Earlier in my efforts at oil painting it was necessary to stop and start a piece due to the edge of one color touching another. I would let one dry first before coming into it with the adjacent color. Though very frustrating this is often unavoidable for a good, crisp line where colors are to be distinct one against the other.
With practice however, muscle memory in the hand begins to be more reliable. Even though one color is still wet, I can now paint right up next to it with another. The line between them is still crisp and sharp. This has taken a number of years but the consistent effort is paying off. I am now able to complete a painting while the concept and intent and the emotional thrust of the piece is alive. It is possible with a mister to keep the surface fresh for quite a few days.
I will suggest a few things to help you along the way. One is to use a very good, natural hair brush or one of the new synthetics that has good spring. You want to hold enough paint to drag the line along for a good distance. As I apply one color and as it approaches the edge I will attempt to not have the paint especially thick. The brush should not be ‘loaded’ along the edge. Now with the new, adjacent color load up your brush slightly more and carefully pull your line. With enough practice you will not have a bead along the line, but just a good, straight edge. Maintain the original adjacent color on your pallete so that if you do sneeze and wave over, you can come back with the first color and straighten it out.
The wonderful advantage of painting with a wet edge is that there are places where you want the colors to blend along an edge. With this method all of these options are yours for the choosing because the oil has not set up yet. You will notice in many of Kandinsky’s work his edges are often blurred and blended one into the other. When he needs to have a sharp line, he has that option as well using the manner I described above.
Michael Wilson 1 / 2015