Steps to Creating an Oil Painting

Like many artists, I was drawn to art and started to draw and actively paint pictures as a child. I studied design at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, (BFA) and the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (MFA), focusing on graphic design and also on art history. I learned to paint by reading extensively about art and artists, by observing works of art in museums and galleries wherever I traveled, and most importantly, by simply painting. The steps I have developed to create and present finished oil paintings are numerous and take time.

1. Structure and Surface

The first step is to cut a piece of canvas or linen and stretch it over stretcher strips or wood panels. Once the material is tightly secured to the support structure, I apply a coat of a glue-like liquid “size” onto it, allowing it to dry fully. When stretched and sized, the canvas becomes as tight as a drum. The sizing prevents the fabric from absorbing atmospheric moisture that might otherwise eventually cause swelling and shrinking, and ultimately, paint cracking.

Next, I apply a thin coat of gesso to the canvas and allow it to dry before lightly sanding the surface and applying a second, thicker coat. Depending on the touch of the surface, I use my judgement whether or not to apply a third coat.

Next, I apply an even coat of light-gray oil paint over the surface and allow it to dry for two weeks or more—sometimes putting the prepared canvas aside for months—before it is ready for painting.

2. Paints

I paint exclusively with handmade oil paints made by Williamsburg, named for the Brooklyn, New York neighborhood where the company originated. The paints, made in small batches by artisans using pigments from around the world, possess a unique consistency and texture. I choose to work with a palette of earth colors that are often slightly gritty, alongside neutral grays and a limited range of other colors with a smoother texture. My chosen pallet suits me and echoes my need for making calm, soothing impressions.

3. Techniques

Over many decades, I have experimented by developing several painting techniques unique to my artistic process. Depending on the desired outcome, I will create a work quickly, such as my small landscapes, which I paint in a direct “wet in wet” method, or over weeks or months in larger works where I allow layers of paint to dry in between the many stages of creating the painting. I paint with traditional brushes as well using other tools such as paint scrapers, cloth rags, sandpaper blocks, adhesive tapes, and oil stick pastels. Technique—including process, materials, tools, and time—directly result in the outcome of my image making.

4. Subjects

I explore basic themes—still life, landscape, and non-representational imagery—often returning to them over time through a variety of diverse approaches. My relationship to painting traditions and my knowledge of their histories allow me the creative space to make work that references the intersections of art and design, representation and abstraction, and control and spontaneity.

5. Varnish

The finished painting must dry for several weeks before the final step. I apply a satin varnish made by the Portland, Oregon-based company Gamblin, developed in collaboration with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Varnish saturates and gives greater depth to the colors in the oil painting and protects the surface from exposure to ultraviolet light and external moisture.

6. Frames

For many years I have framed my worked primarily through Metropolitan Picture Framing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who make custom-made frames to my specifications. Metropolitan’s wood frames allow the paintings to visually “float” inside them while not covering any portion of the canvas, offering a fresh, contemporary feeling to the final presentation. Recently, I have developed a creative relationship with Guido Frames outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Each frame is individually handmade, and hand finished making each one its own unique work of art. Guido’s craftsmanship is outstanding, their attention to quality is excellent. I find that it is the important visual relationship between the painting and its frame that completes the work of art.

7. Prices

I am often asked how I decide on the prices of my work. The prices are based on my long history as an artist as well as considering the general size, quality, complexity, and results of the work. Sometimes, a painting simply turns out better than expected, possessing special qualities beyond others. The frame is also essential to the work of art. The frames are unique. My paintings are one-of-a-kind and are irreplaceable. A painting is not only a unique decorative object, but it also represents a creative life of interpreting intellectual, visual, and emotional responses as direct artistic expression.

8. Display

I show my work privately in my painting studio at my home, as well as at our gallery in an historic building nearby (both in Vermont), and on my website glennsuokko.com. My wife Ann is my partner in our creative endeavors and gallery business. I am fortunate that my paintings are sought by friends and visitors, established art collectors and first-time art buyers, across the United States, and in Europe, Asia, and Australia.