Hi, I have a painting on wood panel that I did 9 months ago (very cold studio in November) and the oil is still tacky, even ghosts of paint come off when touched. A rag with a little Gamsol quickly removes it. The structure is a layer of Galkyd Lite and Oil paint underpainting followed by a layer of Stand Oil and a few drops of distilled turpentine mixed with paint. I paint pretty thin, added the stand to prevent underbound/sinking in and for blending purposes. I was pretty happy with this painting, but wanted to add to a few areas to finish it off. What should I do now, remove everything and start over? Wait longer? Will it dry eventually and I can add my final touches? Please let me know what you think or if there is any more information that would be helpful.
Hi here,
i would not really using oil based ground, as it may literally makes ground fat, slippery and sealed, so that later layer is harder to adhere.
i believe a better ground shall be absorbent, so that it draws some oil into it, thus it bonds well layer to layer.
so in this aspect, if you use stand oil, which is very viscous that doesnt sink into underneath layer vs regular linseed oil does, so it just floating on top of the layer, if underneath layer is too sealed, then this layer is not well rooted, thus it is easier to get wipe off.
regards to why it is not dry well, you can do a testing to see if it is material quality issue. too much oil of source will lead to tacky surface.
Before discarding this painting, you can try placing it next to a window, to see if it will still dry. Light and warm tempertatures are the key factors for linseed oil to dry. Hopefully it will set up quickly with plenty of daylight.
Warm regards,
Mirjam Auf der Mauer, she/her
Golden Artist Colors
