Why paint with oils?

 I hear so many artists say that they never get started in painting with oils because they are too intimidating. But, like anything else, they just take some practice and some getting used to. Once you learn their properties you may find you really like them. To all of you watercolorists out there and those working with fast-drying or transparent mediums, you are already working with very challenging materials! Each medium has its own unique properites, so long as you don't expect oil paints to behave like any other, you may find you really like them. Here are some of the advantages

•  They are very forgiving. Because they stay open longer they can be reworked, scraped, and amended more than watercolor and other transparent or water based mediums.
•  They are rich and luminous when at their best.
•  They can produce fabulous texture and depth of color.
•  Oil paintings on canvas are easier to frame than anything on paper!

Some possible deterrents:

•  They smell.
•  They are messy and hard to clean up.
•  They take too long to dry.
• Just can't get the hang of them. Everything turns out muddy.

Lest you find the possible deterrents too deterring, I'll discuss some possible solutions the next time!