A New Era in Oil

Exploring timeless beauty through layered oil painting

For as long as I can remember, there has always been an easel somewhere in my home. A quiet witness in the corner of the room, surrounded by paint, brushes, and the quiet hum of a canvas waiting to be transformed. Long before I became a full-time artist, I painted in oil. I loved the texture, the slow movement of the brush, the way the pigments seemed to breathe with the light. Oil painting has always felt like coming home.

But when my children were young, I had to step away from traditional oil for a while. Anyone who has worked with classic oils knows: the drying time is long, the paint has a very distinct (and persistent) scent, and the canvases must remain untouched for weeks. That’s not exactly ideal when little hands wander curiously through the house. So for nearly a decade, I explored other mediums, watercolours, crayons, Sennelier oil pastels, and acrylics. They gave me freedom, speed, and a way to create while living a full life as a mother and artist.

Recently, something shifted. I’ve returned to oils, but with a new technical precision and a more layered approach. I’ve started working with alkyd oil paints, a material that preserves the luminous quality of oil while drying faster and without the heavy odour. It allows me to build my compositions in structured, intentional layers:

  • a first sketch in graphite or charcoal

  • a base layer of acrylic paint

  • rich alkyd oil layers for depth and luminosity,

  • and finally, delicate touches of traditional oil that bring softness and timelessness.

This return to oil feels like opening a door to a new era in my artistic practice. I’ve invested in large linen canvases, both transparent primed linen that reveals its natural warm tone, and traditional white gesso–primed linen on rolls and stretched frames. These surfaces invite a different pace. A slower, more meditative way of painting. A dialogue between light, texture and time.

This new series has already begun with three paintings:

Each work carries the same foundation: a layered, archival process that honors the tradition of oil painting while embracing modernity. These paintings are not just visual compositions, they are tactile, luminous presences that shift subtly as the light moves across the room.

I’ve created a new page on my website dedicated to these oil paintings, where you can view the works and follow this evolving chapter in my practice.
👉Explore the new oil paintings https://wendybuiter.com/art-category/art/oil-paintings

For collectors and gallery owners, this series marks a turning point, a deepening of my visual language, a re-embrace of a timeless medium. A new era has begun.

Wendy Buiter (Rotterdam, 2025)
Oil on Linen – Signed Originals – For collectors and connoisseurs

See the new Oil Paintings here.