Oil Painters of America Lunch and Learn Materials and Notes

 

Creating Oil Paintings: “Through Thick and Thin!”

Exploring the Vast Range of Surface Textures That Oil Paint Offers Artists

One of oil paint’s most valuable properties is its plasticity—its remarkable versatility and ability to be manipulated in countless ways.

Oil paint can be applied in thin, flowing washes or built up into thick, buttery impasto. With a variety of brushes, knives, and other tools, artists can create an extraordinary range of textures and surface effects.

A major reason oil paint has remained such a popular and highly sought-after medium is its flexibility. You can thin it down to a transparent wash or build it up with a palette knife until it stands half an inch off the canvas.

The possibilities are virtually endless!

Understanding Thin and Thick Paint

Oil paint offers artists tremendous freedom in how they construct a painting. However, understanding how different layers of paint interact is essential to creating a stable, lasting work of art.

An Important Technical Consideration

For the sake of long-term stability, avoid applying thin, fast-drying layers over thick layers that have not adequately dried. If the underlying paint continues to dry and contract after the upper layer has become rigid, cracking and unwanted craquelure may develop over time.

One solution is to follow the traditional principle of fat over lean.

In oil painting, fat refers to paint containing a greater proportion of oil, while lean refers to paint containing less oil relative to its pigment and other components. The principle generally calls for lower-oil, leaner layers underneath and progressively fatter layers above.

Glazing is one way to create transparent upper layers. Adding an appropriate oil-containing medium can increase the fat content and alter the drying characteristics of the glaze.

The important point is to understand how your materials behave and to allow sufficient drying time between layers. Simply adding more oil does not guarantee a sound painting, so the medium, layer thickness, and drying characteristics all need to be considered.

The Beauty of Transparency and Opaque Paint

Although oil paint is often thought of as an opaque medium, it offers a remarkable range of transparency and translucency.

It may not behave exactly like watercolor, but transparent and translucent passages can play an important role in an oil painting.

In fact, the contrast between transparent, thinly painted passages and opaque, heavily textured areas can be one of the most compelling aspects of the medium.

A traditional approach to painting is to keep shadow passages relatively thin while building up the paint in brighter, sunlit areas.

Thin paint can help shadows recede, creating a feeling of quietness, depth, and rest. Thicker, more opaque paint can make sunlit passages feel immediate, luminous, and full of energy.

When a painting is illuminated by the lighting in a home or gallery, the raised surfaces of thicker paint catch the light differently from the thinner passages. This physical interaction between light and paint can add another dimension to the viewing experience.

The contrast in texture helps reinforce the illusion of light and atmosphere within the painting.

The goal is not simply to make some areas thick and others thin. It is to use those differences purposefully to strengthen the painting.

A painting that incorporates a thoughtful range of thin and thick passages also demonstrates an artist’s expertise and control over the medium.

La Touche: The Artist’s Personal Touch

The French term la touche translates literally as “the touch.” In painting, it refers to an artist’s brushstroke or distinctive manner of applying paint.

Historically and technically, la touche represents the physical expression of the painter’s hand. Rather than viewing paint application as a merely mechanical act, artists and art historians use the term to explore the emotional and stylistic qualities of the brushwork.

Why La Touche Matters in Oil Painting

1. The Artist’s Fingerprint

Just as no two people have identical handwriting, every accomplished painter develops a distinctive touche.

It encompasses the speed, pressure, direction, rhythm, and character of the brushstroke. These qualities contribute to an artist’s individual style and make the work recognizable.

2. Texture and Weight

The artist’s touch determines how the paint sits on the canvas.

It may be applied thickly, creating heavily textured impasto, or laid down in smooth, delicate, and sometimes nearly invisible layers through techniques such as glazing.

Between these extremes lies an enormous range of possibilities.

3. Impressionism and Beyond

The term became especially relevant during the Impressionist movement, when artists increasingly allowed their brushwork to remain visible rather than blending every stroke into a smooth surface.

Artists such as Claude Monet and other impressionists used broken, rhythmic touches of color to capture light, movement, and atmosphere.

Individual strokes could appear distinct when viewed up close but combine into a cohesive image when seen from a distance.

This is one of the great pleasures of looking at a painting: the experience changes as we move closer to the canvas or step back to take in the whole composition.

Be Bold! Don't Be Afraid to Lay It on Thick.

One sign of confidence in a painter is the willingness to load up a brush and lay the paint on thick!

Of course, the value and color must be right first. Thick paint alone will not produce the desired effect.

Renown artist and teacher Bill Reece once said:

“Paint with the paint, not with the brush!”

There are effects you simply cannot achieve with thin paint that become possible when you load your brush with a generous amount of paint.

My mentor, William Schultz, once told me:

“I would rather see a bold failure than a timid success!”

His mentor, Robert Brackman, who taught at the Art Students League of New York, offered this advice:

“There are times to caress the canvas and times to attack the canvas!”

I love that idea.

Timid, mindless dab-dab-dabbing can get us into trouble. We can easily overwork a painting, lose the freshness of our brushwork, and sacrifice the big statement in pursuit of unnecessary detail.

Sometimes, the best thing we can do is step back, assess the painting, load the brush, and make a confident stroke.

Paint with intention. Be deliberate. Be bold. And know when to leave well enough alone!

Variety Is Essential

Gallery owners can often tell immediately when a gallery visitor is an artist!

