Most Modern Oil Paintings that I have worked with are simply too stiff right out of the tube for my particular style of painting. Mediums will help dilute the oil paint and make the paint flow better, which means you will be using less paint. Using less paint, means you will save money.

There are many different kinds of mediums that are used for different reasons, like speeding up the drying time of paint, improving gloss, etc. Do not be overly concerned with mediums right now.

I like to start my painting using thinned down acrylic paint. I first tone my entire canvas with a neutral color. I then draw in my composition using different values of the same color. I let this initial drawing dry over night. I then apply the oil paint using the fat over lean oil painting method.

Lighting:This is a very important part of oil painting. Without proper lighting, you will not be able to accurately see your colors. The best kind of lighting is natural sunlight, so if you have the opportunity to paint in a well lit room or outdoors, that would be ideal. Of course not everyone is blessed with this type of situation, so the next best thing is to use lighting that mimics natural sunlight.

This type of lighting is referred to as "full spectrum lighting". There are number of different full spectrum lighting products available. Just do a search on Google for "full spectrum lighting" and you will find a number of websites on the topic.

Safety:Understanding of the internal chemistry of oil paint systems at the different stages in their lifetime lets you test the authenticity of the oil paintings from your home. In older days, artists used to give a layer of varnishes to protect the painting. Analysing the material the painting was done on will give a picture about its age. Understanding the colors used, their combinations, theme of painting, any signature on the paint etc help us find out the period the work was done.

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