The Medium?
Oil paint, painting on canvas. I only started painting this year for the first time.
The Problem?
My oil paint colors are nice and bright on my palette but on my painting I end up with horrible dull colors. I have tried painting more on top but it all mixes up into a mess. It does not seem to matter what colors I use the end is the same mess.
Advice
- How do I get nice bright colors on my painting?
Marion Boddy-Evans, Painting Guide, says:
No matter how lovely colors may be individually, if you mix too many together they turn into browns and greys, quite distinct from the bright colors they were originally. If the colors you're using aren't single-pigment colors, but mixtures, then it can happen even faster. The paint tube label will tell you what pigment(s) is in a particular color.
As oil paint takes so long to dry, watch out for unintentionally mixing colors when you apply new paint. Either have a very light touch, or work on more than one painting at a time so they've time to become touch-dry.
