[quote]
HELP-How long does it take an oil painting to dry?-<snip>
I just finished the first one last night-but it is VERY wet-it's
been ages since I used oils- I thinned down the paint with
linseed oil too and wonder if I put in too much-I would just
touch my brush in the linseed and then mix it in the paints.
Thanks.Barb
[/quote]
Barb...the paint comes with enough oil to exit the tube, and linseed oil is
a natural extender medium for oil. That oil however, only extends the
drying time as well as its fluidity, I'm afraid. In general, without a
siccative...oil paint can take as long as a month to dry to touch (depending
upon your locale's humidity factor), but generally about 2 weeks. Some
colors such as reds (especially allizarin crimson) can take longer.
Oil painters...such as myself, often use a siccative additive to speed up
drying time, but some affect discoloration, yellowing, and can be brittle.
I use a family made copal medium, made in New Mexico from petrified trees,
which causes paint to dry in roughly 2-3 days...but dries uniformly by
attaching itself to the pigment molecules unlike some siccatives like liquin
which dries from the outside in. It is also a natural varnish which doesn't
necessarily require a final varnishing of damar.
Technically allowed to dry by itself, oil takes about one month to dry to
touch...and about 3-6 months to chemically dry. It is after about six
months when it is most often suggested to apply the final varnish to oil
paintings. Sorry for the bad news...
