6 Facts About Oil Paint

1. The first known paintings made with oil date back to the 7th century BC. These paintings were Buddhist murals found in a cave in West Afghanistan. Oil paints were not used in art until it became popular throughout Europe in the 15th century. Jan Van Eyck, a 15th century Flemish painter, is widely believed to have invented it, but in fact he developed it, not invented it.

2. Oil paint is regarded as a revolutionary art. One of its important characteristics is that drying is very slow. This allowed the artist to spend more time working on the painting and correct the mistakes the artist made. Oil paints allowed to artists & # 39; Creativity to be richer because artists can spend more time with each painting. Many of the most widely praised paintings were done in oil.

3. For centuries, artists had to store oil paints on animal bladders. This is because the paint tube was not invented until 1841. It was invented by American painter John Goffland. Before the tube was invented, artists had to mix paint themselves before painting. They need to grind the pigments themselves and mix the binder and thinner carefully.

4. The most basic type of oil paint consists of ground pigment, binder, and thinner, usually turpentine oil. Various substances can be used for the binder, such as linseed oil, walnut oil, and poppy seed oil. Each of these has a different effect on the paint and has a different drying time.

5. There is the latest oil paint that can dry much faster than the standard version. The method of drying is not by evaporation, but by oxidation, the process by which a substance obtains oxygen. A typical picture made with oil is generally accepted to dry after about two weeks, but it can take six months to a year for the picture to actually dry.

6. Oil paint is very durable and durable, so it is used as finishing and protector. It can be used with wood and metal, in both cases it can be used not only inside but also outside. It is often applied to wood during construction and is found on metal surfaces such as airplanes, bridges and ships.