Once you have selected your canvas or panel and set your palette, you have only to pick up some color on your brush or knife and begin to paint. It's as simple as that. Of course, how you hold your brush or knife and the manner in which you apply paint to canvas can make a very great difference in the kind of picture you will paint. But there is no one approved way and artists tend to be even more individual in their painting habits than in their handwriting.
You will, of course, eventually find the way of working that suits you best. In the meantime, it is well to beware of one especially bad habit that painters sometimes fall into at the beginning and later find very hard to break: staying too close to your painting as you execute it.
When you work too close, your eye tends to focus on a few square inches at a time, with the result that you may be tempted to overdevelop this limited area, and then the next such area, thus losing the bigness of conception and boldness of execution without which a painting is usually doomed to failure.
As a preliminary to painting a picture, it may be helpful to experiment with your brushes and knives to find out what kinds of lines, tones and textures you can produce with each one. Squeeze out four or five colors on your palette. Use the paint just as it comes from the tube for these exercises unless you find it unworkable, in which case you can add a minimum of medium.
You might choose White, Burnt Umber, Ultramarine, Cadmium Yellow and Alizarin Crimson for these experiments; such an assortment will give you a wide range of hue and value, but any colors will do. The important thing here is not the way the colors combine,but the way you can use your tools to achieve particular tones and textures.
Exercise 1: Lines - With each of your brushes, in turn, carry some single strokes across your canvas. Use paint generously. Don't be disturbed by the ridges of paint which may squeeze out along the edges of a stroke, or by the way the line breaks and lets some canvas show through as the brushful of paint becomes exhausted, giving the result known as "dry brush." These effects are characteristic of oil painting and often are created intentionally.
Do some lines with the flat sides of your brushes, others with the thinner edges. Try light paint, medium paint, dark paint. Tip the bristles at different angles to the canvas. Vary your pressure. Make wavy lines, broken lines, zigzag lines. Invent lines of your own. Ultimately, you will need them all. As you work with your brush, you may find that you will want to turn it over, or up on edge, every little while in order to use the paint which accumulates. That's all right, too.
Exercise 2: Broken Color - Now dip your brush into two or more colors at a time and draw a number of lines again. As you paint, these colors will automatically blend somewhat, yet each will remain visible in places. Accidental effects obtained this way can be telling at times.
After you have experimented with elementary exercises like these, you will be well on your way to starting a real painting. Good luck!
When I first began painting some 10 years ago, I remember my first trip to my local art supply store. I recall my feeling of utter confusion as I perused the aisles. This particular art store had every tube of paint, brush, medium and canvas known to man, far too many choices for a confused beginner. After several moments, a sales person came by and began to assist me in finding the supplies I needed. To make a long story short, I left the store 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 a lot of money.
When you are first starting out in oil painting, you shouldn't go overboard on supplies. It's best to start with the basics. When you become more experienced, you can then try out different supplies until you find the items you are most comfortable working with.
Oil Painting Brushes - Brushes come in various sizes and shapes from flats to brights to rounds. They are also available at various prices. Brushes are something you should definitely spend a bit extra on and shoot for quality. You don't want cheap brushes. Cheap brushes are a huge headache mainly because they shed hair and lose their shape quicker than quality brushes. The types of brushes you purchase really depend on the type of painting you plan on doing: landscapes, portraits, impasto work, etc., all call for certain types of brushes. You will only learn this over time as you become more experienced and develop your own style. For starters, I would purchase a few flats of various sizes, a few small rounds for detailed work and a fan for blending. Make sure to also purchase a good brush cleaner and preserver. I use the Marx Brush Care System for cleaning and preserving my brushes and it works great.
Oil Paints - Oil paint also varies in price and quality. There are some very good paints on the market today. I prefer to work with Grumbacher Artist Oils, but Winsor & Newton oil paints are also quite popular. There are different grades of paint. There are student grade paints and professional grades. My own preference is to work with the professional grades, as the colors are more brilliant than student grade paints. I guess it's ok in the beginning to purchase a lesser 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 different 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 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. There are other mediums available. I recommend that you try your own mediums and recommendations from artists until you find something that produces the results you are after.
Canvas and Other Supports - The popular support that many artists work with is cotton canvas, but there are other supports available. 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 best with your style of painting. I recommend starting with a few smaller to medium sized canvases. I work with FREDRIX Red Label Stretched Cotton Canvas. Red Label is a medium textured 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 a lot of paint with adequate room to mix your colors. It's also priced quite reasonably.
Easels - Easels are also available in various sizes and price ranges. You will need a good stable easel to paint on; otherwise your canvas will wobble around when you paint. This can be quite frustrating. You also need to decide whether you will be painting primarily in your studio or if you are an outdoor painter. If you are painting outdoors you should consider purchasing a French easel. The JACK RICHESON Academy Verona Half French Easel is a good buy. If you work primarily in your studio, then you have a lot 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.
I truly hope this article has helped. Happy Painting and God Bless!
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