Wet-On-Wet Oil Painting

by Sutty

Wet-on-wet oil painting, simply put, is painting in layers while the oils are wet. The oil paints for this technique are specialized, allowing a thinner version of the paint to be applied immediately to the underlying paint. With this style of painting you finish an entire painting in just one sitting... you don't have to wait for a day or more for the oils to dry before adding the next layer of paint. The technique has been around almost as long as oil painting, but has been popularized by several famous TV artists like Bill Alexander, Bob Ross, Wilson Bickford, and more recently Kevin Hill.

Wet-on-wet painting is a lot of fun and you can become proficient much quicker than you might think possible. My Mom, Dad and I watched many hours of Bob Ross on TV over the years. A few years ago, I was encouraged by my wife Lu to take a class. I did, and I was hooked immediately. I'm sure that Mom and Dad are smiling in Heaven every time I pick up a brush.