Oil Painting For Beginners

When I initial started painting some 10 years ago, I remember my very first trip to my local Art Supply shop. I recall my feeling of utter confusion as I perused the aisles. This particular art shop had every single tube of paint, brush, medium and canvas known to man, far too several choices for a confused beginner. After a number of moments, a sales person came by and started to assist me in finding the supplies I required. To make a long story short, I left the shop 30 minutes later with a box full of supplies, half of which I had absolutely no idea what to do with. I wish I knew then what I know now. I could have saved myself lots of cash.

When you might be initial starting out in Oil Painting, you shouldn't go overboard on supplies. It's best to start with the basics. Whenever you turn out to be more experienced, you are able to then try out diverse supplies until you discover the items you're most comfortable working with.

Oil Painting Brushes - Brushes come in several sizes and shapes from flats to brights to rounds. They're also obtainable at several prices. Brushes are something you must surely spend a bit extra on and shoot for excellent. You don't want low-cost brushes. Inexpensive brushes are a large headache mainly due to the fact they shed hair and lose their shape quicker than excellent brushes. The kinds of brushes you pay for actually depend on the type of painting you plan on doing: landscapes, portraits, impasto perform, etc., all call for certain kinds of brushes. You will only learn this over time as you become more experienced and develop Your Own style. For starters, I would invest in a couple of flats of several sizes, a few small rounds for detailed perform and a fan for blending. Make sure to also buy a beneficial Brush Cleaner and preserver. I use the Marx Brush Care System for cleaning and preserving my brushes and it works good.

Oil Paints - Oil Paint also varies in price and top quality. You can find some really excellent paints on the market today. I prefer to work with Grumbacher Artist Oils, but Winsor & Newton Oil paints are also quite popular. You'll find various grades of paint. You can find student grade paints and professional grades. My own preference is to work with the professional grades, as the colors are a lot more brilliant than student grade paints. I guess it's ok in the beginning to purchase a lesser High Quality for learning and experimentation. I guarantee once you try the professional grade paints, you will never go back to student grade. This is my opinion of course. Artist Color choices vary. Some prefer a limited palette of only a few colors, while others prefer to have a variety of various colors at their disposal.

Here are the colors of my palette. You do not have to buy these exact colors, as this is only my preference that has developed over time.

Cadmium Yellow Light
Yellow Ochre
Cadmium Red Light
Cadmium Orange
Burnt Sienna
Raw Sienna
Burnt Umber
Alizarin Crimson
Sap Green
Thalo Blue
Ivory Black
Titanium White

Oil Painting Mediums - Medium preference varies greatly from artist to artist. I think each and every artist has his or her own mixtures and formulas. I myself use linseed and poppy oil. Linseed oil has a tendency to yellow the colors so I do not mix it with my lighter color mixtures. For lighter color mixtures, I use poppy oil as it has less of a tendency to yellow. You'll find other mediums available. I recommend that you try your own mediums and recommendations from artists until you discover something that produces the results you happen to be after.

Canvas and Other Supports - The popular support that many artists operate with is cotton canvas, but you will find other supports obtainable. Some other choices are linen canvas, boards and canvas paper for instance. You could also buy rolled canvas and stretch your own if desired. This again is something you have to experiment with until you find a support that works finest with your style of painting. I recommend starting with a couple of smaller to medium sized canvases. I work with FREDRIX Red Label Stretched Cotton Canvas. Red Label is a medium textured good quality canvas excellent for use with oils and a popular choice amongst oil painters.

Palette - Palettes are made from various materials including glass,wood, plastic, and even paper. My palette of choice is the Bob Ross Clear Palette. This palette is wonderful. It's easy to clean, holds plenty of paint with adequate room to mix your colors. It's also priced quite reasonably.

Easels - Easels are also obtainable in a variety of sizes and price ranges. You will need a very good stable easel to paint on; otherwise your canvas will wobble around whenever you paint. This can be quite frustrating. You also need to decide whether you will be painting primarily in your studio or if that you are an outdoor painter. If you're painting outdoors you ought to consider purchasing a French Easel. The JACK RICHESON Academy Verona Half French Easel is a excellent buy. If you work primarily in your studio, then you have lots of easels to choose from. I personally use a STANRITE 500 Classic Aluminum Easel. It's an excellent easel that is both lightweight and sturdy. It sets up easily and can be folded for easy transport.