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European artists began using oil paint in the 15th century, and since then it has been used to create the most famous paintings of all time. But in these high-tech days, oil still retains its charm and mystery, and artists continue to invent new techniques, tearing the mold to shreds and pushing the boundaries of modern art.
website chose works that delighted us and made us remember that beauty can be born in any era.
The owner of incredible skill, Polish artist Justyna Kopania, in her expressive, sweeping works, was able to preserve the transparency of the fog, the lightness of the sail, and the smooth rocking of the ship on the waves.
Her paintings amaze with their depth, volume, richness, and the texture is such that it is impossible to take your eyes off them.
Primitivist artist from Minsk Valentin Gubarev doesn't chase fame and just does what he loves. His work is incredibly popular abroad, but almost unknown to his compatriots. In the mid-90s, the French fell in love with his everyday sketches and signed a contract with the artist for 16 years. The paintings, which, it would seem, should only be understandable to us, bearers of the “modest charm of undeveloped socialism,” appealed to the European public, and exhibitions began in Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain and other countries.
In the modern era of high-resolution images and the rise of hyperrealism, the work of Philip Barlow immediately attracts attention. However, a certain effort is required from the viewer in order to force himself to look at the blurry silhouettes and bright spots on the author’s canvases. This is probably how people suffering from myopia see the world without glasses and contact lenses.
American artist Jeremy Mann paints dynamic portraits of a modern metropolis in oil on wood panels. “Abstract shapes, lines, the contrast of light and dark spots - all create a picture that evokes the feeling that a person experiences in the crowd and bustle of the city, but can also express the calm that is found when contemplating quiet beauty,” says the artist.
In the paintings of British artist Neil Simone, nothing is as it seems at first glance. “For me, the world around me is a series of fragile and ever-changing shapes, shadows and boundaries,” says Simon. And in his paintings everything is truly illusory and interconnected. Boundaries are blurred, and stories flow into each other.
An Italian by birth, contemporary American artist Joseph Lorusso transfers onto canvas subjects he observed in the everyday lives of ordinary people. Hugs and kisses, passionate outbursts, moments of tenderness and desire fill his emotional pictures.
First of all, it differs in the colors that modern artists use. They are unlikely to use crystals, which have been widely used by all artists since the Renaissance. But, nevertheless, nature in the works of modern landscape painters is still just as beautiful. The modern landscape differs from its predecessors in a more vivid expression of feelings, moods and thoughts. Most often painted Modern artists, like their predecessors, use this material so that the result pleases the viewer longer.
Artist Yuri Obukhovsky
The romantic landscape of the "Costa Bravo" ("marina") is filled with artist. Actually, this is the “wild” coast of Spain with a length of just under two hundred km.
The painting shows a narrow bay with a rocky shore. The blue of the calm Mediterranean Sea competes with the blue of the sky, as if faded from the bright sun. Snow-white clouds, emphasizing its blueness, echo the white triangular sailboats far out to sea, waves crashing against the rocks with white foam. The blue of the sea is heterogeneous. Close to the viewer it lightens slightly, while far away it becomes rich blue, as if filled with the power of the unpredictable water element. The picture is so full of romanticism that it does not leave the viewer indifferent. The rocks framing the bay are visible in light lilac shades in the distance, and sparkle with gold up close. They were gilded in different shades by the bright sun, which is not visible to the viewer, but its hot rays are felt in everything. In our gray climate, it’s nice to see rich blue and gold tones, and it’s a joy to have such a picture at home that at any time of the year will speak of summer sparkling with all the colors. This picture is good not only at home, but also in the office, when you can look away from the computer and transfer it to the living, calming sea.
The artist does not confine himself to one marine genre. He is interested in everything: the landscapes of Moscow, Karelia, and Crimea. Wonderful corners of Moscow appear before the viewer in the landscapes “Spring on the Patriarchs” and “Courtyard on Tverskoy Boulevard,” which rediscover the familiar to us. These oil paintings evoke constant admiration. Modern artists see and reflect in their paintings a diverse, delightful world.
