It is possible when painting with oils to get the look of a watercolor wash effect, but you will have to be patient. When achieving this effect you will have to be prepared to wait for your work to dry before moving it; here is how to go about getting your oils to behave like watercolors when working on your wall art pieces.

When watercolors bleed it is because of the wet-on-wet technique, where you have wet the paper and thinned the paint so that it bleeds. To get this same effect with oils, make sure you are working flat as you would with a regular watercolor wall art painting.

You will then need to thin your oil paints with the medium of your choice. A popular medium is a mixture of thinner and oil, which you can buy with your other art supplies, or you may have a personal formula you have developed which works for you. As for your canvas, you will need to cover it either with linseed oil, or a product like Liquid Clear, or a similar brand. You can then take your previously thinned paint and work it into the oil on your canvas.

Using this method your oils will still not bleed in exactly the same way as watercolors and you will have to make a bit of movement. You may choose to tilt your canvas so that gravity can go to work on fanning out your paints, or you can use a plasticized paper if you prefer to blow your thinned paints around with a straw.

Finally this is where the patience comes in because you’re going to have to leave your art print somewhere to dry, otherwise your hard work will all run in a new direction!