My Life Is More...

[perzephone]

Than just WoW and work... here, I'll prove it!















I've never worked w/oil paints. They're messy. I mean, that stuff gets everywhere, and I think I made a mistake because I bought 'turpenoid' instead of turpentine. Every time I reached across the drum, I left streaks of white or red or yellow behind. The snake is badly off-center because I had to erase my preliminary sketches once I started painting - I wanted to put down just a thin base of white to make the colors stand out more against the drum colors and the pencil marks smeared, so I had a metallic gray drum. Ewuch. Had to wipe the whole mess down w/'turpenoid' & then work it all off to get back to where I could put paint on it again. I am planning to go back and clean up the work, but I think it needs to set a little since every time I touch it I just smear it again. It was fun to sit in the middle of my kitchen floor & make a royal mess, though.

Comments

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

I think it looks awesome, I love it! :D :D
Oil paints generally need a few days to dry properly, and can even need about two or three weeks. Humidity slows the process down.

Aww, thanks!

[perzephone.livejournal.com]

I appreciate your kind words :D

Humidity out here is never a problem. I think the phrase, "Yeah, but it's a dry heat" was coined here. Either here or Palm Springs, anyway. The guy at the art store where I bought the paints told me sometimes oil paints will still be malleable for a year or so after the painting's done - holy moley!

It's a double-headed drum, and I think I'm going to get some browns tomorrow and see if I can fingerpaint a mammoth on the reverse side.

[akiima.livejournal.com]

Turpenoid is a less aromatic and thinned down version of turpentine. Most artists use it as a wash with their paint to get different effects, ie- dip their brush in whilst it's already full of a color so that it turns out transparent and streaky.

It's really cool to do if you're painting a sky. You can take thalo blue and azurine onto a turpenoid loaded fan brush, spin it on your canvas, and without even adding white it looks like you have wispy ice clouds that you can just go back and highlight later.

So, yes, my point would be- that's why it made your paint and pencil markings blend together. It isn't really used to remove color so much as to make it more malleable.

I think your drum turned out fantastic. The colors are really vibrant and strong; it suits you.

Oils take a long time to dry though, especially in damp environments or if you put on a lot of layers. One of my more elaborate paintings can take a week to four weeks just to get to the point where it's safe to touch. It would be best to set the drum where it won't be disturbed and lay a tarp over it so dust can't get to it as it dries; just make sure that the fabric isn't actually touching the painted surface.

Also, you should think about buying a fabric safe sealant for afterward, to prevent the colors fading or flaking off. Just spray it on once the whole mess is dry, and it should prevent dirt from adhering to the surface of the canvas when you start playing it again.

BRAVO, on a job well done.

Sorry if I came across as a know-it-all.

Voice of Experience

[perzephone.livejournal.com]

I appreciate your knowledge and compliment :D

I just basically went into Aaron's Art Mart & said, "I need some oil paints and turpentine". The salesman suggested turpenoid because of the odorlessness & yeah, it was waaaaay cheaper than real turpentine. I used it to just thin the paint out, but I'm almost thinking full-strength turpentine might have helped the paint kind of soak into the rawhide better.

I'd love to see some of your art (hint hint)!