Oil paints: varieties of colors and compositions

Painting with paints and a brush is one of the most popular areas of children's creativity. Kids love this activity for a bright, aesthetically pleasing result. At the same time, such a hobby contributes to the development of perseverance, attention, color recognition and coordination of movements in them, not to mention complex thought processes.

Modern children are most often given water-based paints - watercolors or gouache, and in recent years acrylics have also become popular, but real artists of ancient times painted their paintings mainly in oil.

Of course, such a gift will be useless for a very tiny toddler, but if the child really fell in love with painting and achieved certain success in working with the described types of paints, it makes sense to think about donating oil options.

What it is?

Oil paints are a mixture of pigment fillers of a certain color, diluted to a liquid state with one or another type of oil (nowadays, linseed or walnut is more often used). In modern recipes, additional ingredients can also be used, which contribute to a more thorough adhesion of the components to each other, accelerate drying, or simply save a little expensive pigment.

After applying the dissolved paints, the liquid component is partially absorbed into the base, and partially - it evaporates, due to which only the hardened part remains, which has taken the form that the master gave it.

Due to its high viscosity, oil for a long time was practically no alternative for artists, since in combination with canvas it gave a very reliable and durable image. You can check this fact in any art museum where paintings of centuries ago are exhibited. Oil paints look believable, and also allow you to fairly accurately convey the views of the surrounding world, which also played a role.

Previously, artists made paints for themselves on their own, but today, like any other product for creativity, you can buy them. Oil paints are more expensive than minimal children's watercolors and gouaches, so it is logical to sell them both in multicolor sets and in separate tubes of the desired shade, which allows you to more correctly organize the waste of paints.

It is worth noting that the specifics of oil painting involves the purchase of other consumables, for example, a solvent, so this hobby is definitely not the cheapest.

For the smallest, oil paints are definitely not suitable - and the drawing procedure is quite complicated, and there is a high risk of poisoning with toxic components. Oil painting is not available to everyone. As a rule, only those who have devoted a huge part of their time to drawing and reached the heights in training reach this level.

Features:

When exactly oil paints appeared, no one can say for sure, but their history goes back several millennia. Traces of the use of oil-based formulations were found on the Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afghanistan - this painting is considered the most ancient of all dated, and today it has already turned more than 27 centuries! Thus, the invention does not have a specific historical author - science has not preserved the name of the person who first guessed to use such technology.

In Europe, such paints have also been known for a long time, but the large-scale popularization of oil painting, forcing us to talk about such creativity today, is considered the work of the Flemish artist Jan van Eyck, who lived in the distant 15th century. Although the technique itself was not invented by him. It is believed that he came up with the idea of improving oil-based dyes. Thanks to this modernization and the talent of the master, his paintings were radically different from earlier works by other authors. Then the realism finally became high enough to be comparable to modern photography.

At that time, it was a real revolution in art, so very quickly they quickly started talking about the new technique invented by the Flemish in neighboring countries - in France and Germany. Despite the poor development of transport at that stage of history, oil technology reached Italy within a few decades, where it gave a powerful impetus to such a cultural phenomenon as the Renaissance.

In this era, oil finally became the main tool for the painter's work, because it was he who wrote almost all the outstanding masterpieces, including the well-known Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci. Since then, oil painting has been defining in the visual arts for almost six centuries.

Since the end of the last century, oil painting from a bohemian occupation of representatives of art has slowly begun to turn into an amateur hobby, which was facilitated both by the increased well-being of the population and a massive orientation towards creative hobbies, and the development of new, simplified techniques that allow painting with oil dyes. Today in our country there is an opportunity for every child to try himself in this art form.

Properties

The characteristics of oil paints are ambiguous - on the one hand, it is not in vain that they have been in the top for half a millennium, on the other, there are some drawbacks due to their invention in too old times. So, when applied in a thick layer, they are capable of cracking, and the films formed by them on the canvas are quite easily washed off with water and are afraid of alkaline solutions.

In Russian realities, another factor is also dangerous - low temperature. Dried oil paint is afraid of severe frost. At the same time, contemporary artists are trying to find a way out of all these situations. For example, with proper drying, which requires a temperature of 250-300 degrees, the film's resistance to weak alkali is significantly increased.

The modern color palette of oil paints is much more diverse than that of the old masters. At the same time, such mixtures are both transparent (used for glazing - applying several translucent shades one on top of the other), and covering, which do not transmit the lower tone. In this case, the first species mix quite well with each other without loss of saturation, while the latter usually turn gray and become inconspicuous.

