What is "oil painting"

Oil \Oil\ (oil), n. [OE. oile, OF. oile, F. huile, fr. L. oleum; akin to Gr. ?. Cf. Olive.] Any one of a great variety of unctuous combustible substances, more viscous than and not miscible with water; as, olive oil, whale oil, rock oil, etc. They are of animal, vegetable, or mineral origin and of varied composition, and they are variously used for food, for solvents, for anointing, lubrication, illumination, etc. By extension, any substance of an oily consistency; as, oil of vitriol. Note: The mineral oils are varieties of petroleum. See Petroleum. The vegetable oils are of two classes, essential oils (see under Essential), and natural oils which in general resemble the animal oils and fats. Most of the natural oils and the animal oils and fats consist of ethereal salts of glycerin, with a large number of organic acids, principally stearic, oleic, and palmitic, forming respectively stearin, olein, and palmitin. Stearin and palmitin prevail in the solid oils and fats, and olein in the liquid oils. Mutton tallow, beef tallow, and lard are rich in stearin, human fat and palm oil in palmitin, and sperm and cod-liver oils in olein. In making soaps, the acids leave the glycerin and unite with the soda or potash. Animal oil, Bone oil, Dipple's oil, etc. (Old Chem.), a complex oil obtained by the distillation of animal substances, as bones. See Bone oil, under Bone. Drying oils, Essential oils. (Chem.) See under Drying, and Essential. Ethereal oil of wine, Heavy oil of wine. (Chem.) See under Ethereal. Fixed oil. (Chem.) See under Fixed. Oil bag (Zo["o]l.), a bag, cyst, or gland in animals, containing oil. Oil beetle (Zo["o]l.), any beetle of the genus Meloe and allied genera. When disturbed they emit from the joints of the legs a yellowish oily liquor. Some species possess vesicating properties, and are used instead of cantharides. Oil box, or Oil cellar (Mach.), a fixed box or reservoir, for lubricating a bearing; esp., the box for oil beneath the journal of a railway-car axle. Oil cake. See under Cake. Oil cock, a stopcock connected with an oil cup. See Oil cup. Oil color.

1. A paint made by grinding a coloring substance in oil.

2. Such paints, taken in a general sense. (b) a painting made from such a paint. Oil cup, a cup, or small receptacle, connected with a bearing as a lubricator, and usually provided with a wick, wire, or adjustable valve for regulating the delivery of oil. Oil engine, a gas engine worked with the explosive vapor of petroleum. Oil gas, inflammable gas procured from oil, and used for lighting streets, houses, etc. Oil gland.

   1. (Zo["o]l.) A gland which secretes oil; especially in birds, the large gland at the base of the tail.

   2. (Bot.) A gland, in some plants, producing oil. Oil green, a pale yellowish green, like oil. Oil of brick, empyreumatic oil obtained by subjecting a brick soaked in oil to distillation at a high temperature, -- used by lapidaries as a vehicle for the emery by which stones and gems are sawn or cut. --Brande & C. Oil of talc, a nostrum made of calcined talc, and famous in the 17th century as a cosmetic. [Obs.] --B. Jonson. Oil of vitriol (Chem.), strong sulphuric acid; -- so called from its oily consistency and from its forming the vitriols or sulphates. Oil of wine, [OE]nanthic ether. See under [OE]nanthic. Oil painting.

      1. The art of painting in oil colors.

      2. Any kind of painting of which the pigments are originally ground in oil. Oil palm (Bot.), a palm tree whose fruit furnishes oil, esp. El[ae]is Guineensis. See El[ae]is. Oil sardine (Zo["o]l.), an East Indian herring ( Clupea scombrina), valued for its oil. Oil shark (Zo["o]l.)

         1. The liver shark.

         2. The tope. Oil still, a still for hydrocarbons, esp. for petroleum. Oil test, a test for determining the temperature at which petroleum oils give off vapor which is liable to explode. Oil tree. (Bot.)

            1. A plant of the genus Ricinus ( Ricinus communis), from the seeds of which castor oil is obtained.

            2. An Indian tree, the mahwa. See Mahwa.

3. The oil palm.

   To burn the midnight oil, to study or work late at night.

   Volatle oils. See Essential oils, under Essential.

n. 1 A painting done with oil paints. 2 (context uncountable English) The art of painting with oil paints. 3 (context humorous litotes with negative English) A physically attractive person

1. n. a picture painted with oil paints

2. the act of painting with oil paints

Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. Commonly used drying oils include linseed oil, poppy seed oil, walnut oil, and safflower oil. The choice of oil imparts a range of properties to the oil paint, such as the amount of yellowing or drying time. Certain differences, depending on the oil, are also visible in the sheen of the paints. An artist might use several different oils in the same painting depending on specific pigments and effects desired. The paints themselves also develop a particular consistency depending on the medium. The oil may be boiled with a resin, such as pine resin or frankincense, to create a varnish prized for its body and gloss.

Although oil paint was first used for Buddhist paintings by Indian and Chinese painters in western Afghanistan sometime between the fifth and tenth centuries, it did not gain popularity until the 15th century. Its practice may have migrated westward during the Middle Ages. Oil paint eventually became the principal medium used for creating artworks as its advantages became widely known. The transition began with Early Netherlandish painting in Northern Europe, and by the height of the Renaissance oil painting techniques had almost completely replaced the use of tempera paints in the majority of Europe.

In recent years, water miscible oil paint has come to prominence and, to some extent, replaced traditional oil paint. Water-soluble paints contain an emulsifier that allows them to be thinned with water rather than paint thinner, and allows very fast drying times (1–3 days) when compared with traditional oils (1–3 weeks).