What to Look for in Oil Painting Techniques
Oil paints on canvas last for centuries. That is why great masterpieces, painted more than 600 years ago, remain as colorful and vivid now as they did then. Museums and galleries all over the world, showcase works of art created with oil paints by famous artists. When observing an oil painting, knowledge and practice will help you identify various techniques used in the oil painting process.
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Pallet Knife
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A pallet knife creates expressive, rough lines without brush marks. Look for areas of cut-in paint and clear, sharp lines. Originally, the pallet knife was used to separate and mix colors on a painter's pallet. Creativity in design and painting techniques make a pallet knife a desirable tool for many oil painters. Look for thick layers of paint revealed through a carving technique. This technique requires the artist to apply several layers of various colors of paint to the canvas. The artist then carves into the layers of paint with a pallet knife, creating shape and texture while revealing undertones.
Dabbing
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Dabbing sponges or scraps of cloth onto oil paint during the painting process serves to provide the painting with various textures. It also helps to bring out color. Dabbing a finished painting with a sponge or cloth gives the painting a matte finish. Dabbing also blends colors to give the appearance of unity within the painting.
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Finger Painting
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Finger painting is not just for kids; many modern artists use fingers, thumbs and other body parts for painting in oils. Direct contact with the paint is believed to rid a painter of inhibitions and allow the painter to work more freely and expressively. Look for this technique in famous paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Goya and Turner.
Under-painting
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Three styles of under-painting create luminescence in oil paintings by reflecting light from a back layer of paint. Tonal ground under-painting techniques use a single transparent color applied evenly to the canvas. This layer of paint shows through as shadows; it help tone the painting. Tonal under-painting is used for contrast only. It is painted using a single transparent color, leaving other areas as unpainted canvas. The technique provides highlights. Color-block under-painting uses a contrasting block of color for each object or area.
Glazing
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A glaze is a thin, transparent layer of paint that alters the color cast or texture of a painting's surface. A thin glaze is typically of a bright color applied over thicker color. Light penetrates the glaze and reflects off the color underneath. It is often difficult for the untrained eye to tell the difference between glazing and scumble. A scumbling technique uses opaque color to manipulate reflective and absorptive light qualities within the pigments.
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References
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