By the time I was in grade school, I knew I wanted to draw realistically & paint with oil colors. In part, I think oil paint drew because of both the rich history and the rich effects achieved with oil paint. I received my first painting set in junior high, an acrylic paint set with a very good color-mixing guide. I still have my first two paintings, and while I was thrilled to experiment with the acrylic paints, I knew the results were not the same as oil paint. I finally purchased my first oil colors in college and absolutely loved the luminous thin glazes you can create. I also loved the ability to work on a painting over a long period. One aspect of acrylic paint I struggled with was the quick drying time and the in ability to smooth out the surface once it dries.
While I loved oil colors, I explored other forms of water-based paint as an undergrad including watercolors and gouache. Surprising, I loved watercolors. They are demanding, but the brilliant thin washes of color appealed to me, and also allowed my mind to work differently than when oil painting. Because of the nature of watercolor paint, reworking is not usually an option, you need to be sure in application, and this was freeing for me as a young artist. I had to stop second-guessing my paint strokes.
In my twenties & early thirties I was so busy with work and rarely spent time painting. Part of the reason was due to the nature of oil painting. At that time, you needed turpentine and paint thinner to work the paint and clean brushes. These chemicals do not smell great and can be unpleasant to use in small or shared spaces. When I heard about water miscible oil paints in the early 2000’s, I ran to the local art store and bought my favorite colors from Grumbacher’s version: cadmium red, cadmium yellow, ultramarine blue, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, alizarin crimson, ivory black & titanium white. Grumbachers version is a thicker, more pigmented paint and definitely works well with water miscible linseed oil. Suddenly, I didn’t need hazardous chemicals that I would have to dispose of. It was absolutely freeing and since then I have tried Holbein’s Duo version, perfect if you like a soft, buttery paint, as well Windsor Newton & Cobra versions. I also learned that Murphy’s Oil Soap was a brilliant brush cleaner for oil colors and acrylics. This helped me slowly rebuild my studio practice, focusing on landscapes using water miscible oil colors.
All this time, I still wanted to explore the ancient method of encaustic painting, and for the past ten years, it has been my main focus. I really wanted to dive deep into the medium and develop my own style. Even now, I am drawn to study it further with a focus on portrait techniques from ancient Greece & Egypt, not to become a portrait artist, but just to learn new techniques and also train my eyes to look at faces in a different way. Nevertheless, I still have my oil paints in case I am inspired by a beautiful sky or vista. I have my sketchbook and pencils when I want to focus on form and line. I even keep some acrylic paint and watercolors for when I need to get past a creative slump, just make some marks, and use color without second-guessing myself or over thinking. Like pencil sketches, these painted sketches are not always good, but they help me loosen up my process and see where my mind or my technique has become too tight.