I have used oil paint exclusively in my career. Canvas stapled to Homasote board gives me a hard surface to push onto. At times I may move, scrape, chisel to draw on or excavate material. A wonderful quality about thick oil paint is that it stays workable for quite a long time. I enjoy steeping damar gum nuggets into turpentine but I also use alkyd resin as a medium. Sand, mica, glass beads, and nontoxic dry pigments may be mixed into or on top of the paint. My favorite tools at the moment are fan brushes and pastry cutters.