OIL PAINTING ON PAPER 1b

Jeremy

I notice that some of the painting on yor web gallery are oil on paper.

Could you please recommend a suitable paper type and weight suitable for oil. How do you prepare the paper for oil paint

Cheers

Bob

Hi Bob

I use Arches 300gsm Satine cotton rag paper.  I dont seal it.  There is an urban myth that you should not use oil paints on paper as it is non archival the oil eating into the paper.  As far as I know this is untrue.  I had a discussion on this issue with one of the conservators at the Tate Gallery in London a few years ago who said that they had many paintings in oil directly on paper hundreds of years old and no evidence of any deterioration.  He pointed out that cotton rag paper is exactly the same as cotton canvas and many artists have painted directly on canvas without any gesso.

Also I paint with alkyd paints and I believe that the alkyd resin is less reactive than linseed oil.

If you want to seal it you can use an acrylic gesso, rabbit glue or aquadhere etc

Amongst the artists who paint with oil on paper locally is Wim Boissevain who uses oil washes to great effect.

Jeremy