Oil paints have been used for hundreds of years and have stood the test of time with great durability and steadfast color.

Oils are beloved by artists for many reasons. They offer great versatility. Oils can be very opaque, or they can be thinned with a solvent to varying levels of transparency. They have a slow-drying time, during which their colors do not change, allowing the artist to rework, correct, and even scrape off areas of paint.

Use them on stretched canvas or boards that have been primed to accept oil paints. Clean-up with turpentine or mineral spirits.