The brightness model is considered to be those paints in which there is a large concentration of one pigment, however, due to the toxicity or high cost of some components, the desired color is often obtained by mixing. As a rule, the resulting result is criticized for reduced saturation, but this is the only way to make a transparent paint based on an opaque pigment, and a correctly calculated combination can sometimes look better than a single-pigment original.

Paintings made with such compositions have several unusual properties. In particular, the oil dries out in a period from a week to one and a half, however, the complete polymerization of the top layer is completed only a couple of years later. At the same time, a completely dry film is very fragile - even a slight deformation is enough for it to crack. It is curious that in the process of such long-term drying, the weight of the picture changes repeatedly, and very noticeably - at first it becomes very heavy, but then it becomes lighter again.

In addition, linseed oil painting (which is the most popular ingredient for most paints) deteriorates from storage in the dark - colors become faded, yellow. But such a problem is solved very easily - the masterpiece is restored by prolonged exposure to sunlight. You should be careful here, because some pigments used in the sun fade quickly.

One of the solutions is the use of paints based on refined linseed oil, since they are less prone to yellowing, but in this case the oil crust becomes even more unreliable.

Benefit and harm

Like any other material for creativity, oil paints have their own advantages and disadvantages, which take on a special shade if they are planned to be used for the creativity of a young user. There are several factors that literally push you to purchase oil paints for children's painting. These include:

Relative ease of learning. It should be noted here that ordinary drawing is more accessible for children in more familiar forms, for example, watercolor or gouache. However, most serious artists consider these types of paints unsuitable for real art, and if we talk about painting, they call it the oil that is the easiest to work with.
Easy to mix shades. Unlike typical baby paints, the oil takes a very long time to dry. Many parents tend to see this as a disadvantage, but for creativity such a characteristic is a huge plus. The fact is that only with slow drying can you fully select the shade without risking losing patience.

Preservation of shades. Gouache and acrylic paints have been repeatedly criticized by professionals for the fact that when they dry their shade changes, and this does not allow to objectively depict reality or fully learn to draw (the skill of mixing colors is lost). Oil compositions have lasted so long in fashion precisely because they do not lose their original shades, and therefore are suitable for both modeling and art.
The ability to correct errors. When mastering the technique of working with a palette knife, a young artist will always be able to make small edits to his work, simply by removing unnecessary paint with the indicated tool. Although this technique should not be abused (there is a risk of damage to the canvas). Even the limited editing ability provides certain possibilities - those that you cannot even dream of in watercolor technique.
Long-term storage. If a child has achieved noticeable success in painting, then both parents and he himself will certainly want his best creations to be preserved as long as possible.

With proper handling and care, oil paintings can live for centuries - any serious art exhibition testifies to this.

Nevertheless, painting was not for nothing that for a long time was the lot of only persistent professionals. Mastering even the lightest technique is actually far from easy. There are quite a few reasons for this:

Difficulty mixing colors... Even such a simple operation, which children should be taught in elementary school, has its own characteristics when working with oil paints. Due to the specifics of the components used, a chemical reaction is likely between the individual components, which, instead of the expected shade, will give ordinary dirt. Without knowing the correct proportions, color mixing may not work.
Drying too slow. If you read the biographies of great artists, you will be surprised to note that they worked on some of their masterpieces for months. This is due to the fact that oil paints dry for a long time even in one layer, and when using the glazing technique, the artist has to wait for the previous layer to dry before applying the next one, otherwise the probability of damage to the shades increases significantly.

If a child paints in one layer, for this you still need a special room with good ventilation. In addition, the question remains regarding the baby's ability to such an amazing perseverance.

Abundance of toxic components... Few of the parents would entrust their children with working with toxic materials, because kids do not follow safety precautions. However, it is impossible to avoid this problem when working with oil paints, because many of them initially contain harmful components, for example, the same lead white. Today, many manufacturers advertise their products as completely safe for children, but even if this is true (what else needs to be checked by carefully studying the composition), this does not negate the use of solvents, which can be harmful and contact with the skin or eyes, and even fumes.

Kinds

If you classify oil-based paints, then first of all, it should be noted that there are:

oil;
artistic paints.
Paints that are designed for construction and repair needs.

Replacing some formulations with others is not recommended (even despite some common ingredients)

In general, professional paint paints are of higher quality components, which is detrimental to the safety of use, while industrial paints are designed for an increased drying rate and application to non-artistic surfaces.

