For years now I've been painting in watercolors. I like them and their easier to teach with. They have a soft and interesting strength to them and most people like a good watercolor.
I can do a good water color in the classroom in about one hour to one and a half hours. It has taken a long time to get to this point and have the confidence
to bang one out. When I do a workshop I always start with doing a painting
quickly. Not for the reason to show how good I am but to give the students an idea of the process. It helps to show the students not to labor over their work.
Oils are a little different. They take longer to paint because of the drying time of the oil base. Because it is a traditional medium they are more desirable to collectors and buyers. Galleries like them because they are not framed with glass. They have a longer life than any other medium. They can be cleaned with the proper solutions and will endure indefinitely.
Watercolors must be matted, framed and sealed behind glass. With some of the new glass products and the UV resistant glass they will last as long time. Fading would be the only problem but everyone knows not to hang in the sun. With museum quality glass it's not a problem, but don't hang in the sun anyway.
Oils fetch a much better price than watercolors. So, is that a good reason to just paint in oils? Some of my friends switched for the money. I resisted because I just couldn't give up my old friend. I'm going to try a few oils and just see how well I do.
Ya, it's for the money.
Talk to you later,
