Step by Step - equine oil painting by Ivetta Harte, STEP 10

STEP 10

Oil is never considered dry. When oil painting dries up, then it cracks. It takes a long time for oil to dry to be safely handled. It can take up to 6 months. I let it dry for several days before paining the details. That gives oil enough time not to smear from the touch of the brush, and I have to paint over the thick brushstrokes with the smaller brush strokes to do the details. Look for the added details in the foreground. This is the time that you can call the paining to be done. I prefer to put it away for a couple of weeks and let it dry and let my eyes rest. After that, with the fresh critical eyes, I paint the final details and correct anything that needed to be corrected. After that - it is the time for me to sell the paining or to loan it away: I can't keep my hands away from he paintings that I keep in my studio and they become never-ending perfection that I can't finish.... sometimes even paint over them or destroy them.
I hope you enjoyed the Step by Step equine blog entries for the "California Vineyard Gallop" by Ivetta Harte.

Oil panting by Ivetta Harte "California Vineyard Gallop" 2006, canvas size 22"x28" Please email for the price.