Get Objective Feedback on your Oil Painting

Due to the amount of questions I receive regarding oil painting techniques and practices, artists may post a painting on this blog and get objective advice on their work. Feedback might include areas that can be improved upon, such as color mixing, art composition, oil painting technique or use of oil painting materials.

Improve Oil Painting Technique

Get feedback on your oil painting

Simply post your painting through my Oil Painting Medic Facebook page on this link (or on the link further down this blog) with your name (if you wish to be credited for the painting) and the nature of the problem. By doing so, you are automatically granting Oil Painting Medic permission to show the painting this blog. If there is a copyright issue, I will happily delete the post.

Do include relevant information regarding the oil painting. Information needed will be:

The problem. This might be, a color mixing issue, or a problem with the background. The problem might be posed as a question, such as, ‘how can I get the right color mix for the hair on this portrait?’ or ‘how do I get smooth effects for this expanse of sky?

Also include an image of the photo worked from, as this might help identify a color mixing or composition problem.

The art materials used. This will include the art pigments used, whether traditional oils, waterbased oils or alkyds; the art surface (canvas or panel), type of gesso, varnish (if used).

Include also the art technique used. This might be glazing (thin layers of paint), impasto (thick paint) or plain old alla prima (a painting completed in one go).

Environmental factors will come in useful if the problem is material-associated, such as, where the painting is stored, where it is hung, the air temperature, damp and the age of the painting.

Oil Painting Critique

Honesty but tact will be used in the feedback. Several routes will be suggested the artist might try for future experimentation. This might be suggestions for a more interesting background or how to get high detail for a still life.

An image of the painting will be posted on this blog along with a brief description of the painting and the art technique used. This will be followed by the question posed. A schedule of the painting’s strengths and areas that can be improved upon in the future will be listed. The aim of this project is to offer help for other artists who encounter similar problems with painting.

Oil Painting Subject Areas

Any subject matter can be included, whether it is portraiture, landscape, still life, animals or floral. Although this blog is predominantly aimed at oil painting, artwork completed in acrylics and alkyds can also be looked at. Watercolor and pencils are a different medium altogether and therefore cannot be included in this blog.

Advice on Oil Painting

Any question can be asked, which might be how to gain a particular pigment for a skin color or how to suggest shiny effects for gold objects depicted. Specialized techniques such as aerosol or materials not traditionally used with oil painting will lie outside of the area of expertise. In this vein, not every problem will find a solution on this blog. However, will endeavour to do so.