Oil paints as we know them today have been widely used by artists since the early Renaissance.

The paint is made by mixing pigment with an oil medium. The purpose of the medium is to bind the pigments together and act as a protective and flexible film when the paint is dry . The constituency can vary slightly with the amount of binder used and the different pigments.

The artist can use the paints straight from the tube or add other mediums and thinners.

Good Points: Longer drying time so different paints can be blended together. Easy to correct mistakes as these can be wiped away if the paint is wet,or if it's dry the artist can paint directly over the area.
New "low-odor" oil paint products are now available.

Bad Points: Can be smelly with the use of the different thinners, solvents and the paint itself.
A lot more bottles are required (brush cleaners, thinners etc) so working outside can be more difficult.

Made with good quality pigments and bound in the best quality oils. The colors are strong and vibrant.

Made from cheaper pigments and in some cases, when a pigment is expensive, it may be replaced altogether. Extenders can be added to bulk out the pigment content. They are excellent for beginners and students as a way of keeping your cost down, however the paints can be less vibrant and the color range narrower than the artist range.

Turpentine is the most common diluent and thinner used in oil painting but can be strong smelling and irritate the skin.
Low-odor thinners are now available that have less harmful fumes and are also less flammable which is good, however the products are not completely odor-less so good ventilation is recommended.

Note: Household turpentine is not recommended for use as it contains impurities that can cause yellowing or a sticky residue on your work as well as stopping the paint from drying.

The more oil or painting mediums you add to your paint the "fatter" it becomes. "Fat" paint does have a certain amount of movement as it dries. In the early part of the drying process it expands but as the drying continues it looses weight and starts to shrink and harden.

"Lean" paint is less flexible than it's oil rich counterpart, so if you were to apply it over a layer of "fat" paint it would move with the lower layer causing cracking.

When beginning your painting remember, "less then more". Use paint with less additives first, moving onto your final layers where you can add more product to your paints.

Made from oil and synthetic resin, alkyd oil paints have a similar texture to oil paints and can be used in the same way. You can use your oil paint thinners and other mediums with these alkyds. Originally developed for use in house paints and industry they have a durable water-resistant finish.

So what is the difference between Oil paints and Alkyds?
Drying time.
Alkyd oil paints dry much faster than traditional oils and all colors dry at the same time unlike their oil counterpart. They are extremely tough when dry which is great but the range of colors are more limited than traditional oils.

You can dilute your Alkyd paints using your Oil paint thinners such as turpentine or enrich them with linseed oil or Liquin.

Good Points: Rapid drying time, good for thin layers or glazes and also for under painting and impasto work.
A great paint for single session "alla prima" painting.

Bad Points: These can't be used over oil paints as the drying times are different and can cause cracking.
Limited color range.

Water-mixable Oil Paints

Made from pigments bound together in either linseed or safflower oil, Water-mixable oil paints have been modified to be soluble in water.
If you hate the smell of turpentine, mineral sprits and the low-odor thinners used with traditional oil paints then this is an excellent way of still using oil paints (with all the qualities and advantages it give you over Acrylic paints) while eliminating the smell.

Water-mixable oil paints can be mixed with traditional oil paints and their mediums, however the more of these you add the less soluble in water it becomes. If you want to avoid the smell you might want to consider using the manufacturer's range of mediums made for water-mixable paints. These mediums will alter drying times, create impasto paint and improve paint flow.

The water content in the paint evaporates quickly, however the oil components will take a few days to 2 weeks to become touch dry.

American manufacturer Grumbacher has launched it's follow-up range of water-mixable oil paints to it first range Max, called Max 2.
When mixed with conventional oils in a ratio of 2 to 1, this new range can still be cleaned using soap and water.

Winsor & Newton also have their own range of water-mixable oil paints called "Artisan". The Artisan brand also has it's own extensive range of mediums.

Good Points: Can use conventional oil paint thinners.
No need to use smelly solvents.

Bad Points: none.

Resin Oil Colors

Resins extracted from trees, living and fossilized, have been used for thousands of years by artists. In the early days of oil painting, resins such as mastic, dammar and copal where used.

Schmincke makes Resin-Oil Colors which they named after Cesare Mussini (Mussini Finest Resin-Oil). A professor of painting technique at the Academy in Florence, he passed on his formulations to Schmincke's founders in Dusseldorf, Germany, a century ago.

The paints are made with artist quality pigments and oils along with natural dammar resins that allow the light to penetrate deeper into the layers of the paint thus making the colors more luminous and vibrant.

By replacing a portion of the linseed or other oils used with natural resins it reduces the aging and cracking of the paint, and allows more even-drying. The addition of resin also creates a more stable film.

Resin oils come in a large array of colors, ready mixed in tubes. Not all art stores will carry the Resin oil color line, but they should be available from large art stores and mail order suppliers.

Try Schmincke Mussini Oil Colors which are available in 1/18-oz (35-ml) tubes

Good Points: Very good consistency and workability and good Pigment/Color Quality.

Bad Points: Harder to find than regular oil paints.

Oil painting sticks / Oilbars

Oilbars are an artists' quality range of oil color in solid, stick form. They are made by combining pigment, oil, and a blend of specially selected waxes together.

Oilbars are a great way to apply color to a canvas without the use of brushes. They can be applied directly or with a palette knife or brush.
You can use the normal diluents to create a thin layer of color or a special colorless bar to blend. You can also dip the tip of the bar directly into thinners and apply or layer it thickly onto your work surface and then use a knife or brush to move the medium around creating an impasto effect.

To work with Oilbars, wipe away the thin surface film which forms on drying. Underneath is clean oil color ready for use. It softens and flows as you apply pressure to the bar.
Of course being oil based you can use your Oil Painting sticks alone or together with regular oil based paints from tubes.

Good Points: A nice clean way to apply oil based product to your canvas because of their wrapper.
There are no unpleasant odors or fumes and you can paint virtually anywhere.

Bad Points: They can only be used on surfaces that have been prepared and primed.
Due to their wax content, they should not be used for extensive underpainting prior to using traditional oil paints.