Art Collector's Guide to Oil Painting

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Art is for everyone. No matter what you may think. You don't have to have an advanced degree or lots of money to have beautiful art in your home. This is a small guide to help you understand some of the ins and outs of buying art.

Top 5 Questions to Ask an Artist

How You Know Your Painting Will Last

You want to buy and oil painting.  GREAT!  Now what do you do?  Here are some questions to ask the artist to ensure your painting will remain beautiful throughout the years:

1)  Does the artist use professional grade paint?
Although quality has greatly improved, some student grade paint can deteriorate over time.

2)  What is the support that the artist uses?
Oil on canvas is pretty standard.  Most of the artwork that has lasted the longest is oil on wood panel.

3)  How was the painting support prepared?
All paintings should have their supports sealed with gesso.  If the painting support is not sealed properly, the painting can literally deteriorate from the inside out!

4)  If the painting is over 36" in any one direction for oil on canvas, does the artist use a cross-brace and heavy-duty (thicker than .75" deep) stretcher bars?
Over time if the painting does not have cross braces, it may warp and possibly crack.

5)  Has the painting been varnished?
All oil paintings should be sealed with varnish after they have properly cured.  This helps keep in the best condition possible throughout the years by keeping moisture and acidity out of the painting.

Oil Painter Blogs

Artists Using Oil Paint

At the galleries
High-energy oil and acrylic landscape paintings of familiar Door County scenes in an impressionistic plein-air style. 10 am to 4 pm daily. (920) 854-4008. » DOVETAIL GALLERY, 7901 Wisconsin 42, Egg Harbor. 19th season. New artwork includes raku tiles ...
High Tide: From Tossing Diplomats to Convicting a Supreme Court Justice
A deep-dive into Painter's life looked at how he, a defendant in the FCPA sting case, handled his defense and his life following the arrest. He was acquitted. (Daily Mail) A city councilor in Semarang, Indonesia, was sentenced to more than two years in ...
The mind's eye
The vividness of 56-year-old Jiao Xiaojian's eyes match that of the works displayed in his first solo exhibition, Eyes of Things, at the Chinese Academy of Oil Painting in Beijing. The oil painting instructor at the China Academy of Art in Zhejiang ...
Painter captures 'lightning in a bottle' with scenes
AMANDA RIPPEN WHITE/THE DAILY TIMES I work in oil paint, and love to paint the landscape of the Eastern Shore, whether it is farmland, shoreline, marshland, or small town scenes. It is so inspiring to paint on site (plein air) either creating finished ...

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Websites to buy Oil Paintings

Etsy - Let's face it.  This is my favorite place.  My primary store is here, and I love it.  Not only is it very Web 2.0 ish and great appearance-wise, but it is also lovely to navigate.  When you add a phenomenal community to the mix, it is difficult to get better than this.  If you like the feel of Squidoo and you like to shop, you will love it too.

DAWANDA - This site is basically the  European version of Etsy.  Wonderful place to find emerging European artists, but not as much content as Etsy.

free online marketplaceeCrater - Closest to Amazon.  You can find everything here, and it is organized a little bit better than eBay, but still huge, so not as art-focused as other sites.

Win Your Bid Today At eBay!eBay - Truthfully, I would only use this as a last resort.  I have bought things on eBay before, and I have also been a seller.  The site is difficult to navigate and the users seem to always expect the worst.  You might be able to find some deep discounts here.

Encaustic Oil Paintings by BS Art Studio

Buy Affordable Art on Etsy

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Oil Painting on Flickr

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BS Art Studio

Daily Encaustic Oil Paintings

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bsartstudio

Full-time artist, Mrs. Captain Squid, book-lover, art lover, the list goes on. Right now I'm working as hard as possible so that one day I don't have... more »

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