Oil painting once dominated the world of artistic painting when it comes to choice of medium. Oils have stood the test of time and are still a preferred choice of painting medium for many artists.
Oil paints are slow to dry, which allows the artist to work areas in a painting for a long period of time. This can be viewed as an advantage, but also a disadvantage if the desire of the artist is to cover areas of color in a short period of time. (Drying mediums are available that can speed up the drying times of oil paints to help with this.) Oils can be used on just about any surface. The most popular surfaces for oil painting include canvas and panel.
