Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil, such as linseed, was boiled with a resin, such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body and gloss. Other oils occasionally used include poppyseed oil, walnut oil, and safflower oil. These oils confer various properties to the oil paint, such as less yellowing or different drying times. Certain differences are also visible in the sheen of the paints depending on the oil. Painters often use different oils in the same painting depending on specific pigments and effects desired. The paints themselves also develop a particular consistency depending on the medium.

Although oil paint was first used for the Buddhist Paintings by Indian and Chinese painters in western Afghanistan sometime between the fifth and ninth centuries,^{[citation needed]} it did not gain popularity until the 15th century. Its practice may have migrated westward during the Middle Ages. Oil paint eventually became the principal medium used for creating artworks as its advantages became widely known. The transition began with Early Netherlandish painting in northern Europe, and by the height of the Renaissance oil painting techniques had almost completely replaced tempera paints in the majority of Europe.

Jeff Miracola (born October 10, 1971) is an American fantasy artist, children's book artist, and illustrator.

Miracola created illustrations for the children's book, Welcome to Monster Isle, along with children's author Oliver Chin in 2008. Miracola's illustrations have also appeared in ImagineFX magazine, The Duelist magazine, Advanced Photoshop magazine, and on a Target Corporation gift card. In the gaming industry, he is best known for his work in the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, the Shadowrun role-playing game and collectible card game, as well as the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Miracola also created illustrations for the Electronic Arts video game, Mini-Golf, available on the Apple iPod.

Miracola was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1971, the second of two children.

Miracola grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he attended the Milwaukee High School of the Arts. During his high school years, a friend introduced him to the work of Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, Berni Wrightson, Michael Kaluta, Gerald Brom and Jeff Jones, all of whom he cites as creative influences. In 1991, he attended college at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, but left college after two years to begin a freelance art career.

Larry "Rocky" Hamilton (April 1, 1931 – July 20, 1996), known by his ringname The Missouri Mauler, was an American professional wrestler who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance as well as Florida Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions, becoming a mainstay of the latter promotion throughout the 1960s. A notorious racist, Hamilton was reportedly a card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan.

One of the earliest professional wrestlers to appear on televised wrestling events, he feuded with many popular wrestlers of the era including Jack Brisco,"Plowboy" Stan Frazier, Steve Keirn, Tim Woods, Tarzan Tyler and Fritz Von Erich during his 31 year career.

He is also the older brother of wrestler Jody Hamilton who competed as the masked wrestler The Assassin as well as the uncle of former World Championship Wrestling official Nick Patrick.

Making his debut in the Missouri area during the early 1950s, he began wrestling for promoter Ed Don George in Buffalo, New York where he and his brother began teaming together as the Hamilton Brothers in 1957 headlining an event at Madison Square Garden against Antonino Rocca and Miguel Perez the following year.

William Howard Wallace "Bill" Inman, MRCP, FRCP, FFPHM (1 August 1929 – 20 October 2005), also known as WHW Inman, was a British doctor and pioneer of methods and systems to detect risks of treatment with drugs. As well as holding positions in health institutions in the UK, he was active in international efforts to co-ordinate drug safety monitoring.

Inman was born at Banstead, Surrey in 1929, the son of a businessman. He attended Ampleforth College where he played rugby, performed in musicals, and broke their junior cross-country record.

He went on to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, intending to study medicine, but just before he was due to begin clinical training contracted polio. After having spent two years away, much of it on an iron lung, the university arranged for him to have individual tuition in Cambridge. In 1956 he became the first clinical medical graduate of Cambridge University (before the official founding of the University Medical School, medical students then completing their training in London hospitals), and delivered fifty babies from his adapted wheelchair.