Oil paint is an amazing versatile medium. It is applied in the form of thick butter or diluted to water consistency. This versatility opens the door to many painting techniques.
My personal preference is to start my oil paintings by first drawing the composition using acrylic paint or water-soluble oil paint. A popular method for oil painting is to thin the paint with turpentine to apply your starting layers. Turpentine is very toxic, and I like not to work with it. Acrylic or water-soluble oil paint is usually diluted with old water, and in my opinion it is more pleasant to work with.
You can also start your own oil painting, for which you can prepare your composition first. There are some drawing media that work well with oil paint. Two of my favorites are wine charcoal and water-soluble pencils. I like wine charcoal because it is not as bad as other charcoals and is easily wiped out. Water-soluble pencils are great because you can apply them like regular colored pencils, and you can spread the color by wetting with a brush.
If you are the impatient type, you can try your hand at Allah Prim Oil Painting Technique. The Allah Prim method involves you finishing the painting in a single sitting, instead of painting in layers and waiting for the paint to dry. I usually like to build my paintings in layers, but I sometimes enjoy this exciting and natural approach in oil painting.
If you are a careful, patient type painter, you may be interested in working with glazes. Glazing has lost popularity these days, somewhat due to the time required to complete this type of painting and its difficulty, but the results are truly unique to any other painting technique. The composition was previously painted with opaque monochrome underpinnings, usually in shades of gray. After the initial under painting is completely dry, thin layers of transparent oil glaze are applied. The colors are not mixed directly, but are added in separate layers to get the desired color.
If you are the adventurous type, set aside the brushes and try a set of painting or palette knives. You can get some interesting results with a knife that are not possible with a brush. Oil paint can be widely expanded and easily scraped. What I enjoy most about using a knife is its tendency not to focus on the smallest details. I had to paint more comfortably in such a way as to create an Impressionist style painting. Get yourself a set of painting knives and try to finish the whole painting with a knife. This can be challenging at first if you are in the habit of brushing, but it is an enjoyable exercise.
Maybe you want your painting to have more body and texture. You can try the Impost technique and apply your paint in thick, heavy strokes, proving all the stunning artistic brush strokes. Take a look at Van Gogh's painting, and you'll see this technique at work.
It is not really surprising why oil painting is so popular for painters. There is so much to find in oil painting. You will never get bored by trying amazing tools, media and technologies.
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