Other than using lots of oil paint, how can i thicken my oils to create a thicker, so as to create a texture?

i know art shops sell thickener and stuff, but i ould want to know of a cheaper alternative. maybe using home made cement or mix with other materials. pls adviseOther than using lots of oil paint, how can i thicken my oils to create a thicker, so as to create a texture?
You could build up texture with the gesso on the primed canvas before you start using oil paint. Gesso is pretty stiff and you cand carve some designs in it or have it show brush strokes. Once you get some thing with enough texture, use oil paint over it.Other than using lots of oil paint, how can i thicken my oils to create a thicker, so as to create a texture?
I prefer to use the illusion texture. Oil paintings have the problems that when it gets dry, in a few years it is going to crack, like very old paintings. Oil paintings don't accept temperature changes, that's why it cracks. I have seen paintings of 30 years old, already cracked. That's because of the use of thick painting. You can try make the textures illusion with transparencies one over the other. Try using mixed media; make textures over the canvas with gesso and modeling paste and over it you can paint with acrilics and at the end use the oil colors over, with fine coats over. You are going to have the oil painting finish but safe. No cracks with time.
oil paint dries, so just go with mother nature, and let it come to the right consistency
Try using a wax medium. You can buy it ready-made at an art store or you can make it yourself by grating parrafin wax (from the grocery store) into mineral spirits, stirring to dissolve. You can form a thick paste of wax this way that you can mix oil paints with.





Also, you can always try the non-traditional materials such as dirt, straw, paper pulp, sand etc. but you may run into problems with adhesion and longevity.
Hmm may be best to go with the standard thickeners you mentioned. Any other additives can adversely affect your oil paints causing them to crack, not dry completely or even change color as it dries.
I'm not sure if this will help you or not... I use caulk. I paint with acrylics and it sure helps my paints go farther, adds fantastic texture quality and is inexpensive. You could experiment with it to make sure that the oil doesn't separate or there's no unwanted chemical/scientific reaction. I get great results though with my acrylics, you can take a look at some of my artwork at this site:





http://flickr.com/photos/colorificstudio








Happy painting!


sbj