Oil painting knowledge popularization: four common techniques in oil painting

Oil painting originated in ancient Europe and experienced several periods of classical, modern and modern oil painting works in each period have their own characteristics. Artists created a variety of oil painting techniques in practice, so that oil painting materials give full play to the performance effect. Let’s go to see what oil painting techniques are!

Oil painting techniques one: transparent painting

Transparent painting is the oldest painting technique. It mainly uses color mask dyeing to make two colors produce a third color through visual harmony. Transparent painting can be divided into two forms:

One is transparent color redisplay, that is, multi-level description with diluted pigments, and make the color of the lower layer through the upper layer can be vaguely displayed and the upper layer to form subtle changes in tone. Although it has the same hue as the third color derived from physical harmony, the visual effect is different, the former is more deep and has the luster like jewelry.

Second, thin bottom transparent cover color, this painting method is that in the painting process with dark brown or silver gray paint a more strict plain oil painting, until the picture is dry after cover transparent color, in order to improve the transparency of the whole picture.

Oil painting techniques two: level painting

So-called level illustration is to multi-level coloring of works, in the paint with monochromatic first draw the whole body, then use color level, dark parts need to be painted thinner, middle tone and light requires painting thicker, to form the contrast between the color piece, the whole picture would be more due to the coating thickness varying degrees, shows the color has a wealth of idea and the skin texture, Give a person a distinct sense of hierarchy.

Oil painting techniques three: direct painting

Direct illustration is also known as direct staining method and means on the canvas to make after the outline of the object, with the feelings about the object’s color or color on the image of the color idea laid a one-time, after the work finished if there is any incorrect or defective can use painting knife to continue color adjustment, direct painting is the most commonly used techniques painting now, In the painting process, the pigments used are relatively thick, the color saturation is also very high, and the brush strokes are clear, so that people can easily resonate with the picture content.

Oil painting techniques four: modern painting

Painters before the 19th century mostly used these two methods of painting. The production of the work of the time is generally longer, some painting after a layer of long-term placement, until the color layer completely dry after depicting. The technique of oil painting in this period is very different from the “direct painting” that we are used to today. It is a mixed technique of using tampera or other pigments to finish the monochrome shaping of the object and then using oil-based pigments to dye the multi-layer transparent cover, also known as the “indirect painting” of oil painting.


Post time: Sep-16-2021