Painting Seasonally

Summer is the height of action and activity, Winter is hibernation, survival and preparation.

Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.

Oil Paint, the longest-drying medium on a 2D surface, or the longest one that you can buy in a standard art shop.

The whole point of oil is to dry slowly. It’s a working process that allows you to have a longer “open-time”, meaning a time that you can manipulate paint that was already applied to the surface. You also have more possibilities when working with techniques such as glazing etc.

If you think about it, trying to expediate the drying process with turpentine or a drying-additive is anathema to the medium itself. and uncareful users can be easily punished with their impatience. Turps and other additivies damage the bonding properties of the paint itself. You can wreck a painting this way.

Some people like the effect of thin runny paint and that’s fine. But think about your health as well. The fumes aren’t great for you, and turps also irritates the skin and can damage bristles.

I just don’t see much point. If you want the thin effect and fast-turnaround you can try a watercolour or acrylic base layer, or go all the way with both those mediums. Oil is meant to dry slow. It works best when the ingredients are simple: pigment and oil.

So how do you cope? Manage your environment and timing better.

In summer, the paint dries faster. Especially in a dry room in a dry climate. It makes Australias temperate and arid regions (the majority of the continent) pretty well-suited to this artform.

And that’s basically how I do it. I have an oversupply of concepts. They usually come from the winter months when I do a lot more drawing. In summer I chuck the ideas onto paint and the thinking can take a back seat.

Rock bands do this. The touring mainly happens in summer. That’s also when the big festivals are on. Many sports are summer or winter based. Armies at war (the smarter ones) thought carefully about what time of year to campaign in and what time was better suited to waiting and preparing.

It stands to reason that the visual arts can work by the same methodology.

If you still want to paint when it’s colder, at least consider the drying times of the paint. The earth colours, traditionally used for underpainting, will dry the fastest. So you can do underpainting work when its cold, and work on a few surfaces at once if you can work that way. Priming, or procuring/prepping surfaces can also be done in winter. As can framing, marketing, varnishing and so on.

Also, I don’t know about you but I definitely sleep more in winter. Just like the animals, I need to hibernate.

Consider scheduling your year around the seasons. Rest and prepare in winter, work in summer. Adapt your working process around the seasons.