Is the Van Eyck method of oil painting of value to modern artists of today?
Yes it is, for these reasons. Our world is very different from the world of the Van Eycks. We live in a fast paced, scientific, technological age. Our age is characterized by a demand for instant gratification , intolerance of anything that ‘wastes’ (requires) our time, and accustomed to using disposable items. Modern styles of painting reflect this energized anxiety, with splashes, drips, and broad wet-in-wet painting methods that are ‘best’ done within a few hours. Many painters have discarded ‘troublesome’ slow-drying traditional oil paints and use only fast drying acrylic paints that allow faster and greater freedom, and the creation of multi-media works. Acrylic paints and their clear synthetic emulsion adhesive, allows use of collage, with additions of paper, wood, crayola, ink, and other substances. Even now, in the 21st century, artists have discarded the 20th century acrylic paints in favor of faster computer graphics, which when combined with high resolution printing presses,
