Oil Painting

It was believed that oil painting first began in fifth and ninth centuries in western Afghanistan. However, it is not until the 15th century that oil painting gained some popularity. Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil such as linseed oil, poppy seed oil, walnut oil, and safflower oil. These oils give the paint different drying times, sheen and feel.

During the middle ages, oil painting became the principal medium used for creating artworks in northern Europe. During the Renaissance, oil painting techniques had almost completely replaced tempera paints in the majority of Europe. It was in Netherlands in the 15th century that oil was used as a painting medium. The rest of Northern Europe followed, and later on, this became the medium of choice in Italy. By the middle of the 15th century, almost all painters in Europe were using oil for their paintings.

Artists during the impressionist era have used the "Alla Prima" method when painting with oil. This is the process of blending the wet paint on the canvas which was very unlike the Renaissance-era approach of layering and glazing. Today, artists use a blend of both techniques, which can add bold color as well as the depth of layers through glazing.