Oil Painting

I am very much interested in oil paints, I enjoy using them and exploring what they have to offer.  However, I am also now aware of the impossibility of getting to know oils as a new medium with any speed.  I had not realised that I would not find the transition from acrylics to oils easy – I was rather complacent and had assumed I would just ‘pick it up’.  How wrong I have been – there is such complexity and depth of knowledge required that I can seemingly only acquire through many hours of diligent and conscious experimentation and learning.  I am, therefore, intending to continue my experiments with oil painting alongside my OCA work but am also intending to use other mediums where I feel my work isn’t reaching a suitable standard.  I have written my essay about oil painting and have attempted to use oils for some of my pieces for Assignment 5, however, I am now very aware of just how much information I need to assimilate before I can hope to reach any kind of level of competence.  I am also aware of a need within myself to be a ‘success’ or put another way, I fear failure and to be seen to be not even mediocre at something is frankly painful!  This is something I am also addressing, hopefully within the environment of my sketchbook, to enable me to understand what I need to change to move forward.