Artist Kandybin
The painter gave his love to the landscape of Russia. His canvases depict narrow, transparent and clean rivers with banks overgrown with green grass. Bridges and boats show that somewhere nearby people live in such beauty. Powerful trees, descending from the slopes, approach the shores, reflected in the quiet surface of the water. On one of the canvases there is a five-domed church with a white bell tower, and white water lilies bloom along the shore.
Oil paintings by contemporary artists (landscapes) are realistic. All Kandybin’s canvases are full of peace. And only the trail stitches tell us that people live and work here who take care of the world that surrounds them. In the landscape at the beginning of autumn, when the grass along the river is still green, like the whole forest is still green, a bright golden-orange maple stands out, which sensed the approaching autumn days. Several burgundy-red bushes along the river are also signs of autumn. The artist’s gaze lovingly stops at the winter landscape. The clear silhouettes of old branchy trees are especially beautiful against the background of snow. And the white-trunked birches shine silver next to the green pines and fir trees.
Landscapes by Alexey Savchenko
The experienced landscape painter, who turned forty in 2015, never tires of admiring the changing seasons. He is a member of the Creative Union of Artists of Russia. Abandoned, half-forgotten villages come to life on his canvases. Almost the same landscape, painted both in summer and autumn, conveys a different, but joyfully pensive mood due to its coloring. The country road is dry in summer, but in autumn its ruts turn dark purple, muddy from frequent rains.
Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Alexander Afonin
Born in Kursk and starting to draw at the age of 12, he was educated at the Zheleznogorsk Art School, which he considers one of the best in Russia. The artist paints all landscapes from nature, without copying photographs. And the result is before us living Russian nature in all its discreet charm and poetry. (paintings by contemporary artists in particular) are full of high aesthetics. And Afonin’s works are very romantic.
In one of the paintings, a small green island with a tiny church in the center opens in front of the viewer. And around in the haze the lake and the huge endless sky merge. The painter found a secluded and beautiful corner and showed it to those who, for some reason, cannot get out of the house. The artist's gaze reveals to us a vast unknown world.
Viktor Bykov discovers the beauty of the forest
The painter became fascinated by forest thickets and edges, which city dwellers do not visit as often as he would like. The sun's rays, refracting and playing with colors, penetrate his canvases. They change the usual gloomy lighting of the forest. It becomes simply magical.
And the winter forest, bowed under the weight of the recent snowfall, seems impregnable, but still invites you to make your way through the deep snowdrifts and shake off the snow from the drooping branches, showering all your companions with it. The morning in the painting is sunny and colors it in pinkish-lilac tones.
Sergey Peredereev
He is a member of the Union of Artists of the Russian Federation. His works are full of constant admiration for our material world. He does not relate to nature like Bazarov, who said that nature is not a temple, but a workshop. No, this is a temple that must be appreciated and loved, because the resources of nature are not endless. To need oil paintings. Modern artists admire not only fields, forests, and copses. Sometimes a small village, perhaps a former town, standing on a rising hill can be very interesting. The picture shows its outskirts, and then the forest begins. (paintings) by contemporary artists take the viewer away from the urban world, from huge apartment buildings, from the flow of cars, to quiet corners where everything is full of harmony.
Many people paint oil paintings. Contemporary artists often fill them with silence and calm. People in small villages live slowly, trying only to plant, water, weed, harvest, and prepare for the winter on time. And when they go out onto the porch in the morning, they deeply inhale the fresh air filled with the aromas of herbs and flowers.
Looking at contemporary landscape artists, you see that in which the accurate representation of nature is important, which has its origins in the 19th century, the work of modern artists continues. If earlier artists set themselves not only genre goals, but for many it was important to show the oppression of the people, now undoubted skill results in oil paintings on canvas by contemporary artists, come to life on canvases and do not leave the viewer indifferent.
Many people have a rather contradictory attitude towards contemporary art, so everything created after the 19th century causes a certain skepticism - the majority still gravitate towards more classical forms than Malevich’s “Black Square” and complex installations. However, modern oil painting is not always paint spilled onto the canvas; it can inherit the traditions of academic painting, and at the same time retain the atmosphere of the 21st century.
