Painting with oil paints requires extra time and patience.
Oil painting is always a challenge because oil paints traditionally dry slowly, which makes building layers in oil painting slow. When speed is needed for layering, there are steps to take that can lower drying times so that the next layer of paint does not mix, blend and ruin the intended result.
Instructions
1. Paint the bottom layers of paint thinly and work up to thicker paints. Oil paints take a long time to dry. If left to dry naturally, it can take as long as two days. Starting layers thin and working up to thicker paint will minimize drying time for the bottom layers.
2. Add two or three drops of a drying oil to the paint and mix it in before applying the oil paint to the canvas. According to Winsor & Newton, linseed oil is commonly added to oil paints as a medium to help it dry faster. The company's website points out that the oils can change the color slightly, so adding a bit more paint is sometimes necessary for color preferences.
3. Add two or three drops of liquin to the paint. Liquin is an alkyd that is added to oil paints to dry the paint faster. Winsor & Newton states that using liquin can halve drying times.
4. Work in small sections. Working in sections on the canvas allows painting on one part of the canvas while the other side of the canvas dries. In this way, the paint dries while working on the other section and you can add new layers to the first section after the second section is drying. This makes layering faster and easier.
