Drying an oil painting

[kamil]

What are some methods to speed up the process of drying an oil based painting?

Heat?

PLEASE HELP! PLEEEEEEEEAAASSEEEE!

[mtw]

When you do the painting, add some drying oils to it. I think stand oil is one. If you already have it completed, there isn't anything you can do. The oils don't actually dry, they oxidize.

[kamil]

is there still a way to speed up this process? (oxidization i suppose?)

[mtw]

If there is a way to do that, someone over at Studio Products (http://www.studioproducts.com) would know. Make a post there or search the forums.

[kamil]

Thank you :):cool:

[Elwell]

How thick a paint layer are we talking? If you've got any impasto then your best bet is to leave well enough alone. If we're talking relatively thin layers, however, there are some old illustrator's tricks.

Yes, heat works, but you have to be careful. A drawing lamp positioned ~6-8" from the painting should dry it overnight, but only works on relatively small areas. I do know of one illustrator (Rene Milot) who uses those McDonald's fry lights. I've even heard of people putting paintings in the oven at very low heat. In all cases, you want to heat things up just slightly. You don't want a scorched painting (at best), or a burnt-down house!

Thin washes of paint can also be dried with a misting of Krylon Crystal Clear spray. Only do this outdoors or with LOTS of ventilation, as this stuff is pretty nasty. I wouldn't do this on any piece you were intending for the ages, as there is the possibility of yellowing and cracking down the line, but it does work in a pinch.

Finally, you can build a box around the painting out of cardboard or foam core so that it can be transported, photographed, etc. while still wet.

All of these can be avoided, of course, by using some sort of drying medium when you paint.

[kamil]

Holy crap, Elwell, you know ure stuff! Thank you very much! :)