Modern oil painting
Among the huge number of contemporary artists, there are many truly talented authors who paint oil paintings, whose paintings delight even harsh critics. We have selected ten noteworthy names whose works should not leave viewers indifferent.
Valentin Gubarev
Valentin Gubarev is an artist with a strong personality and an unusual vision of the world.
Paradoxically, he chooses the themes, plots and images of his works in a rather banal way, from everyday life. They do not look like masterpieces of Russian painting, but they captivate with their charming simplicity.
The strength of these paintings lies in the fact that after viewing all the subjects painted in oil on them, they look like some old acquaintances, guys from our yard. like this oil painting you can look at it indefinitely, penetrating into this strange but very curious world.
The characters in Gubarev’s paintings are familiar to everyone: it’s either us or our neighbors, but, in general, this is our past and present society, seen through the lens of healthy humor, some irony, nostalgia for fun times.
Jeremy Mann
In his creative work, Mann strives to depict his city, San Francisco, and imbue these paintings with drama, mood and character.
It brings a unique atmosphere and dynamics to the city's surroundings. Many of the artist's works are inspired by rain and wet pavement reflecting street lights and neon signs.
Mann paints his oil paintings on wood panels using a variety of techniques: staining the surfaces with stains, erasing the paint with a solvent, applying sweeping ink strokes to the canvas and always providing his painting with harmonious and colorful shades.
Gerhard Gluck
Cartoonist Gerhard Gluck is perhaps the most brilliant and skillful middle-class satirist in Germany. The artist’s style has already become recognizable - Gluck’s caricatures and other works are known throughout Germany and beyond. His characters are stocky Europeans, with faces without a pronounced chin. They are all depicted in stories of their daily lives.
“This was the first time the Brochards ordered something online.”
"Everyday Gioconda"
Before becoming an artist, Gluck worked as a school art teacher. One day one of his friends suggested that he send sketches to a couple of newspapers. As a result, Gluck received a positive response from one of them, quit his job at school and continued his activities exclusively as a cartoonist.
“Andre would have loved to feed the fish, but he was afraid of the consequences.”
Although all of Gluck’s caricatures reveal various aspects of human nature, and sometimes not the most positive ones, this funny oil painting cannot be called evil.
Laurent Parselier
Laurent Parselier's obvious talent was evident during his studies at the School of Art, after the publication of several of his art albums under the title "Strange World".
His popularity began to spread even further when he won a street painting competition. Fans fell in love with him for his unique style and relaxed manner of painting in oils.
Laurent's works combine complex color compositions and enormous amounts of light. Parselier prefers to paint his paintings in a realistic manner, because in this way, according to him, everyone can guess what kind of place is depicted in the picture.
Kevin Sloan
Kevin Sloan is an American artist whose oil painting can be called modern realism. Kevin himself explains it as a reality with a catch.
The artist’s paintings will truly take you to some other, magical world. The author loves to use symbolism, poetic metaphors and allegories in his paintings, trying to convey the wonders of the natural world and its abundance.
The artist has been painting in oils since high school, and still, 37 years later, it remains his main passion.
Kevin's favorite thing is to draw animals. As he says, they give him more freedom of choice in who and how to paint than in the case of people, and allow him to better focus on the story that he is putting into the basis of the picture.
Richard Estes
Initially, Estes was interested in traditional academic painting, but then he began to paint in the genre of photorealism, because he always wanted to learn how to depict reality on canvas as fully as possible. However, in the artist’s paintings, reality appears idealized, along with perfect forms, clear lines and precise composition.
Estes's favorite subject was city landscapes, when you see them, you begin to doubt whether this is really a painting and not a photograph.
Modern paintings in this genre have become very popular among connoisseurs of 21st century painting.
Oil painting: landscapes and still lifes
In modern painting, in addition to portraits, such genres as landscape and still life are especially popular. We invite you to pay attention to the following names of contemporary artists who create oil paintings in these genres.
Dmitry Annenkov
Dmitry Annenkov seems to be able to draw any subject in such a way that the viewer himself will look at it with different eyes. Not a single detail is hidden from the keen eye of this Russian artist.
