4 Oil Painting Effects You Can Achieve With Winsor & Newton Mediums

Using oil mediums can transform your paintings, adding finishes, textures and new possibilities to your artwork.

In line with paint experts from Winsor & Newton, we take a look at four effects you can achieve using different Oil Mediums. Have a read, try them out for yourselves, and enjoy the sheer joy of the unique painting verbs. (To scumble. Just brilliant!)

Glazing

After a layer of Artists' Oil Colour has dried or semi-dried, you may choose to glaze it by adding a thin, oily transparent layer of paint. As light travels through the glaze, it’s reflected off the opaque layer beneath. In short, this oil painting effect makes the artwork glow. 

Often a lengthy process of applying layer upon layer, glazing is one technique that benefits from a professional-grade medium, like Liquin Original or Blending & Glazing Medium. If you choose to work with Liquin, you’ll notice an improvement in drying times, flow and less visible brush strokes. Likewise, Blending & Glazing Medium improves transparency and depth, before drying to a durable, glossy finish.

Scumbling

Who knew scumbling was a verb? Scumbling allows you to build up multiple layers of ‘broken’ (speckled or deliberately cracked) colour. The base layer peeks through, giving a sense of depth, texture and colour variation to your work. While the technique can be skilfully achieved with either opaque or transparent colours, the effect is stronger when opaque shades are used. The base layer needs to be thinned with Liquin, as well as being lighter than the upper layer.  

Stippling

Sometimes, blending a light area of oil paint into a dark area does not give off the smoothest glow. Many artists choose to add incandescence to their finished piece by using a stippling oil painting effect. 

For stippling, the best brush to use is a Hog Brush. Its stiffness, when used with thick, viscous colour, creates a strong, stippled texture.

Impasto

Coming from the Italian for ‘dough,’ impasto is a particularly popular technique for exploring texture. By applying thick layers of paint with the right brush and  oil mediums, brush strokes can remain plainly visible and create a highly textured effect. Rembrandt, for instance, employed this technique to pick out jewels on a costume; while Van Gogh used it for expressive purposes. 

Liquin Impasto Medium is designed to retain crisp texture. Your painting will be touch-dry in 1-6 days, making it useful when layering for an ultra-thick impasto effect. 

Feeling inspired?

Shop our Winsor & Newton oil paint range online or in-store and create your own effects with oil paints and mediums.