Oil paint has been an incredibly popular art medium for hundreds of years. Some of the world’s most treasured paintings, including Monet’s Water Lilies to Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night, were done in oil paint. Don't shy away from oils which are valued and full of tradition and prestige, get informed and start exploring. The art experts at Hawaiian Graphics are here to assist you.

As an arts and crafts store specializing in fine art supplies, they want people to be able to express themselves in whatever medium they desire. To that end, they offer three tips for beginners exploring oil paint:

• Always Use Primed Canvas: The oils in oil paint can be rather acidic and do have the power to deteriorate canvas over time. Primer, like Gesso, seals and protects the canvas from this danger while giving your painting a bright white surface which helps give colors a more luminous appearance.  Most ready made stretched canvas is already primed, however, you should always apply three coats of primer to any canvas that you stretch yourself and make sure it’s fully dry before you break out your oil paints.
• Remember Fat Over Lean: Skilled oil painters are always aware of the oil to solvent ratio in their paints, taking care to ensure that top layers of paint don’t dry more quickly than the underpainting causing cracking or shrinkage. Avoid slow drying colors or adding too much oil to your paint on lower layers and using slower drying colors or add mediums with oil, thus slower drying, to upper layers.  Quality painting mediums are available at Hawaiian Graphics for beginners to more advanced painters, stop by and let our staff help you find the right materials.
• Don’t Dry Your Paintings In the Dark: Drying oil paint in the dark can cause an oily film to rise to the surface and yellow your piece. Always leave your painting in a daylight-filled room to dry.

Art books explaining materials and techniques for oil painting are extremely helpful and available at our store as well.  

If you’re in Honolulu looking for quality art supplies, visit Hawaiian Graphics at 1923 South Beretania St., check out their web site for a list of their inventory, or give them a call at (808) 377-6084.