Oil painting has been around for a long time and has yet to go out of style. Today there are many artists that use this medium as their preferred mode of expression. If you have every thought of taking up an “arty” pursuit, there is a good chance that oil painting has crossed your mind. The Renaissance made it popular originally, but that popularity has never waned through the years. Below are several oil painting guidelines that everybody will find useful.

Tip #1: When painting with light colors such as blue or beige, you should utilize a poppy seed oil instead of linseed. Linseed oil always seems to dry with a yellow tint and this yellowing shows up distinctively in lighter colors.

Tip #2: If you messed up and require a way to “erase” a layer of oil paint, then try using rubbing alcohol. It is a strong solvent that will effectively power through and clean up the difficulty.

Tip #3: Oil paintings should never be dried in darkness. This forces the oil to rise to the surface of the painting and as a result, a yellow film might materialize on the work. Using natural sunlight works best.

Tip #4: Under layers must dry fast to prevent top layers from cracking. To speed up the drying course, you can try adding in some lead or manganese paint hues.

Tip #5: Never, ever use black in your under layers. It dries slower then any other color, no matter what you do to speed the drying time up.

Tip #6: To save some time and give your neck a break, you can try getting in to the habit of putting your colors on the color palette in the same place, each and every time. You can train your self to instinctively know where the correct color is without the need to look down all the time.

Tip #7: Linseed oil should be utilized in under layers as often as possible. Bottom layers must dry prior to the top ones and linseed oil drys the best in this situation.

Grasping the technique of oil painting may appear a smidgen hard initially. But once you get the basics of how oil painting works, you won’t have any trouble. The majority of pros suggest taking some classes, when you first get started. There is a wealth of expertise in these places that can truly make a difference. If you’re not sure where to find a class, then you can try searching at the art department at your local university.

Wassily Kandinsky, famous for his geometric paintngs of circles and lines and triangles and squares was slow to enter the art world… At age 30, he gave up his boring teaching position to daringly enter the art school in Munich. Thankfully, he had talent.

Kandinsky’s more mature age, relative to his fellow students at art school, helped him to progress quickly. It was also during this time that he began to explore the mystical world of Madame Blavatsky and her ideas that became known as Theosophical theory. The symbolism of Theosophy played a key role in his artistic directions. Exploring the mental ideas of other realities, lead to a breaking away from seeing the world in realistic terms…

Kandinsky eventually ended up in the Blue Rose symbolist group of Moscow after traveling around Europe. The Blue Rose was an artist association in Moscow from 1906 to 1908. They emphasized color as a ‘tonal’ medium that was used to construct rhythm in a painting while ignoring shapes and contour and realism. Here we find the early beginnings of abstract art.

Kandinsky’s art style between 1911 and 1914 was characterized by the use of large forms and lines together in a busy, perhaps, chaotic manner. The paintings created, at this time, are referred to as his Blue Rider period.

After returning to Russia, Kandinsky had much to deal with in the political changes of the country. He spent his time teaching form and color analysis, and also joined the Institute of Artistic Culture in Moscow. After finding his art rejected by some key members of the Institute, Kandinsky chose to seek a new path by attending the Bauhaus of Weimar, an art and architecture school in Germany.

During these years, Kandinsky and three other artists formed The Blue Four. This group toured the United States discussing and teaching their art and theoretical views and generally shaking the foundations of traditional painting. This art group included Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger and Alexej von Jawlensky. They eventually returned to Germany, but Kandinsky experienced problems with the Nazis and found it was safer to move to Paris, France to practice his art.

At first, Kandinsky’s more radical abstract and contemporary style found little support in Paris. The Parisian art world was gaga over Impressionism and Cubism at the time. But eventually his geometric style evolved and became more fluid which lead to new followers and some money in his pocket.

Kandinsky Repro Oil Painting Accent in Pink 1926 US $99.99 Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 8:33:51 PDT   | Watch this Item

NEW Silk Scarf Shawl Wassily Kandinsky Houses in Munich US $24.99 Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 9:06:36 PDT   | Watch this Item

Kandinsky Dominant Curve Wall Picture Oak Framed Print US $39.95 Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 9:19:14 PDT   | Watch this Item

Kandinsky Improvision Wall Picture Oak Framed Print US $39.95 Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 9:19:17 PDT   | Watch this Item

Kandinsky Dominant Curve Wall Picture Framed Art Print US $39.95 Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 9:28:43 PDT   | Watch this Item

Animal themed paintings can be extremely pleasurable to use when decorating. A friend recently purchased a new house and asked that I help her find a few wall hangings. As she is a huge animal lover, we decided that an animal themed room would be nice.

Although most of her new furnishings are contemporary, the animal themed paintings we found bring a sense of fun and whimsy to the room. Once we found paintings that matched her color scheme, we found that the two styles complement each other extremely well.

