Aeration Oils or Mediums Used in Oil Painting

The various oils used as mediums in oil painting are known as aeration oils. The term is useful as a prompt that different oils have different aeration times and properties. These mediums are varied with oil paint both to adjust the way the paint handle directly from the tube (for example, make it thinner or lengthen the drying time) and to modify the character of the paint from what you get directly from a paint tube (for example, make it transparent or opaque, gloss or matt).

Ideal mediums are colourless, lasting, flexible, and do not power the colour of a pigment. Knowledge the exacting properties of a drying oil is part of the vital technical knowledge an oil painter should have. Keep in mind that when an oil paint feels dry to the touch, it will still be aeration under the surface for a quantity of time, which is why the principle of painting 'fat over lean' is so important in oil painting.

Linseed oil is complete from the seeds of the flax plant. It adds gloss and simplicity to paints and is obtainable in several forms. It dries very methodically, making it ideal for underpainting and original layers in a painting. Refined linseed oil is a well-liked, all-purpose, pale to light yellow oil which dries withing three to five days. Cold-pressed linseed oil dry somewhat faster than advanced linseed oil and is considered to be the best quality linseed oil.