Thickness of Oil Paint

I had a chance to visit the Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo last Saturday. As I go through the works of many famous Filipino painters, I was looking closely at the thickness of the brush strokes. Too close, in fact, that a resident artist cum tour guide noticed me, "You are an artist, aren't you?" I still am not sure of the right thickness for an oil painting. I tend to vacillate between getting it too thick or too thin. When I was starting out, I did a really large painting of Pacquiao using an impasto technique. The paint was so thick that I consumed a lot of paint. It was expensive.

Ang Kampeon (2010), 30" x 40" Oil on Canvas

In another painting, a commissioned portrait of then Imus Bishop Chito Tagle (He is now Archbishop of Manila and soon to be a Cardinal), the thickness was thin. The white canvas seems to be showing in some areas. But still, I achieved the effect that I wanted.

 Bishop Chito Tagle (2010), Oil on Canvas

Maybe, the thickness doesn't matter as long as one gets the desired visual result.