Cotton vs Linen Paper for Oil Painting

The vast majority of my oil paintings are done on Strathmore 400 series oil paper, which is a treated linen that feels somewhat rigid like canvass. I am very much a creature of habit, so part of it is that I’m used to how it feels and how paint acts on it. But it’s also pretty cost effective, and storage is much easier than canvass. With the painting that is the subject of this post though, I tried something new – a softer cotton paper called Stonehenge Oil made by Legion Paper. It’s definitely a different experience painting on this softer surface. It’s not overly soft like cloth or anything, but it does feel like there is slightly more resistance as you apply oil paint. A trade off to this different feel though is that the end result has an interesting richness to it.

This portrait I did of a woman next to a window, with fall leaves around her, was noteworthy for using this cotton paper that wasn’t my usual. But also because it was somewhat of an older piece, from October 2023, which seemed to be a leap in quality and technique that isn’t shared by my other paintings during this timeframe. This portrait study was painted on 11 x 14 oil paper and was my 144th overall. I’ll follow my standard format here, which is to share an image of the painting, the Instagram time lapse, and some verbiage specific to the piece. Then, I’ll embed the YouTube discussion video, including another brief writeup on the topic, materials used, and some other hopefully useful information. I’ll wrap the post up by sharing the YT Shorts time lapse and some other similar painting videos.

Shop link related to this piece:

• 
  Fall Window, Giclee Art Print
  $80
  Buy via Etsy

This piece turned out to be one of my favorites during the time period I painted it – just over one year into learning oil paints. It was interesting because at the time, I didn’t actually have a real easel. I was using a carboard box I had rigged to my kids’ easel…which worked okay for smaller paintings, but was a bit more of a challenge for a larger piece like this. This painting, and a few larger ones that came after, made me realize I definitely needed an upgrade. The painting took longer than I was used to due to the size, but it worked out fine because I didn’t get antsy to move on and just took my time. Most of my portraits feel a lot like sketchbook entries in that they’re really informal, but this one actually feels like a cohesive piece. That felt like a turning point in a way, to have more interest in composition.

In this embedded discussion video, I talk more about this experience painting on the softer cotton paper. I did enjoy it, and appreciate the chance to try something new. But I haven’t really pursued using it more often often my usual thicker, textured linen paper. As I mentioned from the top, I’m used to my old stand by, and it’s sometimes hard to branch off from what I’m used to. Which I feel is especially important when you’re still trying to learn to guide your brushes properly. But, the Strathmore paper is fairly inexpensive as well, which helps when you’re trying to crank out portraits and get as much practice as possible.

Here are some additional details of the video I shared on YouTube, including materials used and some other information. I’ll also embed the Shorts video, although it’s kind of redundant to the Instagram Reels post, as I typically just share the same edited vertical time lapse on both platforms. As I mentioned, it was my 144th total oil painting and was originally done in October 2023. The main video I’ve embedded is about 4 minutes, and is similar in format and presentation to some of the others I’ve done (also linked after the timestamps).