Painting in Oils, Tips and Tricks
- By zach williams
- Published 11/6/2007
zach williams
I am a 23 year old art student in Victoria BC Canada. I enjoy artwork in all forms, but like to Paint and take photos the most. I am on my way to becoming a teacher so that i can teach young students how to refine their artistic talents.
Hey again,
As some of you may know I am an artist. I Enjoy painting in oils above all else and from trial and error over 3 or 4 years I have some tips that others may be able to benefit from.
First off, Don't skimp on the essentials. You may wander into an art store and see the price of oil paints and wonder why a "series 1" color is $5.99 and a series 5 of the same color is $19.99. Well this is because of the amount of pigment in the paints. Series 1 oil is going to have minimal amounts of pigment, effectively making this color a wash instead of a full blown color on your canvas. Not only will this hinder you in the long run forcing you to apply lots of coats, it may also have problems drying or lasting. Now that's not to say series one paints are useless, they are fantastic for backgrounds and especially under paintings, keep this in mind. As for brush's, remember to ask if they work well in oils, and again Don't cheap out here. If you buy cheap brushes you will spend much more time trying to pull off stray bristles from your painting surface and trying to bend your bristles back into a usable shape.
Remember to use a medium. I use poppy seed oil. It improves the flow of the oil and slows drying time. Its also a matte finish, be absolutely sure what finish your medium will yield. A unwanted glossy finish on your painting can ruin the look of it.
Clean your brushes! then clean them again! I would constantly get warped bristles on my brushes, it was infuriating. This could have all been avoided and I could have saved myself a lot of money by making sure my brushes were squeaky clean. Remember though. If you are using oils you will need to clean with turpentine or mineral spirits in order to make sure they are completely clean. There are brands of oils that can wash off with water, but even that should be cleaned with spirits or turpentine.
Learn your color theory and use it. All the great masters made use of color theory. its aesthetically pleasing and when applied correctly can make the entire painting.
Never use black for your darks or white for your whites. There is nothing worse then having a beautiful painting, Then flattening out the image by adding white for highlights and black for shadows. Look closely at any object. Notice the highlights are almost never pure white and the shadows are never black. Make your darks and lights from your own colors using color theory and apply that, your painting will pop.
Remember your contrasts. A lot of artists even well founded and experienced artists get stuck in the middle tone range of color. Everything is drab and bland. Don't be afraid to use proper highlights and shadows to add depth to your painting. Remember if it doesn't work...you can always paint over it.
Well, thats it for the tips and tricks of oil paints. There is much more to them of course, but I have to leave you with some exploring to do! If there is a good response to this blog I may write some tips and tricks for drawing and photo editing.
As some of you may know I am an artist. I Enjoy painting in oils above all else and from trial and error over 3 or 4 years I have some tips that others may be able to benefit from.
First off, Don't skimp on the essentials. You may wander into an art store and see the price of oil paints and wonder why a "series 1" color is $5.99 and a series 5 of the same color is $19.99. Well this is because of the amount of pigment in the paints. Series 1 oil is going to have minimal amounts of pigment, effectively making this color a wash instead of a full blown color on your canvas. Not only will this hinder you in the long run forcing you to apply lots of coats, it may also have problems drying or lasting. Now that's not to say series one paints are useless, they are fantastic for backgrounds and especially under paintings, keep this in mind. As for brush's, remember to ask if they work well in oils, and again Don't cheap out here. If you buy cheap brushes you will spend much more time trying to pull off stray bristles from your painting surface and trying to bend your bristles back into a usable shape.
Remember to use a medium. I use poppy seed oil. It improves the flow of the oil and slows drying time. Its also a matte finish, be absolutely sure what finish your medium will yield. A unwanted glossy finish on your painting can ruin the look of it.
Clean your brushes! then clean them again! I would constantly get warped bristles on my brushes, it was infuriating. This could have all been avoided and I could have saved myself a lot of money by making sure my brushes were squeaky clean. Remember though. If you are using oils you will need to clean with turpentine or mineral spirits in order to make sure they are completely clean. There are brands of oils that can wash off with water, but even that should be cleaned with spirits or turpentine.
Learn your color theory and use it. All the great masters made use of color theory. its aesthetically pleasing and when applied correctly can make the entire painting.
Never use black for your darks or white for your whites. There is nothing worse then having a beautiful painting, Then flattening out the image by adding white for highlights and black for shadows. Look closely at any object. Notice the highlights are almost never pure white and the shadows are never black. Make your darks and lights from your own colors using color theory and apply that, your painting will pop.
Remember your contrasts. A lot of artists even well founded and experienced artists get stuck in the middle tone range of color. Everything is drab and bland. Don't be afraid to use proper highlights and shadows to add depth to your painting. Remember if it doesn't work...you can always paint over it.
Well, thats it for the tips and tricks of oil paints. There is much more to them of course, but I have to leave you with some exploring to do! If there is a good response to this blog I may write some tips and tricks for drawing and photo editing.
Cheers,
Z
