Why are Oil Paintings expensive?

Paintings are an excellent medium and way of decorating one’s room, workplace etc. Paintings not only add to the aesthetics but also brings out the true selves of the people using the place.

One can often be in a fix while deciding the right piece for the place. With the wide variety and genre of paintings in practice, it is difficult to zero down to one kind. However, there are some popular choices by the mass and Oil paintings definitely tops this list. Oil paintings are bright piece of art that not only lights up the room but also add richness to the same.

But many complain that Oil paintings are a way too expensive. They are much costlier than their watercolor or acrylic counterparts. Here are a few details that will help one justify the expense.

• Oil paintings are painted in layers. It is never a single coat paint for oil paintings. Thus a lot more color is needed. Also, the colors are specialized i.e.oil soluble. This adds up to the cost again.
• Secondly, oils are used to dry the painting.  Artists mix the colors in dry oils like flaxseed. castor etc to paint every coat. In oil paintings, generally the thin to a thick trend is followed, I.e. the top layer will have more oil than it's immediate below. Thus a lot more oil is required with every developing coat. It is this oil that adds to the shine and richness of color of the painting. The right kind of paint leads to the stability of the paint film and prevent peel off.
• To add to these, the oils are extremely costly. Sometimes to extend the longevity of the painting of to add that extra shine, artists use oils like walnut oil, which are extremely costly. Also, the translucency of the colors depends not only on the colors used but also on the drying oil.
• Artists sometimes use waxes, varnishes, and lacquers to add to its sheen. These are again extremely specialized and costly materials.
• Keeping apart all these material costs, another major reason for the high pricing of oil paintings is the tenure of work. Oil paintings take time to dry, unlike acrylic and watercolor paintings which dry up in almost an hour. Oil paintings can even take days to dry up. Thus an artist spends months painting a single piece. This adds up to its exclusiveness.

Thus a beautiful Oil painting is not only a product of rare colors and oils but also a result of all the efforts and hard work that the artists have put in over the years. It a result of expertise developed by one over years and years. These are the reasons why the awestruck ed oil paintings are put up with high quotes in the galleries.