Love this piece, the yellow sky is very moody and impressive, can't go wrong with dragons either. I really like that it is done in oil too. Welcome to DA btw.

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Elfwood

Thank you. Every once in a while I get a piece right (sort of)
Oils? Love them. Taught myself how to use them a couple decades ago and haven't changed my mind since.

Your floral photos are great. Really nice eye.

I wish I could make decision what medium to stick with. I piddle around in oils, acrylic, watercolor, printmaking, ceremics, paper arts, and now recently digital... I'll never get any good at a particular one cause of it. I keep hopeing it's gonna hit me, ya know the "what/personal calling" that I should be creating...

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Elfwood

Which one do you enjoy the most and which one fits your personality best? I use oils because I like to change my mind. Watercolor and acrylics don't let me do that. I found painting on different surfaces really kick-starts my drive to paint. I love to paint on ostrich eggs when I get the chance.
If you have a question about oils that I might be able to answer, feel free to ask

That is just the problem; I can't decide which I like the most. I like each for their unique properties, which bring out different parts of my personality. Of the painting arena, I lean towards oils for their blend ability and richness. If I could blend that with the dry times of acrylics that would help, I currently use liquin to speed it up. On canvas I like to paint hard and fast. Oils sometimes make me wait a few days to a week or I turn it to mud. Haven't quit got that wet on wet technique I guess? Maybe that is something you could offer some advice on? I like watercolors for their delicacy and illustrative type uses, a little more timid, structured and detailed. But the biggest issue is the inspiration/subject matter/personal ideology. I can't find that "it" thing. The thing that makes me sing inside and leads me in the right direction, I used to have it a long time ago, but it is gone and I'm struggling to find it. I guess I hope by playing in the plethora of mediums parts of it will come back to me, then I can hone in on what works best for me...

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Your on the right track with oils. Try them on paper though. They usually dry overnight. Sometimes, if I paint in the morning they're dry enough to work at night again. You can also treat oils like watercolors. If you really thin them down with liquin, which is what I use too, you can make them flow like water. The liquin will hold as much pigment as you want it to. The look can be a little different on paper than watercolors, but I've actually had people who couldn't tell the difference.
Don't gesso the paper if you're going to use oils. It curls and warps. Use plain bristol vellum, the oil won't bleed through. The first coat of paint you put on should just be an underpainting, not too much detail.
I also mix oils and oil pastels. I like doing backgrounds in oil and foreground subjects in oil pastels. The look is softer and more "artistic".
Experiment with mixing mediums, I think you'll be surprised what you come up with

Wow, thanks for the info. I didn't know you could paint oils on paper. I'm going to have to get some bristol vellum This is all great information, thanks again!

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Elfwood