Collection: OILS - PAINTS AND MEDIUMS

Lustrous and versatile, oil paint has appealed to artists since the middle ages. Painters from Van Eyck to Hockney have been drawn to its rich sheen and vibrant colour. The paint is made using finely ground pigment particles suspended in drying oils.

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What actually is Oil Paint?

Oil paint consists of pigment dispersed in a drying oil, i.e. an oil that hardens when exposed to air. It is relatively slow drying and has been favoured by painters since the Middle Ages thanks to its lustrous quality and versatility. Just contemplating the gentle luminosity of a Seurat with the high drama of a Caravaggio or the boldness of a Twombly demonstrates just a few ways that oil paint can be used to achieve infinitely diverse and exciting results. It’s capable of washes, glazes and thick impasto marks. 

What materials and equipment do I need to get started?

The absolute minimum you can get started with is some tubes of oil paint, a brush or a palette knife, a board or canvas to paint onto and some solvent to wash your brushes with afterwards. Some rags or kitchen towel are also handy for blotting brushes with.

In time you may wish to mix more drying oils or mediums into your paint to alter the drying time, transparency, thickness and sheen of your paint. You can also dilute paint with solvent. A range of brushes and palette knives will expand your mark making ability.