On the benefits and drawbacks of working with oil...

Another work in progress... this is one I started out thinking would be much more "pop art"y but somehow the style is morphing into... well, I'm not sure. I'm struggling a bit with parts and need to let it dry a few days to go back in. And this brings me to my topic of the benefits and drawbacks of working with oil paints. In short, the qualities of oils that make it so wonderful to use are the same qualities that make it a real pain in any artist's neck. The slow-drying nature of oil makes it ideal for blending, smudging, smushing, and mooshing. On the other hand, if you get overzealous in any of those activities, you inevitably end up with a muddy puddle of sludge brown. I am a "mess-around" type of painter and I frequently overwork and keep fiddling with the paints when what I really need to do is just let it go for a few days while the oil has time to set up. Then, after a few days, you can go back in and add more details on top of what you already did. This ability to apply more paint on top is another beauty of oil. You can go back over any screw-ups again and again and again until you are finally mollified (or until you give up in despair). I have poured paint thinner on many a painting I wasn't happy with and smudged over the entire thing with an old rag so that I could start a new painting on the canvas. This technique can not only be really cleansing and satisfying, but it can also lead to some great paintings because you are starting with a cool smudged-color background rather than a plain white canvas, which let's admit, can be really daunting. Now try that with watercolors, I dare you!!