Introduction to Oil and Encaustic Paintings
Oil painting is a long-lasting medium created using oil paints, which consist of color pigments and oil binders like seed oil, walnut oil, linseed oil, safflower oil, and more. Oil paints were first used in Asia as early as the 7th century AD. The oldest known oil paintings are Buddhist murals created around 650 AD, using walnut and poppy seed oils. These paintings are located in cave-like rooms carved from the cliffs of the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan. Later, famous artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, and Pablo Picasso used oil paints in their works.
On the other hand, encaustic painting, or hot wax painting, is also an oil-based medium but created by using heated encaustic media or hot wax with added color pigments. Encaustic painting was popular in ancient Greek and Roman art. The word "encaustic" comes from the Greek word "enkaustikos," meaning "to heat or burn." The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder explained the wax encaustic painting technique in his first-century book "Natural History." The Egyptian Romano-Egyptian Fayum mummy portraits, painted between 100 - 300 AD, are the oldest encaustic panel paintings still in existence. Famous encaustic artists include Jasper Johns, Pausias, and Benjamin Calau.
Composition of Oil and Encaustic Paintings
Oil paint is made by mixing color pigments with drying oils like poppy seed oil, walnut oil, linseed oil, and safflower oil. The viscosity of the paint can be modified by adding a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the dried oil paint film.
Encaustic media is made by blending colors with waxes like beeswax and damar resin, along with other ingredients. Dried powdered pigments can be used for pigmentation, while some artists prefer to use colored wax, inks, oil paints, or other forms of pigmentation.
Specific Properties of Oil and Encaustic Paintings
Oil paint allows the artist to achieve a broad range of opacity and intensity in their work. It enables layering multiple colors and blending them to produce stunning artwork. The slow-drying quality of oil paint allows artists to develop a painting gradually and make changes or corrections easily. Oil paint is water-resistant and waterproof, but oil paintings are fragile art pieces that are quickly damaged by light, heat, humidity, dust, and other pollutants.
Encaustic paint has the consistency of translucent clay. When hot, it can be applied like liquid paint, but when it cools, it solidifies, allowing artists to cut, carve, stamp, or sculpt it, giving the painting a 3D effect. Encaustic paint and its products are entirely waterproof due to their oil or wax base. It can withstand sunlight without fading, though it is recommended to keep the painting at normal temperature.
Key Features of Oil and Encaustic Paintings
Oil paint is suitable for application on wood and metal due to its hard-wearing characteristics and brilliant hues, providing a very glossy and appealing effect to the paintings. It has been employed in paint-on-glass animation due to its delayed drying qualities. Oil paint dries slowly compared to encaustic paint.
Encaustic paint, when hot, can be applied like liquid paint, but when it cools, it solidifies, allowing artists to cut, carve, stamp, or sculpt it, giving the painting a 3D effect. Encaustic wax dries much faster than oil paint, so the colors don't bleed into one another.
Suitable Surfaces for Oil and Encaustic Paintings
Oil paint can bond to many different surfaces, and mediums can modify their binding characteristics. Oil paints can be used on canvas, tempera, wood, glass, and a range of other materials.
Encaustic painting can be done on prepared wood, plaster, or canvas. Encaustic wax should be painted on a solid but porous surface that allows it to penetrate and provide a sturdy foundation for a painting.
Other Specialties of Oil and Encaustic Paintings
Oil paints mix readily, allowing for subtle color changes and creating many light and shadow elements. Oil paintings can be thinned using turpentine or other thinning chemicals, enabling painters to layer their work. Professional artists use oil colors created to resist chemical reactions from exposure to water, ultraviolet light, and oxidation.
In the encaustic technique, hot wax is applied in layers to laminated wood panels to produce opaque or translucent results. Encaustic paintings have many advantages, but there are some disadvantages. Encaustic painting requires a heat lamp or heat gun to fuse and bind the medium. Encaustic paintings should be kept at normal temperature, avoiding direct sunlight, and should be routinely buffed within 6 - 12 months using soft lint-free cloths like pantyhose.
Toxicity and Vegan-Friendly Considerations
Despite some oil paints being non-toxic, it is not advisable to apply them directly to the skin because some pigments may be poisonous. Oil paint could irritate the skin if it comes into contact. Almost all types of oil paints are not vegan-friendly because they use oil as the pigment binder, and some binders have animal origins.
Most encaustic paintings are safe to use because they are made of color pigments and wax as a binder. The acrylic wax used in encaustic paint to bind the pigments makes it suitable for vegans. Beeswax, for example, is an animal-extracted wax, so it cannot be used in vegan products.
Conclusion
Both oil and encaustic painting offer unique artistic possibilities and benefits. Oil painting provides vibrant, blendable colors with a glossy finish, while encaustic offers three-dimensional effects and faster drying times. Each medium has specific properties, surfaces, and techniques that artists must consider to achieve their desired results. The choice between oil and encaustic painting depends on the artist's preferences and the effects they wish to achieve.
Additionally, GranNino offers a free art hosting platform where artists can upload unlimited artworks, including oil and encaustic paintings. This platform provides a supportive community for artists to showcase their work, receive feedback, and connect with other creatives. For more information and to start uploading your artworks, visit GranNino .
Happy creating! 🎨
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