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Oil PaintingSUPPLIES
- Basic paints (yellows, blues, reds, browns, black, white)
- Brushes
- Mediums
- Canvas or board and gesso
- Cotton rags
- Baby food jars or similar containers
- Turpentine
- Linseed oil
- Varnish
- Final finish varnish
Overview
Use oil paints to recreate the techniques of great art masters. The smell of turpentine, slow drying times, assumed more complicated technique and mystery of oil paints often keep people from trying them. New advances in paints and mediums make the smell of turpentine a choice rather than a necessity. With a few simple steps and the technique for oil paint use closely resembles that of any other paint medium. Once mastered, oil paints provide versatility because of the slow drying time and ability to mix mediums for further effects.
Step 1
Use oil paints of the highest quality that you can afford. They have richer color and intensity, covering the canvas with less product that holds up better over time. Buy the basic colors of red, yellow and blue. Artists often suggest cerulean or cobalt blues, viridian, cadmium red and yellow, yellow ochre, burnt sienna and umber, mars black and titanium white. Mix all colors from these basics and produce a richer palette.
Step 2
Purchase flat and round bristle brushes in various sizes from number 2 to 12. For fine detail work, also purchase some of the more expensive sable brushes, both flat and round. Two small and two medium should suffice for a beginner. Purchase two larger brushes, number 20 or higher, for filling in large areas. Later purchase a wider variety including fan and filbert brushes.
Step 3
Baby food jars or similar work well for oil paint mediums. Place pure turpentine in one for cleaning brushes between colors. In another place a mixture of 1/3 varnish, 1/3 turpentine and 1/3 linseed oil and use this as a medium. Mix the medium with the oil color on the palette for thinner effects or faster drying.
Step 4
Purchase stretched canvas panels for the best oil paint surface. Use of cardboard backed canvas panels may lead to moisture damage although use of them is quite common with oil paints. Alternatively, cover wood panels with several coats of gesso and use these as your canvas.
Step 5
Cover large areas with thin coats of oil paint mixed with the thinning medium above. First paint large background area blocks of color with either a large brush or a cotton rag. Keep the paint thin. Create vague shapes that later become the main subjects in your oil painting. An initial thick coat of oil paint with later detail work on top may cause cracking as the thick under coat may not have dried completely.
Step 6
Begin to detail the shapes and outlines of the subjects using thin coats of paint and a brush. Firm up the outlines from the vague blocks of color painted in the background step. Consider the tones of color and add additional layers of color hues as needed to match your subject. Add shades and tints of color to designate dark and light areas.
Step 7
Complete detail work using more paint, less or no medium, and a bristle brush so that brush strokes add to the texture of the work. This top layer of paint presents no problems with drying so use rich color and plenty of paint. This step brings your subject to life so be sure to pay attention to every little detail. Use pointed sable brushes for the finest details of delicate subjects such as faces.
Step 8
Two weeks or more after finished oil painting dries to the touch, apply a final finish varnish. Buy final finish varnishes where you purchase your other artist supplies. If you wish to mix your own final varnish, use a mixture of turpentine and varnish.
TIPS AND WARNINGS
- TIP : Correct wet mistakes by scraping paint off with a palette knife and repainting. Correct dry mistakes by first softening the paint with a turpentine soaked brush then scraping.
Use a palette knife to apply paint where you desire more texture.
Fast-drying and water mixable oil paints now exist if you do not wish to use traditional oil paints due to the slow drying times or use of turpentine.
For those sensitive to the smell of turpentine, low-odor turpentine exists.