He often paints the simplest and most banal, everyday and antique objects, giving each of them its own unique character - as if a soul appears in them. At the same time, they look so alive and realistic that you want to reach out and take them out of the picture. Dmitry is a true master of such a genre of painting as still life.
Now Dmitry is collaborating with various galleries around the world, including from countries such as the USA, Norway and France.
Justina Kopanya
A Polish artist who paints oil paintings that are stunning in volume and depth, all thanks to a special original technique.
Despite the sweeping and expressive nature of the works, the seascapes do not lose the transparency of the water and the lightness of the sails, and even vice versa - they attract with their voluminous texture, which you want to feel by touch.
Justina says that the main goal of her paintings is to convey atmosphere, not realism, and asks that her oil paintings be perceived as fragments of memories.
Despite the fact that various landscapes significantly dominate among her works, she considers people to be her main inspiration.
Xing-Yao Tsen
This young artist, originally from Taiwan, began painting when he was ten years old. Now twenty-nine and with his own style, Xing-Yao Tsen's paintings are recognized by both major art magazines and reputable art galleries.
The artist most often paints cityscapes of San Francisco, where he graduated from the Academy of Arts with a bachelor's degree.
He performs his oil works in a unique “floating” manner - some believe that due to this technique, his oil works can be confused with watercolors. The best time to create landscapes of Xing-Yao Tsen considers sunset and dawn hours.
Pedro Campos
Another fan of photorealism is Pedro Campos, a Spanish artist from Madrid. This oil painting can easily be confused with photography, but who would have thought! One way or another, Pedro’s paintings bring viewers into indescribable delight.
In painting of different genres - still life, landscape, portrait - the composition consists of different plans. Even if it’s a simple portrait, all the same, the image will consist of at least two plans - the background and the human figure. But if we talk about spatial plans in a landscape, then it must be said that a lot depends on them, because a landscape is, first of all, space. Even if this is a forest thicket, different plans will also be visible in it - tree trunks in front, behind, in the distance, etc. Therefore, in this painting lesson we will discuss the means by which spatial plans can be conveyed in a landscape. I will paint birch trees on the shore of the lake. Technique: oil painting. Using this work as an example, you can see what techniques artists use to convey space. So, let's begin.
1. Breakdown into plans.
We divide the depicted view into conditional plans: first, second, third... for example, the trees in front are the first plan. The clearing further away is the second one. A strip of forest near the horizon is the third, etc. The number of spatial plans can be arbitrary. However, you shouldn't do too many of them.
2. Linear perspective.
In accordance with the laws of linear perspective, all objects decrease in size as they move away. This means that the trunks of birch trees in the foreground will be larger than the trunks of the same birch trees, but in the background. In the third plan, the entire multitude of trees merges into one strip of forest: the individual trees are generalized into a single mass of forest.
Individual leaves of trees in the foreground are more noticeable than foliage in the background. On the trees located in front you can even write individual leaves. But one should not get carried away with such detailing, since visually all the leaves are combined into groups, even in the foreground. But in the distance such a generalization will manifest itself more strongly and the further it goes, the more so. Therefore, I boldly generalize the greenery of the birch trees in the background and write through spots.
3. Aerial perspective.
As they move away from the viewer, landscape objects not only decrease in size, but also become less clear and less contrasting. This is called aerial perspective. There is an air mass between the viewer and the distant object. It changes the appearance of an object. The silhouettes seem to become more cloudy. At a distance of 30 meters it is not noticeable much. But at a distance of 3-5 kilometers, this effect immerses objects in the air so much that they can disappear as if in fog. Aerial perspective makes dark silhouettes a little lighter and light silhouettes a little darker. It is better to remember this pattern, since when working on landscapes you have to constantly encounter this. And, of course, in different weather this phenomenon manifests itself differently. On a clear sunny day and on a damp, cloudy day, the view will be different. But the aerial perspective will be noticeable in both cases, just with different strength.
