THEOREM

Theorem painting began in early 19th century America and gained popularity in other countries during the same period.  It involves stencilling in oil paints or watercolours on cotton velveteen fabric or paper, through the multi-layering of stencils to achieve a blended and well-integrated result.  Stencils were painstakingly hand-cut as commercial stencils were difficult to obtain for the home artist.  Today stencil kits are available for this technique (although many artists still cut their own stencils) and oil sticks can be purchased as an alternative to stencilling with traditional oil paints.