Culture · 6 pages · 12 min
How oil paint stays workable
Oil paint stays movable because drying oil cures slowly in air instead of flashing off.
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From the opening
Oil paint stays workable because its binder is a drying oil, usually linseed, that sets by a slow chemical cure rather than by water leaving. While that cure is unfinished, the paste can still be moved, blended, and scraped on the support. The opening covers drying oil curing in air, thin films skin before thick ones, and wet into wet, then fat over lean.
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Inside
- Drying oil curing in air
- Thin films skin before thick ones
- Wet into wet, then fat over lean
- Why acrylic sets differently
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Oxidative curing of drying oils such as linseed
- Fat over lean as a layered-painting practice