Basics of oil painting: Uncommon Mediums. Oleogel

It snowed today in Moscow, it’s a perfect time to lie under a blanket and study something new about oil painting.

There are a lot of different mediums for oil painting. Of course, they aren’t vital to create a masterpiece, but it’s always interesting to discover what effects they can help you to achieve.

Depending on your needs, you can buy a a big jar or a small tube

I’ve already discussed oils, solvents and varnishes, but there are less common products, like Oleogel, Wilson's and Velazquez mediums. Their purposes are different; therefore I’ve decided to create a separate short post for each one of them.

What an artist usually do when he wants to make a paint transparent? Add to it a thinner he usually works with - in most cases, it's a pure oil/diluent or a mixture of both. It thins the paint a lot, so it becomes impossible to create a noticeable brushstrokes.

Oleogel adds transparency to oil without thinning out its consistency. It is ideal for glazing and oiling out dry layers. You can also add pigments or extenders to thicken it for creating impasto effects that do not sink in. Oleogel doesn't affect the drying time and, as it doesn't contain driers, can't lead to cracking.

Pure Lead White, pure Oleogel and a mixture of them

HERE is a post of an amazing artist Kate Stone about different ways to use Oleogel. The point called "Softening out a penumbra" is especially appealing to me.

The same paint in pure form (left) and with Oleogel (right)

*All photos are from http://www.naturalpigments.com/

P.S. Did I mention the plan to finish 5 paintings this week? I was way too optimistic. Hopefully, 2 out of 5 will be finished tomorrow. Correct assessment of the timing is not my strong point yet.