Oil Paintings and Wall Decor

Ten Tips for Buying Oil Paintings Online

1. Watch out for low quality - Look for sites that have customer reviews available, see what past customers are saying, look at how they rate the quality of the art and there general feelings about the shopping experience.
2. Offline presence - Look for a physical location or just a phone number where you can talk to an actual décor consultant or a curator.
3. Return Policy - Look through the return policy and make sure that you have the option of returning your purchase...
4. Decide on Budget and Medium - It's very important to decide on which styles and mediums you are interested in and what is your budget for your décor needs.
5. Research the art and the store - Look for as much background information as possible about the artist and the art itself. In addition, nake sure the site you are on is a legitimate business with secure purchasing and a solid privacy policy.
6. The right size - Take out your meter stick and envision ithe art on your walls.
7. Look for framing options - Look for galleries offering customized framing. This enables you to pick the right frame for your home décor.
8. Take your time - Go through all the details before deciding on your purchase. Look at the size of the art, what sort of medium, the framing options, the final price, your existing décor, site reviews, shipping and return policies. Look through all of that and only then make your purchase decisions.
9. Buy what you love - Many people shop by the name of the artist. My advice to you is to shop for what you love. If you think something is beautiful then it is more important then who painted it.
10. Be a part of the local art community - Even though shopping for art online is a great substitute for shopping in brick-and-mortar galleries, it is still very important to take part in social events and gallery openings. Be a part of the local art scene and support art in your community.

How to Paint like the Masters...

The following are ten easy to apply oil painting tips

1. When at the art supplies store, pick up some pigments containing lead, cobalt or manganese. They really help in accelerating the drying.
2. You can tell if too much oil has been added to the pigment if the paint on your palette dries up it forms wrinkles.
3. To make sure the solvent you are using is right for oil painting, put a small amount on a piece of paper and let it evaporate. If it evaporates without leaving any residue, stain, or smell, it should be fine.
4. Try to incorporate the "fat over lean" technique. Because the lower layers absorb more oil from the subsequent layers on top, the layers underneath might crack over time if they are too oil-heavy. This is very fundamental.
5. When painting, set your color palette in a consistent order, so as you go along, you can pick colors instinctively.
6. If you want to clean away a layer of oil, use alcohol, it is a powerful solvent.
7. For the underlying layers try to avoid certain colors as some tend to take a long time to dry.
8. For glazed oil paintings, use linseed oil for the underlying layers as it dries up the fastest of all the oils.
9. For light colors use poppy oils, although it does dry slower, linseed oil has a tendency to turn yellow.
10. For the drying process, try and expose your oil painting to sunlight; don't dry your oil painting in the dark. It may cause a thin film of oil to rise to the surface.