Waiting For Paint to Dry

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

Wow! How long does that painting take to dry?

I get that a lot.

"Pond XII" 40"x30" Original Oil on Canvas copyright Dena Tollefson 2009

Private Collection

Oil paintings can take years, even decades to dry completely!

According to the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, the chemical and physical changes which occur during an oil painting drying process continue years past the point when the painting is dry to the touch. Click on their link above to learn more.

Oil paintings take a long time to dry, especially those with a very thick application of paint, such as my Daubism (Pointillism) work shown above. The largest marks are made with a silver vegetable serving spoon (spoon reserved for this purpose). Oil paint is buttered on the back of the spoon for one stoke of paint, then the spoon is wiped to receive another buttering.  This is done to keep the colors from smearing into each other and to keep each stroke of paint smooth and crisp. All other marks are made with palette knives: sizes ranging from very large to very small.

Here are 4 types of drying times I consider for my paintings- each artist has their own timetables based on what type of paint they use, any additives such as stand oil or additional linseed oil, poppy oil. etc:

1. Drying time between adjacent strokes of paint so daubs don't smear: 4 days-8 days 
2. Drying time where surface of painting is dry to touch: 2 weeks- 5 weeks
3. Drying time between painting completion and framing: 4-16 weeks
4. Drying time point where painting is solidly dry down to core- 1-10 years or more!

So the saying, "It's like waiting for paint to dry" is really true.