For children's creativity, an improved recipe containing optional elements will be especially useful. So, special emphasis should be placed on those paints in which there are no harmful components, even if this slightly affects the quality of the drawing. It is also possible it makes sense to purchase those options where the recipe is designed for accelerated drying - at the stage of training, a child still does not need an amazing level of properties, if, due to the danger of dyes or too long the creation process, he abandons training.

Considering the increased demand for oil paints from amateurs in recent years, today such a product is sold in a wide range. For a child who is just starting his journey in oil painting (and it is still not a fact that he will not criticize this particular type of paint), it is worth purchasing a minimum drawing set containing 12 colors.

For the intermediate level, you can also choose a set of 24 colors, which significantly expands the possibilities of mixing shades (no more than three ingredients to obtain a tone). As for professionals or very confident amateurs, they prefer to purchase paints in tubes by the piece. With constant use, it costs less, and if there is a large profile store in the immediate vicinity, it also allows you to more accurately select the desired shades.

Composition

Traditionally, the composition of oil paints includes pigments, an oil base, and other additional ingredients to improve the quality, although the latter is not always present.

Pigments are included in the composition of the paint in any case, even if it is white, because they are responsible for the presence of a shade and its brightness. Both organic and inorganic substances can be used as pigments, however, the latter are considered to be of higher quality due to increased durability. The main coloring elements are made from cadmium, cobalt, their salts and compounds, as well as other natural ingredients.

It is advised to choose paints based on expensive pigments, because their shade is more natural, and they can also contain lightfast elements that allow paintings not to fade in the sun.

For children's creativity, it is recommended to carefully avoid components based on toxic compounds, such as lead white.

Linseed oil is considered the most common base for oil paints, however, due to its light golden color, it is completely inapplicable for the lightest shades, in which colorless poppy oil is often used. Walnut oil is another common alternative. Paradoxically, but Many children's oil paints are actually water-based, although oil is, of course, also present there.

Dry oil paints containing only pigment are also available. In this case, the consumer mixes it with the oil.

Additional ingredients are usually intended to replace expensive pigments. These additives are mica, talc or kaolin. Lead, cobalt or manganese salts help speed up the drying process of the paint layer, but also increase the risk of cracking and the hazard from using lead components. Additives can be used for a higher level of interaction between all the named elements.

Firms

When choosing oil paints, the brand that manufactures products is of great importance - this is the only way to determine how high-quality goods are bought, how safe and suitable it is for the correct education of the child:

If we are talking about choosing the very first set, and there is no confidence in the stable and long-term use of oil paints, it is better to buy products "Gamma". Such products can hardly be called professional, but this brand is widely known in our country for a huge range of goods for children's creativity, and also leaves hope for a safe chemical composition.

Other domestic brands, for example, "Ladoga" and "Sonnet", and the latter are generally popular even among novice artists.

Almost all of the popular foreign brands are suitable for children, unless they are designed for professionals. In our country, among the imported oil paints, the most popular are brand products Rembrandt.

Colors

The palette of oil paints is wide enough to choose the right shade for children's creativity, especially since many manufacturers produce not only sets, but also individual tubes. In the latter case, the color names must be indicated on the packages.

Basic black and white tones use natural metallic components as pigments. Zinc, titanium and lead are used as white (the latter is very harmful), as black - soot and graphite, and powder of various metals is used to give paints metallic shades.

Many shades are based on earthy pigments. The brown paint is obtained on the basis of clay umber, and the gold paint is sienna (iron oxide hydrate with impurities) or ocher. The rest of the oil-based options, such as bright red, blue, turquoise or pink paint, are obtained either using other inorganic pigments, or by mixing them, or with the addition of organic dyes.

Which one is better to choose?

When choosing children's oil paints, one should build on a number of criteria that will help protect the baby from harmful effects and interest him in the painting process.

First of all, you need to carefully study the composition - there should be nothing in it that could be harmful. In the case of children, it does not matter how this ingredient could enter the body - it simply should not be in the composition, because the child is unlikely to strictly adhere to the rules of behavior with a dangerous substance.

It is not bad if the manufacturer himself in one way or another indicates that these paints do not contain hazardous components and are acceptable for use by children.

Also, starter oil should be as easy to use as possible. It is especially welcome if the manufacturer was not too lazy to accompany his product with instructions as to which solvents and varnishes these paints interact best with, as well as in what conditions they need to be dried. All necessary additions and drying methods must be available to the buyer, otherwise even the most detailed instructions will be useless.

