Why the Slow Process of Oil Painting Increases the Value of a Piece

Textural detail from the creation process.

Understanding the Time Investment Behind Oil Painting

Oil painting has always been a medium defined by patience, intention, and the quiet discipline of working in layers. Unlike faster techniques, oil requires a slow and deliberate rhythm, one that cannot be rushed without sacrificing depth, stability, and luminosity. Each layer must dry fully before the next is applied, allowing pigments to settle and the surface to evolve gradually, almost like a living organism.

This meticulous process produces qualities that no rapid method can replicate:

Longer-lasting color

Oil pigments maintain their intensity over time, aging gracefully rather than fading. Their composition allows the hues to remain vibrant for decades, even centuries.

Greater luminosity

Because light can travel through multiple translucent layers, oil paintings possess an inner glow. The effect is subtle yet unmistakable: a depth of light that gives the artwork a quiet, radiant presence.

Physical texture and dimensionality

Brushstrokes, glazes, and carefully built layers form a tactile surface that carries the artist’s intention in every gesture. These variations in thickness and relief create a sense of movement and physicality that engages the viewer’s eye.

Yet the true value of oil painting lies not only in the final result but in the time, discipline, and technical precision required to achieve it.

In Jehan Legac’s work, this slow process becomes an advantage rather than a constraint. The extended drying time allows him to blend transitions with extraordinary softness and to build atmospheric layers that feel suspended between dreamlike and hyper-real. Each painting carries a sense of stillness, an intimate, almost mystical space created through patient craftsmanship.

The Quiet Division 150 x 150 cm, 60 x 60 in. | Original Oil Painting on Canvas

With every layer, Jehan shapes light, depth, and emotion, giving his paintings their unmistakable presence. The slowness is not an obstacle but a signature: a mark of devotion to a medium that rewards time with beauty.

✧ Explore the full Jehan Legac gallery and experience this signature depth for yourself.