Fat over Lean

When painting with oils you should always start using thin paint first and then gradually build up using thicker paint after.

The reason for this is if you put thick paint first or "fat" there is a good chance your paint will crack. Then you paint over this "fat" layer the thinner paint dries faster that the thick or "fat" paint causing the top layer of thin paint to crack. The thicker oil paint takes much longer to dry and as it dries it contracts causing the dry paint on top to crack.

Many artist who use oils will paint several layers of paint on the picture. As you paint from thin to thick paint each layer should dry enough to go ahead with the next layer gradually building up the paint thickness as you go.

It can take up to 6 months for a painting to dry thoroughly. Many artist will have several paintings being worked on at the same time.

The last technique is WET over DRY which is just painting another layer of paint over a dry layer. This is a timely operation as each layer takes time to dry.

When the painting is finally dried completely you can apply a protective varnish coating over it to bring out the colors again and give it a protective coating.