Choosing exactly which oil paintings are right for however can be fairly difficult and the wrong choice can stand out like a sore thumb. The idea here again is to go things that won’t date, as well as things that say something about you personally. And of course they have to match with your colour scheme.

Fortunately there are a couple of options you can be sure won’t date. Ironically one of the best ways is to pick artwork that’s already dated. The reason this works is that people will (hopefully) know that it was dated when you bought it, meaning that you consciously decided on it rather than just failing to keep up with the times. Picking something retro or geek-chic can even be ironic in this sense, and getting an oil painting of a Star Wars character or Nightrider can be great for someone young and a bit alternative. In the same way paintings of anything or anyone iconic, such as Mohamed Ali, Elvis or Marilyn Munroe can give your room a hint of character and a spot of retro chic.

Of course this won’t be to everyone’s taste, but if you go further back you’ll start getting into more classic territory. While it’s unlikely that you’ll be unable to afford an original piece of old artwork, getting reproductions of your favourite well-known oil paintings can make a mature and cultured centre piece for your dining room.

If you want something that will draw less attention to itself however then a landscape can make a much more subtle addition to your walls and can also make the room feel more spacious. Though these are more ‘standard’ you can still choose something that reflects your personality as well as the ‘temperature’ of the room. If you have lots of mahogany for example you might choose an autumn scene, whereas a brighter more modern room might benefit from a beach with a palm tree.

Another option that demands less attention but won’t be to everyone’s tastes is to choose something abstract. This can be modern art or just attractive shapes and again the secret is to go for a design that appeals to you personally and fits the tone of the room. Some abstract art can be a little surreal and edgy however which may not be appropriate for more relaxing rooms unless you want to psyche out your guests.

So there are countless options when picking oil paintings and each can offer something different to the decor; it’s just picking the right one for you and your room.

Art paintings were done even when cave paintings and murals were made. With time, the subject of art painting got a boost. Experimentations became the order of the day. Different materials or surfaces and different color combinations marked the painting turf of different centuries.

Oil paintings had caught the imagination of painters even in the pre-renaissance era. Making these paintings through a pigment tied to the dry oil medium was in itself a revelation then. These art paintings were largely practiced on canvas; though paper, wood, papyrus, vellum was also heard of. It used the boiled mixture of linseed and resin or frankincense to create the painting varnish. Such varnish or oil helped with the paintings.

Oil paintings gave a lot of importance to layering. The under layers were made with turpentine oil and on top of that many distinctive layers of oil paints were used to provide with the necessary contours. It used hog’s bristle for bold shots and Squirrel’s fur for mild brush strokes. We are talking about the brushes here.

Watercolor paintings also had its fair share of glory and is still running well. Art paintings that evolved through the use of watercolors found its feet largely in the post renaissance time. It used pigments which are dissoluble in water solvent vehicle. Watercolor paintings are largely done on paper. With the invention of far many compact combinations of colors, even the paper has become wove paper today. Today the water colors come in metal tubes or dried depressed cakes.

Europe denied the revolution its impetus when it started using aniline dyes in bright-colored medium. This got duly exposed in sunlight and left the surface. This had caused quite a stir and subsequent downfall of watercolor paintings.

Another genre of art paintings were the abstract paintings. These were the most contorted but the freest expressions of the subconscious. Any defined image using visual dynamics as an illusion for visual reality marked such paintings. These art paintings did not draw any inspiration from real world whatsoever. Abstract paintings got the necessary fillip through George Braque and Pablo Picasso when they came with the Baroque movement and Cubism respectively.

Few of the masters who have envisaged and equally implemented art paintings are:

Cubism- he came up with Cubism and defined the world from a vantage point as conceived by the painter and not as perceived by him.

Impressionism- Paul Cezanne’s movement was ably taken by Renoir. It dealt with pointed images; pointed staircases leading towards pointed houses. Such pointed; peaked houses have been psychologically inferred as being the result of years of Nazi oppression.

Dali’s Surrealism and other art paintings that evolved out of Impressionism and romanticism were equally brilliant and still hold value.