How to oil paint. Five years of advise from books, tutorials, and classes:
- Prime your canvas with neutral color to get values right - Use a white canvas to prevent over dark values
- Start with an underpainting - Start with a charcoal drawing - Start with a brush sketch
- Keep to a limited 4 color pallet - Have an 8 color pallet with each primary and earth colors - Have a 12 color pallet with earth colors and warms and cools of each primary - Add orange, add purple, add turquoise
- Premix your colors with your pallet knife first - Mix your colors with your brush as you go
- Never use black - Never use black in shadows - Use black as a blue
- Never use prepared green - Use sap green, permanent green, thalo green
- Thin with Gamsol - Thin with linseed - Use solvent free gel - No thinning needed with this brand
- Don’t use muddy colors - Use muddy colors
- Use a small brush to diversify brushstrokes - Use the biggest brush you can
- Always paint with a clean brush to preserve color - Paint with a dirty brush to create unity
- You must do the background first - You must do your focus first - You must do your darks first
- Never blend on a canvas when painting wet on wet - Blend on your canvas when painting wet on wet
- Clean brushes with solvent - Clean brushes with oil - Clean brushes with dish soap - Don’t bother cleaning your brushes
And the only one I will stick to:
- Duck it, this is art. There are no rules in art.
