Salt Shaker

This is my first real oil painting, and is done using the time-tested methods of the “Old Masters” — known by a few different names; “Flemish Master’s Technique” – “7 Layer Painting” – “Glazing Method” etc.

This is how the masters like Vermeer, Albrecht Dürer, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, etc. used to paint… at least in some form/variation of the basic principals of this technique. This stuff is rarely taught in art schools anymore (I can attest to this as I went to Art College for 4 years), so I had to learn this method through my own research. This technique requires a fair bit of time, and lots of patience… as one must wait for each layer of oil paint to properly dry before moving onto the next. When done right, the light should bounce through multiple layers, creating effects that would be almost impossible to create alla prima.

Da Vinci was known to have painted upwards of 40 layers of glazes while painting “Mona Lisa.” Some paintings like this can take a long time to make, and have proven to withstand the test of time — many of these 500 year old paintings are outlasting the Impressionist paintings which came many years later.