We are the ones standing with our noses practically against the canvas, studying how every brushstroke was applied in the paintings we admire.

We want to see how the artist handled the paint. Where did the brushwork become loose? Where did it become precise? Where was the paint thick, and where was it thin?

We look for the decisions that make a painting come alive.

In art, variety is essential. Monotony is something to avoid.

That is one reason we have so many useful tools at our disposal. Each tool offers different ways to manipulate the paint, create texture, and make a statement.

Let's look at some of the possibilities.

Materials and Tools

Brushes

Brushes come in virtually every shape, size, and configuration imaginable.

We have natural-bristle brushes and synthetic brushes; long-bristled brushes and short ones; stiff brushes and soft ones; pointed, flat, chiseled, round, oval, and elongated oval shapes; mops, fans, and many more.

Some brushes have a wonderful spring to their bristles, while others are soft and yielding.

Even an old, worn-out brush with bristles going in every direction can be just the ticket for certain effects!

Don't limit yourself to using a brush only for its intended purpose. Experiment. A brush that seems unsuitable for one task might be perfect for another.

Palette Knives and Trowels

Palette knives and painting knives come in a variety of lengths, widths, and shapes.

They can be used to apply thick impasto, scrape away paint, create unexpected textures, or produce razor-thin lines and sharp edges.

Synthetic spatulas are also excellent tools for special effects. They can be used to move paint around, scrape out passages, or remove paint to reveal the raw canvas beneath.

Sometimes, taking paint away is just as important as putting it on.

Mediums and Solvents

There are numerous mediums available that allow you to adjust the consistency and handling of oil paint without unnecessarily sacrificing its strength or altering its character.

Some mediums help paint flow more readily, while others increase its body and make it suitable for thicker applications.

Personally, I have never felt the need to use an impasto medium. I find that good-quality oil paint straight from the tube is often thick enough for my purposes. By adjusting its consistency as needed, I can achieve a satisfying range of textures.

I also use Gamblin solvents and mediums when reworking dried paintings. Gamblin makes some excellent products for oil painters.

As always, it is important to understand the properties of the products you use and to follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

The goal is to develop a range of materials and techniques that give you the freedom to express yourself.

Suggest, Don't Overdescribe

My personal approach to painting is to suggest just enough for the subject to emerge, leaving room for the viewer's imagination.

Up close, the surface reveals lively, vibrant brushwork. From a distance, those individual strokes resolve into a cohesive image.

I don't believe every detail needs to be explained or every edge defined. Sometimes, a suggestion is more powerful than a literal description.

For me, this transformation is the essence of painting—a collaboration between the artist, the artwork, and the viewer.

The viewer brings something of their own experience and imagination to the painting, completing the visual experience.

Our job is not necessarily to paint everything we see, but to make the paint itself contribute to the experience of seeing.

Demonstration: Moving from Thin to Thick

Let's put these ideas into practice.

Step 1: Tone the Canvas

Begin with a toned canvas using a warm, neutral color, such as Burnt Sienna, thinned with an appropriate medium such as Gamblin Galkyd or Galkyd Lite.

Wipe away the excess paint so that the canvas is evenly toned rather than wet with a heavy layer of paint.

A thin, properly prepared ground can provide a useful starting point for the painting.

Step 2: Establish the Major Shapes

Using a small brush and a darker value, make a few simple marks to establish the placement of the major shapes.

Keep it loose and simple. At this stage, you are organizing the composition, not rendering details.

Think in terms of large, abstract shapes rather than individual objects.

Step 3: Block In the Darkest Values

Begin with the darkest values and work toward the lighter ones.

Block in the corresponding shapes, paying close attention to the hue, temperature, and value relationships you observe.

Keep the shadow passages relatively thin, using an appropriate medium sparingly to achieve the desired consistency.

Avoid building up unnecessary thickness in the darks.

Step 4: Develop the Halftones

As you move from the darkest shadows into the halftones, you can gradually increase the body of the paint.

Begin to vary your brushwork according to the form, the quality of the light, and the effect you want to achieve.

Let the paint handling become part of the expression.

Step 5: Build Up the Sunlit Passages

As you reach the warmer, brighter areas of the painting, consider loading your brush or palette knife with thicker paint.

Look for opportunities to use more opaque, substantial strokes to describe the planes that catch the light.

Be selective. Thick paint is most effective when it serves a purpose.

A few well-placed strokes can often accomplish more than dozens of small, hesitant marks.

Step 6: Refine the Relationships

As the painting develops, continue adjusting the subtle shifts in value, temperature, and chroma.

Pay attention to the relationships between the thin and thick passages, the sharp and soft edges, and the warm and cool colors.

The goal is not simply to demonstrate a variety of techniques. It is to bring the painting to life.

One Important Principle to Remember

Value, temperature, and chroma must be right before you apply the brushstroke.

The most beautiful brushstroke in the world cannot rescue a color that is fundamentally wrong for its surroundings.

Once the underlying relationships are correct, the character of the stroke—the thickness, direction, texture, and confidence with which it is applied—can help transform the painting into a personal statement.

Thank you for joining me in exploring the wonderful range of possibilities that oil paint offers us.

Remember: Don't be afraid to experiment, embrace variety, and let the paint do some of the talking!

Sometimes, the difference between a good painting and a great one is knowing when to caress the canvas—and when to attack it.