Have you ever wondered why oil paintings cost so much? If you don’t know, let me tell you that Oil Paintings have been used hundreds of years and have been proved to have stood the test of time. However, even if Oil paintings cost can go beyond one’s imagination, it’s price can be justified for its various advantages.

An Oil Painting is made with oil paints that are flexible and have depth. From thin glazes diluted with turpentine to dense thick impasto, oil paints can be used in many different ways. There are several reasons why oil painting cost is very high, however, the following reasons are enough to justify why Oil Paintings cost so much and are so expensive.

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1. Multiple Layers

Oil Painting comprises multiple numbers of layers of paint. First, the artist paints a layer and leave it to dry up. Only after the previous layer gets dried up, another layer can be painted. so it takes a huge effort and patience to paint oil painting. All these layers take part in providing the realism and royal feel in an oil painting. it is the prime reason for the high oil paintings cost

2. The Base

Fine Linen Canvas

Normal drawings and sketches can be made on either standard drawing sheets or Ivory sheets but Oil paintings are painted on fine linen canvas support. This contributes to the durability and beauty of the painting but increases the oil paintings cost. Canvas support can last for hundreds of years need low maintenance too.

3. Oil Paints

Oil Paints

Another biggest factors for the cost of Oil painting to go high are the paints. Oil paints are used from centuries. Oil paints are usually oil and pigments mixed together to obtain the perfect color and consistency. The cost of these oils and pigments is quite high and which in the end increases the cost of an oil painting.

4. Technicalities

Subjectively More Difficult Artstyle

Oil painting, as an art style is subjectively more difficult. Not every artist who has a god gifted talent (On a positive note), can draw it. It takes a procedure of sketching while drawing the portrait and later on the work of brush to paint it. There are few artists who can do it well, hence they deserve good payback for their hardships.

5. High Demand

Oil paintings are high in demand because of their perfection and realism. These paintings have been the prime center of the art in history for hundreds of years. The demand and supply rules work here too and hence give their contribution into increasing the oil paintings’ cost overall.

6. Brushes Used

Brushes Used

Various types of art brushes are used in the making of oil paintings. There are brushes like Filbert brushes, Flat brushes and other brushes too. You can read about them in our blog “Types of Paint Brushes Used in Oil Painting“. These various brushes have a short life and high prices. for example, a filbert brush comes for 15$ and survives only 2 paintings. Hence it is quite difficult to lower down the oil paintings’ cost from brushes’ end.

7. Realism Achieved

Handmade Pet Oil Portrait

The Oil Paintings have the highest amount of realism among all the art styles in color painting. sometimes the best of artists make a painting so god that you can not differentiate among the real and art. All these perfect and realism are only the outcome of hardship and efforts. These hardships need appreciation and reward.

8. Various Other Ingredients

Oil paintings are created using oil paints that are nothing but pigments blended with the dry oil. Artists initially use charcoal or thinned paint to create a traditional oil painting onto the canvas. Artists use Oil Paint and blend it with linseed oil, artists grade solvents, walnuts, and other solvents for easy usage and to make the paint thinner. All thee ingredients are costlier than any other art product requirements which eventually increases the cost of an oil painting.

9. Time took

A single layer of paint takes hours to get dry. Hence, Oil Paintings take time to dry allowing the artist to rework on the same painting to correct it or scrape off areas in the painting. This whole process takes somewhere 5-9 days in total to get completed. till the time you just need to have a great amount of patience,

10. Varnishing

Once a painting is completed, the artists varnish it to enrich the colors and for longer durability. Once dried up and varnished successfully, the artwork gets ready to be shipped and reach you. OIl paintings do have a longer lifetime and can last for centuries for if they rea kept with full care and precautions.

Conclusion

Oil paintings may cost more than the other ones but believe me, they are worthy of all that. Once you’ll see your custom handmade oil portrait painting you will just fall in love with that. Once you have an oil painting you have everything as an art lover. Preparation of oil painting may look quite expensive but they are really easy to get maintained. You can read our article about “How to Clean an Oil Painting”

So if you want to buy an oil painting next time don’t forget to notice the time and effort taken to create beautiful art. The price might not look very cheap but the memory created in the canvas by the artist for you will be worth spending for. And, if you want to mention any more of the reasons why oil paintings are so costly, then share your views in the comment section.

1 Comment

Chris on April 29, 2020 at 5:30 am

Great article and very true. I’d just like to say in addition to this is all thr study, years of not only formal education if one so chooses, but years & decades of finding what the artist wants to paint. Also what others have done, what makes art and important for them, for their audience and/ or customers.
For me it’s been and will always be an important part of life. Mine and others, thank you for your site and glad I stumbled upon it.
Keep creating
Artistically,
Christopher

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