Expertises: Painting, Art, Drawing, Pastel
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Everything has got its advantages and disadvantages. And the perfect example of this is an oil painting.
Out of every other kind of pigments, artists find that working with oil paints give them more flexibility to manipulate their work.
That is because oil paints take a much longer time to dry completely, making the process of blending colors easy even after hours or days.
But then again, you probably have experienced those moments when you're trying to add another layer of oil paints on top of the other. Only to find that they blend together instead. Or that time when you wanted to give the piece a finishing touch but you couldn't because it wasn’t dry yet.
Yes, those moments can be pretty bothersome, especially when you need the art right away.
So if you are looking for ways to make those paints dry within a day, then take notes of certain creative techniques we have for you.
How To Dry Oil Paint Faster
Oil paints take days, weeks or sometimes even months to completely dry.
But when using drying mediums, it can accelerate the drying time at a much faster rate.
But using just any drying medium won't do.
There are drying mediums that are safe while there are some that can cause serious harm to your health.
Make sure that the medium you get is safety and non-toxic. Besides that, a good drying medium does not require you to use a lot of it, but only a certain amount will do.
And another suggestion is to find a bottle of the medium that works best for your painting because there are a lot of varieties out there.
An example of a suitable and most preferred medium is Liquin.
Use Thin Layers
Here is a simple, yet very effective technique to quicken the drying process.
Some artists like to work using thick brush strokes. While this is perfect for other purposes, it will not speed up the drying process any time soon.
Therefore, the solution is to work with light brush strokes and thin layers.
If you keep adding layer after layer, you'll see that the drying time will improve immediately.
Work Environment
The place where you're located has a significant effect on the painting's drying process.
And that is because of the temperature.
Essentially, hot climate quickens the drying time while a humid climate slows it down.
Of course, nobody has control over such things. But once you know the climate type of the place you stay, you can move on with modified and artificial temperature to control the drying time of the art.
Paint on a Flat Surface
When painting on a rough surface, you will notice that in some areas, it takes a very long time to dry.
However, if you use a flat surface, it gives you the ability to distribute the colors evenly. And this allows the oil to harden faster. Moreover, a flat surface is so much better when it comes to painting in layers.
There are many painting styles and preferences, no doubt. But if you want the oil painting to dry off quickly for some reason, we suggest considering a flat surface.
Coat Background with Acrylic Paint
You might be wondering why we're suggesting the use of acrylic for a painting that should solely rely on oil paints. Hear us out.
Acrylic paints are water based colors. That means they have to go through the process of evaporation to dry off completely.
And since oil paints are not water based, they dry off when they get in contact with air/oxygen. This process is known as oxidation. It hardens the oil colors until they dry.
And this takes a much longer time for these paints to dry.
So that leads us to the topic of coating the background with acrylic paint first.
Once you try this simple method, you will then see a big difference in the drying process.
The acrylic paint will dry off, leaving the surface hard and absorbent. Hence, it will speed up the oil paints' drying time.
Types of Paints
Finally, there are the kinds of oil paints you will be using.
Some oil paints contain properties that make them dry quicker.
Earth shades are such examples. Most of these shades usually contain iron oxides which boost the drying speed.
So, look for colors that contain iron oxides for earth tones while for other pigments, they must have either cobalt or lead.
And if you are in a hurry or you require the painting to be ready as soon as possible, look for such colors.
To ease your search, we listed these specific colors that dry faster than other shades because of the components mixed in them:
Another essential thing to consider is the quality of the paints.
Look for a set of colors that are of high quality. However, note that a high price does not necessarily represent high quality. So any paint/tube that contains the above properties will be enough.
We know there are other methods creative artists use to make the paint dry quicker, like microwaving the painting, blow drying, and the like.
While this works well with other types of paints, it is not very ideal for oil paints because it might change the original shades and also damage the painting.
Therefore, we suggest you stick with the techniques provided above. They ensure safety to your artwork, and they are also easy to execute.
Conclusion
So with that, we have come to the end of today's article.
Before we leave you to it, we want to remind you about the need for knowing the things you'll be working on better because that will ensure excellent results.
So we hope to see you again some other time.
Good luck and happy painting!
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