In addition to the physical laws of nature, the above-mentioned effect is also needed for artistic reasons. To bring objects closer, they are made more contrasting, saturated in color, and clearer. To “sink” the silhouettes back, to make them less noticeable, artists remove the clarity of the contours, reduce the contrast of the silhouettes, and reduce the color saturation. For example, the greenness of the grass, as it moves further towards the horizon, will be less “juicy”. The silhouettes of the trees are less contrasting, and their contours are more blurred and indistinct.
4. Techniques of oil painting in conveying linear and aerial perspective.
This is a very interesting topic. In order to create the illusion of reality, including the illusion of space, artists use a variety of methods. There are no cliches here, because each author can intuitively come up with his own performance technique. Therefore, it is better to avoid cliches here. But some technical solutions have become so widespread that they have acquired the status of traditional ones.
- For example, in order to bring the trunk of a birch tree closer in the foreground, I paint with large impasto strokes of paint. This “roughness” of execution makes the surface of the bark more material, “tangible.” It feels like we are seeing the object in detail, as if it is close, right in front of us. It's an illusion. And it is with the help of illusion that the effect of reality is created in painting. For this style of writing, you can use a palette knife. With its help, the paint layer becomes embossed, and this additionally gives materiality to the depicted surface. The relief of paint can also be achieved with a brush, the main thing is that the paint is pasty and in a sufficiently large quantity.
- To make background objects “go into the distance”, we generalize them. And therefore, the writing style will be smoother, perhaps even more blurry. That is, in the distance we can avoid details and the paint layer will be smoother and less prominent. This can be achieved by rubbing the paint mass with a brush and less by applying the paint in clear strokes.
- The third technique concerns the transparency and opacity of the paint layer. The fact is that when white is added to a color, it becomes, so to speak, “whitened,” that is, the color loses its saturation and acquires a “smokiness.” And since aerial perspective is the immersion of the silhouette in the haze of the air, the use of white in paint mixtures is encouraged. In other words, in the foreground it is better to combine translucent layers of paint with impasto ones, and in the very background it is better to use more opaque layers with the addition of white.
- The fourth technique concerns the elaboration of details and generalization. I wrote about this above. But how can one technically write the details of the first plan, and generalize the objects of distant plans? Firstly, using different brush sizes. With a large brush it is convenient to write broadly and generalize. And with small brushes it is more convenient to paint small details. Secondly, you can combine work with the edge of a flat brush and its plane. In the first case, the strokes become “sharp” and clear, and they can be used to write details of the first plans. In the second case, the wide plane of the brush allows you to lay the paint “broadly and boldly”, as well as generalize it by rubbing the paint. That is, the brush can, as it were, “slide” along the paint layer, rubbing and generalizing unnecessary contours. Third, you can use the tip of a palette knife or its edge to write fine details sharply and clearly. The plane of the palette knife blade, on the contrary, lays the paint widely. It can also be used to generalize, lubricate and rub. Therefore, by masterfully rotating the palette knife, artists achieve very interesting effects. For example, alternating clear, sharp lines with wide and blurry spots.
5. Application of theory in practice. Step-by-step progress of work on the canvas “Birches on the Lake.”
In this example, you can clearly see how to implement the above theory in practice. This work should not be perceived as a template. Each artist has his own style, his own creative solutions. Finally, there are exceptions to every rule. Therefore, the patterns that are described in this article must be wisely taken into account in your work, relying on intuition, a creative idea, and an understanding of the essence.
1) So, as usual, I make an easy approximate drawing of the future landscape with a brush.
2) I paint the underpainting with translucent paints.
3) I introduce whitewash and impasto paint into the background. As mentioned above, the long shot needs to be immersed in the haze of the air mass. The white in the paint mixture helps with this. The tonality of the forest strip in the distance will be lighter than the trees nearby.
4) I start working with a palette knife.
5) The first plan is worked out in a textured manner. The paint layer is embossed. This emphasizes the unevenness of the ground and grass, so the surface becomes material.
6) Tree trunks vary in tone. Some will be lighter, coming forward into the sunlight. Some will be darker, going into the shadows. With this we create, as it were, a tunnel of trees. A space is formed inside the forest.
7) We write small details. The closer the objects, the more detailed they will be described. They will also look sharper and have more contrast.
8) We bring the painting to a finished state.
