Oil Paints

 “Oil paints can be complicated and expensive, but I have discovered a few short cuts for oil paints and have learned where I want to spend my money and where I can minimize the expenses”.

 

Oil Paints

You will need a few basic materials when you begin to learn how to oil paints. When shopping for your paints you may find yourself overwhelmed by the selections and the cost of supplies needed for oil on canvas. After twenty years of working in oils and developing my oil painting techniques I have discovered a few short cuts and have learned where I want to spend my money and where I can minimize the expenses.

Paints

You can find starter oil painting kits in almost every art store. Pick up one of those packages to get Cadmium Red, Yellow Ocher or Cadmium Yellow and Ultramarine Blue paints. From this selection of oil paints you can mix all the colors in the color wheel. The kit will also come with a small tube of white paint and black paint. The tube of black will last longer than all the other colors in your kit because you use a very little when mixing your colors and shades. I recommend that you buy a large tube of Titanium White,you will use a lot of white when mixing colors and creating highlights. When you are first learning how to use oil paints, these pigments are the only ones that you will need. As you progress with your work and your subjects, you will want to collect a more sophisticated color palette. Having a variety of blue pigments like Cobalt blue, Prussian blue, Cerulean blue can add depth to your paintings. I also find that there are some beautiful green and brown paints that lend authenticity to seasonal depictions.

Brushes

There are square brushes that help you create straight lines and round ones that can either give details or texture by dabbing them onto the canvas. Pin tipped for hyper detail and fan brushes to sweep the paint to look like water or windblown leaves. Each of these types of brushes comes in many sizes and qualities of materials. Some people feel more comfortable with natural hair and other people love synthetic brushes that are more commonly used with acrylic paints. There are stiff brushes and soft ones that can have short handles and long handles. When trying to learn painting techniques you will need to have a variety of sizes in each of these types except for the fan brush which you will only ever need one. The good news is that you can find starter brush kits in either the natural hair and with the synthetic hair in discount stores and in every art store. These brushes are just for beginners since they will often lose their hairs on your canvas or bend out of shape. I recommend that you start your collection of quality brushes with a large square brush for large sweeps and a small round brush for finer detail. With my style of oil painting I use many brushes at one time. Often holding three brushes in my hand for quick changes of color or of the shape and size of the brush depending on the painting technique I need to use in that moment. For this reason I keep a large collection of starter brushes on hand that I will dispose of once they have shown signs of deterioration.

Palettes For Oil Painting

The iconic image of the Renaissance artist holding the large wooden palette sloppily covered in paint held in the left hand while the brushes where held in the right hand is very unpractical. I personally have spent too much time trying to clean my palette at the end of a project to allow anyone else to waste their time trying to recreate this practice. There are a few practical choices out their where you can easily dispose of your palette when your painting is complete. You can buy pads of disposable palettes made out of wax paper, cover your favorite wooden palettes with plastic wrap or buy plastic palettes at the discount stores for under two dollars and dispose of them when you are finished. Oil paints take a very long time to dry out so you can cover your paints with plastic wrap in between painting sessions to save your paints and your disposable pallets.

Canvas and Easel

It is not necessary to have an easel when painting with oil paints but it is the easiest way to hold your canvas in place so the paint does not get smudged and to step back and examine your work mid-painting. You do not need to buy an expensive easel; any easel will work just fine. The choice of canvas depends on your composition and how you want your painting to be displayed. If you want to frame your canvas at the end of your work then you need to consider the prices of the frames. For those just learning how to paint with oils you can find many inexpensive canvases if you are willing to shop around. I have never limited myself to painting with oils on canvas. I have a few series where I painted directly on wood either letting the wood grain show or covering the wood grain with an acrylic medium.

Oil Paints Solvents

The issue that generally turns people away from painting with oils is the extra complication of needing a solvent to thin out the paints (instead of using water which does not mix with oil) and to clean brushes. There is low odor turpentine, citrus based paint thinners and traditional turpentine’s which can cause respiratory difficulty. Repeated exposure to turpentine in a low ventilated area can be extremely dangerous and can cause a chronic respiratory condition. For the past ten years I have been using cooking oil to dilute my paints and help to clean brushes. It is a practical and inexpensive solvent which is environmentally friendly and allows me to paint in any environment with or without good ventilation. Cleaning the brushes with cooking oil is not as easy as cleaning with solvents but it is much easier on your skin and on your general health. You need to wipe down your brushes with the oil and then use simple soaps to scrub off the remaining paint.

There are a few extra items that you may want to include in your paint box of supplies. A pallet knife to mix paints and for the impasto painting technique, a collection of rags or paper towels to wipe your brushes and a tool box to keep all your supplies together, clean and dry. These last few items will round out the painting materials you will need to paint with oils.