can easily scrape off the paint from the area of mistake and redo it again.

Blending

The kind of amazing blends you can get with oil paint is simply not possible with any other conventional medium.

The brush strokes come out perfect with the least amount of effort and the colors mix evenly and seamlessly.

Because of the excellent blends, oil paint can achieve life-like lighting and texture that is simply not possible with anything else.

Great flexibility with Medium

Oil paint can be mixed with many kinds of solvents and mediums which help it to achieve unparalleled versatility.

You can control every feature of oil paint using some sort of a medium. Crucial factors like texture, saturation, drying-time, flow, blending, etc. can all be manipulated using mediums.

Even other painting mediums like acrylic can be used alongside oil paint seamlessly to get some interesting results.

No other medium like watercolors and acrylic can achieve this level of control like oil paints.

No need for framing

Oil paint artworks are good to go right after finishing. If you use a stretched canvas with a wooden frame, you wouldn’t even need a frame to hang it up.

Oil paint by nature is very durable and corrosion-resistant after drying up. Dust, light, and water can’t put any kind of blemish on paintings done with oil paints.

The durability that oil paint has is astounding and that is why most of the classical paintings which seem to immortal have been made using oil paints.

What benefits do you get from oil painting?

Till this point, we have discussed that oil paint is better than other mediums of painting. But now, we are going to talk about how Oil Painting can help you grow as a person and can make you happy.

Creative outlet

Painting has always been an amazing vessel to store your creativity in. Almost everyone agrees that painting is one of the most, if not the most, incredible ways to give structure to your creative mind.

But when it comes to oil painting, things are a little different. On average, the artist has to wait for significantly more time to finish the painting. This causes the artist to practice something that we could refer to as “structured creativity”, i.e., creative splurges in a controlled and thoughtful manner.

This is an important exercise, especially, if you plan on to use your creative side more for professional purposes.

Concentration

As we have already mentioned before, oil painting is a time-taking process. And in that kind of an intense creative process, you’ll have to be focused.

Hence, oil painting is an amazing way of improving your concentration. Even if you are not a professional, you should try oil painting just because of how good it is at improving concentration, while still being an overall enjoyable activity.

Problem-solving

When you try to design some artwork of oil paint, you’ll not only have to decide what you want to paint but also decide how to paint it.

Oil painting is required to be done in layers and these layers have to be planned very carefully to make a compelling piece of art.

Hence, there’s a hint of problem-solving in this art form that is unique and needs thoughtfulness and patience. Painting with oil colors is, therefore, an interesting problem-solving practice to say the least.

Not only that, when you make any mistake, you’ll also have to carefully plan how to correct it. How’s that for problem-solving?

Self-Confidence

Painting is a work of patience, skill, and wit. Every stroke of the brush, when done correctly, ushers a small wave of confidence in your heart.

And after hundreds and thousands of such methodical brushstrokes, when you finally finish a work of art, you get a sense of accomplishment that can barely be matched by any other similar hobby.

Painting with oil colors demands you to spend time with your artwork. Even if you want to rush through it, you can’t. You have to live with it for hours, days, months and even years if you are dedicated to it.

So, it skyrockets your confidence when you finally make something beautiful with your perseverance.