How To use Oil Paints

Key Materials, Techniques, and Strategy for Oil Painting

• Brushes (Keep it Simple) [00:00:39]: You need actual oil painting brushes for their sturdier bristles. Avoid overcomplicating; you can use as few as three or four brushes. Flat brushes are recommended for beginners because they can create both straight edges and varied marks [00:01:46].


• Paints (The Limited Palette) [00:02:15]: The best way to start is by using only the primary colors and white. This builds a strong understanding of color and color theory. The recommended colors are:
  • Ultramarine Blue
  • Cadmium Red
  • Cadmium Yellow Light or Lemon Yellow
  • Titanium White


• Thinners and Mediums:
  • Paint Thinner (Gamsol): Used to clean brushes and thin paint, making it more transparent and fluid, almost like watercolor [00:03:49]. Ensure good ventilation. Remember to clean brushes primarily with a paper towel after dipping in thinner [00:10:23].
  
  
  • Medium (Gamblin Solvent-Free Gel): Used to make the paint flow better and to thicken it without dulling the color's vibrancy. Use medium for slightly thicker paint and straight paint for the thickest layers [00:08:01].


• Painting Surfaces and Setup:
  • Surface: Canvas is recommended for its weave and texture, which grips the paint [00:09:33]. Use inexpensive canvas paper for practice to avoid pressure.
  
  
  • Palette: A pad of gray palette paper is recommended as a neutral value that helps you gauge colors and values more accurately [00:04:52].
  
  
  • **Easel:** Use an easel to hold the surface up. Painting while standing and stepping back is highly suggested to avoid getting locked in and losing sight of the big picture [00:05:10].


• Learning Strategy:
  • Focus on Fundamentals [00:13:10]: Any good oil painting technique is based on painting fundamentals: Drawing, Color, Value, Composition, Edges, and Form. If your painting is failing, the answer lies in one of these fundamentals [00:13:26].
  
  
  • Work Thin to Thick/Dark to Light [00:17:27]: Start with thin, dark colors (thinned with solvent) for the drawing stage. Build up to thicker, lighter paint (using more medium or straight paint) in the final layers.
  
  
  • Paint in Stages (Big Shapes to Small Shapes) [00:18:23]: Break the subject down into large, simple shapes of flat color (Stage 1). Then, add smaller shapes on top to introduce form (Stage 2), and finally, apply the thickest, lightest paint for final details (Stage 3) [00:18:45].
  
  
  • Value is Key [00:18:06]: Getting the value (how light or dark a color is) correct is more important than getting the exact color right.

Video Credit: A Simple Beginners Guide To Oil Painting by Paint Coach, published on August 15, 2022.