One of many online galleries is MyBestCanvas.com - Art forum & artists community offering oil paintings signed by painters from USA & Europe. Just looking at the collections would be a relaxing escape in the middle of your routine activities at the office. And maybe you will find a piece of work of art there that goes with the ambiance of your living room.
I found this simple yet beautiful painting on the site, titling "Old is Gold" (2006,Mixed Media on Canvas , 50x25cm), painted by Sarika Soman, a female artist who was born in the vibrant and colorful country of India. Her works have been exhibited in U.S, Germany and India.
If you are an artist, maybe you'll be interested in joining the artist community of MyBestCanvas.

White is the most commonly used colour in oil painting from the earliest stages through to finishing touches and highlighting. However not all whites are the same. Understanding how they perform helps the artist to choose the right white for the painting in progress.
Here are the most common ranges of white. Although some factory offer more specific types.

Titanium White: The most popular modern white. It is the whitest, and the most opaque bright white with exceptional covering power for strong highlights. It can also be used for mixing and is a good all purpose white.

Zinc White: Less opaque slower drying white, used in the later stages of a painting for subtle highlighting, glazing and blending with other colours to create pale tints. It has a blue undertone.

Iridescent White: A mica based pigment which makes a pearlescent white. It is effective when mixed with transparent colours, and used over dark underpainting.

Underpainting White (fast drying): A titanium pigment ground in linseed oil which is recommended for underpainting or extensive layering with white. It dries quickly to a flat, matt, toothy finish. Specially formulated to resist cracking and shrinking in the early stages of painting.

Flake White (The Old Masters White): Based on lead pigment, suitable for all stages of a painting. It's a high performance milky white, noted for its opacity and durable paint film. When mixed with other colours it creates pure clean tints with minimum loss of tonal value. A titanium based formulation which avoids the hazardous lead based Flake White No. 1. It has a lower tinting strength than Titanium White to match Flake White and a similar drying rate to the original. Classified as toxic according to EC legislation and available only in tins for EC countries.

1. Having a clean organized palette is an essential part of good painting. If you are just starting out with oil painting, these tips will help you get a good start.

2. You should have the right kind of palette to start off with. Your palette should be non-porous to prevent absorption of oil from the paint. Palettes come in a variety of different materials from glass to wood. My personal preference is the BOB ROSS Clear Palette. I have found this palette the easiest to clean and best for mixing colors.

3. When you are first starting out, it may be a good idea to start with a fairly limited palette of colors. If you purchase every color under the sun, you may find yourself mixing too many different colors, which will result in a muddy painting. Start off slow in the beginning, then add more colors as you become more experienced. Color choices for a limited palette vary from artist to artist. Here are the colors of my palette: Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Orange, Phthalo Blue, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Cadmium Red Medium, Phthalo Green, Titanium White, Ivory Black. I recommend purchasing 1.25 oz tubes of all colors except Titanium White. Purchase a larger tube of Titanium White, as you will be using more of this color.

4. First, you should get into the habit of laying out your colors the same way every time you paint. This is just good practice and keeps the painting process flowing nicely. Arrange your colors along the edges of your palette leaving a lot of room in the center for mixing.

5. Don't be afraid to squeeze out a good amount of paint, especially your whites. You will be more productive if you aren't continuously stopping to squeeze out more paint.

6. Make certain to include all of the colors you think you will need to complete that session of painting as well. Again, this will make you more productive.

7. When adding paint to the palette, I have found that squeezing the paint out in long lines, as opposed to puddles, keeps my colors cleaner. When you have puddles of paint, they tend to get soiled by other colors when mixing. With a long line of paint, you can just take paint from the end as needed and not dirty the rest. Keep some rags or paper towels handy for wiping your palette knife clean.

8. It's a good idea to continuously wipe your palette clean during the painting process. There is nothing more frustrating then trying to remove dried up oil paint. Keep some alcohol handy so that you can keep the mixing area of your palette clean.

Start your oil paintings with an acrylic underpainting - When you start an oil painting using oils, it can take some time for that initial layer to dry. Starting your painting with an acrylic underpainting however is a wonderful time saver as acrylic paint dries quickly and oil paint can be applied over the acrylic.

Make certain you have good lighting - I didn't realize how important good lighting was until I painted outdoors for the first time. Good lighting brings out the color and also lessens the strain on your eyes. If you can, paint in a place that gets plenty of natural sunlight. If you cannot afford this luxury, purchase a good indoor light. Check out http://www.ottlite.com/ for a great selection of lighting products.

Make sure you have good ventilation - If you are using materials like oil painting thinners and cleaners in your studio; make sure you have good ventilation. Some of these chemicals can be quite toxic so use caution when working with these products. Consider using a water miscible paint like Grumbacher Max Oil Paints. Max Oils can be diluted with water thereby eliminating the need for solvents.

Fat over lean - Follow this rule and you will reduce the chance of your paint cracking. Each layer of your oil painting should have a higher oil content then the ones below it.

To create the illusion of distance in your paintings paint receding objects with cooler less intense color. Objects that advance are warmer and more intense.

If you are feeling uninspired don't get discouraged. Try taking a walk outside, breath in the air, look around at the beautiful earth God created. Try playing music while you are painting. You will be surprised how music can affect your painting. Visit a museum or local gallery. Viewing other works of art can really get your creative juices flowing.

When holding your brush avoid holding your brush like a pencil too close to the bristles. Oil brushes are made long for a reason so that you can paint further away from the canvas. Practice holding the brush toward the middle and end of the handle.

Maintain a clean organized working environment - Get yourself into the habit of keeping your work area clean and organized. Have an abundant supply of rags or paper towels nearby. Get a few glass jars for storing mediums, solvents and your used brushes while painting.

Brush Selection and Care - You should probably invest in a good set of brushes. Cheap brushes are not recommended as they shed their bristles quite easily while painting. I prefer working with Hog Hair brushes, but oil painters also use sable and synthetic sable. Avoid nylon brushes, as these are better suited for acrylic paint. My brushes include a variety of flats sizes #3, #6, #8, #12, a #4 fan, and a few small rounds for detail work. Selections vary from artist to artist, depending on painting style usually, but the above mentioned work fine for me. Take excellent care of your brushes. This is very important, especially if you have an expensive set of brushes. You may want to do a search online for more in depth brush care instructions. If you do not clean and store your brushes properly, you will ruin them, simple as that. Use a quality brush cleaner and preserver that you can purchase online or at your local art store.

About the author:
Ralph Serpe is Webmaster and Cofounder of Creative Spotlite - http://www.creativespotlite.com, a free educational art and craft community.