Another friend and his wife decided it was time to start a family and wanted to revamp the entire house. I decided to send them a gift of a painting, I happened upon which had children and animals as its theme. They were so taken with the painting they searched high and low for additional pieces from the artists collection.

One friend who happened to be an interior designer tells of a project that was a somewhat non-traditional take on animal themed artwork. Her client wanted some abstract pieces that would provide an animal-like atmosphere to her room. The pieces ultimately chosen provided not only an animal-like atmosphere but also a whimsical sense of fun–the client was ecstatic.

On the topic of abstract animal themed artwork, I was told by a fellow artist that she was once approached about producing an animal themed mural for a daycare center. The hitch was that it was to be painted entirely in the Cubist style of say a Picasso or Braque. The client was delighted with the outcome and stated that it allowed the children’s imaginations to soar.

Animal themed artwork and accessories were also put to use by a Veterinarian friend who recently opened his own clinic. He is convinced that the sense of fun and whimsy would help to put the pet owners at ease when visiting the clinic which ultimately put their pets more at ease as well.

Another friend speaks of a music teacher who teaches music and musical instruments to younger children. Her classroom is filled with paintings of animals playing different instruments. She is convinced these fun filled whimsical paintings gives the younger students a sense of confidence they would not otherwise feel when beginning to learn music.

Bottom line is I have seen animal themed paintings being used for almost every occasion and personality type. Paintings of any type of animal you can think of and even some of a more abstract nature. Animal themed paintings run the gamut of tastes and do not seem to lessen in appeal for those young or old who happened to be child-like at heart.

HANDICRAFT CANVAS ANIMAL OIL PAINTING ZEBRA US $0.90 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 7:33:59 PDT   | Watch this Item

Art Handmade Animal Tiger oil paintings On Canvas-an05 US $99.99 Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 7:48:46 PDT   | Watch this Item

Handicrafts canvas oil painting-Wolf wildlife ANIMAL US $1.55 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 8:04:56 PDT   | Watch this Item

A█PAINTING█AN█ORIGINAL█DRAWING█BIRD█WILDLIFE█ANIMAL█ART US $440.00 Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 8:26:13 PDT   | Watch this Item

Framed Handmade Horse Animals Oil Painting-Em341 US $189.99 Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 8:34:09 PDT   | Watch this Item

When would you draw on glazing? Well, sometimes personally, I have found that I am not satisfied with the look of a painting as sections of it look relatively lackluster, with the colors not piercing through. Therefore I resort to glazing to increase my expressionism.

Where did the problem originate from. I probably got carried away with the turpentine used as a medium which, in my eyes, ruined it. We all recognize this emotion,… OKf course, it is far more possible it was really a dreadful day for me all round. Therefore my efforts entirely went wide of the mark.

Many artists would consider this a crucial part of their work – therole that glazing plays.

We have all experienced glass and the way the sun filters through it. Well, this is what the effects of glazing are like. It can produce a chilled look or result in additional warmth. So as soon as your original coating of paint is dried out, add a new light coating of color on top. This is valuable tip when doing landscape paintings.

Nobody should have to cope with the troubles of the paint shades all running together. I cannot highlight enough the significance of letting your handiwork dry out first, then you can add those transparent colors on top.

If you want to harmonize your work, bring more depth to it, glazing is great. Applied correctly, it is splendid for making a sense of open space and distance. Glazoing can add a wholoe new dimension to your completed work.

Glazing is not always easy. It takes plenty of practice with your colors to reach a satisfactory result. You just have to keep trying to reach your goal as you become a better artist

What if you try putting a very deep purple on top of a pale yellow – this will give you an idea of the strength of color that can actually be obtained. Experimenting until you are pleased with the completed result is what we need to do…

There are certain rules to remember when you glaze. An absolute must is to not mix any white paint together with the color you want to glaze with. BEmploy oil along with the color and stroke it on lightly.

If you are looking for strong, vivid special effects, get out your palette. Experiment with putting, for instance, a very hot red on a a good deal weaker hue and observe what results. After that, you may well round it off together with a coat of gel, if that is your preference.

Art Supplies - Crayola Classpack 256 markers NEW In-Box US $39.00 (1 Bid) Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 8:39:39 PDT   | Watch this Item

ACRYLIC PAINT ASSORTED ART SUPPLIES USED US $8.00 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 9:06:46 PDT   | Watch this Item

10 Doll House 1.5x3 XF Blank Canvas Panels Art Supplies US $9.20 Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 10:02:24 PDT   | Watch this Item

* Maries 18 Piece Oil Paint Set Art Supplies Marie's * US $6.49 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Saturday Jul-31-2010 10:08:21 PDT   | Watch this Item