Oil Painting Drying Time?

I got an easel for Christmas, it came with oil paints, which i have never used. I just started to use them today (just to experiment) I didn't put any gesso on the canvas first. is that okay? i have the turpeniod and thats it. is there anything else i need to have to make this a successful painting? it isn't drying very fast. when will it be dry? should i coat the painting with something when i am done?Oil Painting Drying Time?
If you used a pre-treated canvas then you don't need gesso. Oil paints take several days or more to dry! The drying time will depend on the humidity in the air too. You can put a clear seal on the painting when it is dry if your prefer though most oil paints today are fade proof. Enjoy your painting!Oil Painting Drying Time?
Congratulations. Gesso is very good, but not absolutely necessary; so I guess it's OK if you didn't use it. I like it better when I do use it! You do have the turpeniod, which is used to dilute the paint according to your needs, but you did not mention, ';purified linseed oil';. This I would say is a must. It helps to spead the paint more evenly and easier. Add it to the paint, or the brush accordingly. Drying takes approximately about a week, and even then it is not truly dry, but safe to handle. And yes, there is a coating sold in art supply stores, but that should be applied after about two or three months.
Most canvas' are preprimed with gesso. Oil's do not dry fast... It may take a number of weeks and some times months to fully dry and cure.





You don't necessarily have to varnish it but you can use Damar Varnish to varnish it comes in brush on and spray (always spray outside). You can get it from Dick Blick.
It depends entirely on the thickness of the paint - it can take months or even years to dry out. Was it a ready primed canvas? If so you'll be fine. Always paint fat over thin, to avoid the paint drying on top but not underneath, which will cause it to crack. I'd suggest linseed oil instead of turps, it will give you less of a cloudy, muddy colour. Glazing it might give it a bit of a glow, depending on what you're going for. But the painting will need to be totally dry before you do that. (Mix a little oil paint of whatever colour you fancy with turps or whatever and dab it over the painting, let it dry for an hour or two and then wipe it off.) And then varnish it with proper oil paint varnish which you'll find at a good art shop.
An artist once told me that for a painting to fully dry takes about 50 years.
Don't plan on making anything good until you've painted with oil paint at least five times. if you use turpentine- and sometimes odorless thinners like turpenoid- to thin the paint, the paint will dry much faster. use it like you would the water in watercolor, but the paints that you got in this kit most likely aren't very good, so don't be surprised if the painting is slightly streaky. i wouldn't suggest using the wet on wet painting method for you- wait until your thin layer, the streaky layer, is dry and then add layers. oil paint takes about a century to thoroughly dry. If you apply the paint thickly, you will be waiting for months for it to be dry enough to work with.