It is very good if driers (drying accelerators) are introduced into the composition of children's oil paints. This will help to achieve the readiness of the result in a much shorter time frame, which is very important for two reasons at once:

Firstly, a child is unlikely to have his own studio to fully engage in painting, and drying paintings at home for weeks is not very convenient.
Secondly, the kid may lose all interest in drawing due to the fact that the result of hard work will have to wait too long.

If we talk about specific manufacturers that would meet all the stated requirements, then the ideal candidate for the role of the first oil paints is the products of the Moscow company "Gamma".

In the case when a child learns under the guidance of an experienced master, and has reached a certain level, he will no longer have to choose paints - they will either be advised by the teacher, or the kid himself will choose.

Application

Oil painting is very complex not only as an art, but also as a long process of preparation for painting. The choice of the future basis is quite difficult, since you need to write mainly on canvas, less often wood or cardboard is used, but other materials are completely unsuitable for such purposes. In this case, even the surfaces described must be pre-primed, and not in one layer, but approximately in 4-5.

The primer, as a rule, is able to draw oil from paints, which does not contribute to the preservation of the brightness of the shades, so after priming the canvas must also be lubricated with a thin layer of linseed oil or with a special glue produced specifically for this purpose.

The breadth of creative possibilities in oil painting is clearly visible in the field of choosing the actual tool for application, since there are practically no restrictions here. For rough work, brushes are used from natural bristles of the same pig, for drawing thin details - from soft wool, a column, synthetics are also appropriate. However, the set of tools does not end there, because today many authors even draw with a palette knife, and the famous Titian drew with his fingers!

Another thing is that it is clearly not worth repeating the trick of the famous Italian - oil paints contain toxic components that can penetrate the body through the skin.

To get the perfect shade, different colors from the set need to be diluted with a palette knife on a special palette, however, not everything is so simple here either.

The composition of oil paints includes a huge number of various components, so there is always a risk of a chemical reaction between the components. For this reason, it is recommended to obtain each shade in a shorter way, mixing no more than three colors at a time.

As a palette, you can choose something from a fairly wide range of materials - an ordinary wooden board, wax-impregnated paper, and modern materials, such as a piece of glass or ceramic tiles, will do. The masters point out that Glass "palettes" are the most practical, because they are easy to clean and do not pull oil from paint, and allow you to put a fabric of the color of the ground under them, making it possible to perfectly accurately select the shade.

When working with oil, you cannot do without a solvent, which is needed both for thinning paint and for washing tools after work. Turpentine is considered the best solvent for oil formulations, but any other analogue will do as long as it evaporates in full and does not leave any impurities.

It should be remembered that oil paint should not be very thinned, since it sticks to the base precisely because of its density. In order not to overdo it with a solvent, in such cases, a little linseed oil is simply added to the dye.

The used solvent can also be reused, but only on condition that it was stored in a special jar with a double bottom, the inner of which must be provided with holes for the settling of dissolved pigments.

But do not overestimate the capabilities of the solvent - it will remove not so much paint from the brush, so it is better to wipe the last one with a rag.

A separate topic is the use of varnishes and resins, which make it possible to give oil paints an initially uncharacteristic shine. With their aesthetic effect, they somewhat interfere with the formation of a protective film, therefore, there should be no more than 10% of them in the dye mixture.

For such varnishes, a separate solvent is needed, and only one that can completely dissolve it (in order to avoid precipitation). Lacquer (usually ketone) protects the surface of an already finished painting, which allows it to be less exposed to the destructive influence of the environment.

The chemical composition of modern oil paints is often improved in order to influence the drying rate. More often, of course, the developers seek to speed up this process, because not every person has the conditions that allow them to wait up to two weeks for the complete drying of the masterpiece. but the use of such paints poses a certain risk as, on average, they are much more susceptible to cracking.

Slowing down the drying is less popular, however, this effect is also needed - it is necessary for those artists who work in the "alla prima" technique, which involves creating a picture in one session (without drying breaks).

Reviews

Parental comments on oil paints are usually restrained - the overwhelming majority of the older generation still believes that such a hobby is not suitable for children. Oil painting is criticized for the high level of toxicity of paints, too high requirements for the conditions of painting, as well as the excessive duration of the creation of the drawing, due to which most children lose interest in the process.

Positive criticism can be found from those parents who paint themselves with pleasure. They note that early oil painting classes contribute to the all-round development of the child, and also give much higher guarantees that over time he will become a real serious artist. As a rule, only these parents can choose the right type of paints, so they rarely criticize what they bought for inappropriate qualities.