Dutch Golden
Age artists established the practice of oil painting on canvas.
Using brushes to apply oil paints onto a canvas became the standard medium of artistic expression in easel painting during the 1600s. Oil painting on canvas first came to prominence during the Dutch Golden Age with the work of Netherlandish and Flemish artists. Since then many different techniques and standard operating procedures have developed in the making of fine art oil paintings.
Glazing
The Dutch painters of the 17th century were the first to make oil paintings primarily on canvas. They developed the technique of glazing. They lay down oil paint in opaque, monochromatic layers to form a grisaille or underpainting. They then brushed paint thinned with linseed oil on in translucent layers one over another for a luminous effect. Graded washes achieved tonal transitions for an illusion of depth. Optical color mixing gave the pictures bright jewel-like colors.
Alla Prima
Alla prima painting is a technique known as direct painting or wet on wet painting. The name is Italian for "at first." Painters often complete alla prima pictures in one sitting without waiting for the layers of paint to dry. Flemish painter Frans Hals pioneered the technique. It became the favorite oil painting method of the Impressionist movement. The artist mixes colors on the palette and quickly applies them in patches over the canvas.
Dry Brush
The dry brush technique produces a varied textural surface. The artist uses paint straight from the tube or mixed on the palette without adding thinner. He applies a small amount of paint on the tip of the brush to the canvas over previous layers of dried paint. He drags the brush over the canvas so it sticks to the ridges and high points of the underpainting. If applied over thin paint, it highlights the weave of the canvas.
Pointillism
Pointillist techniques involve the use of a small brush to paint tiny dots of color onto canvas. The painter dots pure hues of oil paint onto the canvas in a slow and painstaking procedure. Georges Seurat popularized the method with his painting "A Sunday in the Park on the Island of La Grande Jatte." The painting contains over 3 million dots of color measuring 1/16 inch across. The colors are not blended on the canvas but are mixed in the observer's eyes.
