I’m realizing I’m in an era of experimentation.
And honestly… it isn’t easy embracing that.
Because I tend to overanalyze. I overthink next steps. I research. I plan. I buy supplies. Then I do more research. I refresh what I learned. I talk about it out loud to see if I get a response.
And then eventually I realize —
I have to do this for myself.
I have to be the one to experience it.
To form my own opinions.
To develop my own way of working with a new material.
Oil paints have been on my mind for years.
I’ve seen so much beautiful work done with them. I’ve heard artists speak passionately about using oils. But I also carry this memory of my brother painting and stinking up the house with chemicals… so I always felt deterred.
Add my history of respiratory issues and asthma, and it just felt like something I wasn’t meant to explore.
Until one day, water-mixable oils danced across my screen.
It took watching several videos to understand how people actually use them. Yes — you can thin with water. But do you have to? No. You can also use a water-soluble oil medium and still work traditionally, then clean your brushes with just water.
No turpentine.
No heavy fumes.
That mattered to me.
My studio has beautiful big windows… but they don’t open. So ventilation isn’t great. I have to be mindful of what I bring into that space.
So today, I finally used the paints I bought for the first time.
It took a little getting used to.
But once I laid down that first layer, I was hooked.
It felt different than acrylics. I used a water-soluble linseed medium and suddenly my brush was gliding across the canvas. The blending felt softer. Slower. More forgiving.
I still feel a little intimidated by oils.
But I’m trying to let go and just dive in — experimenting with color, with transitions, with movement.
This feels like a format I could grow into.
I know it’s not traditional.
But then again… neither am I.
