Here are some key tips and techniques to get you started on your first painting.
- Lay out your palette
When you first learn oil painting it is very tempting to buy all the colors under the sun and put them on your palette. This is not necessary, you actually only need three colors (blue, yellow, and red) plus black and white, and you can mix all the colors there are, (however if you mix the blue, yellow, and red altogether you will get a muddy gray, so be careful!). Keep your palette simple. Practice mixing different colors before you even put paint to canvas, so you have a good idea how your paints mix to make new colors.
Quick Tip:
Tube paints nearly always have a bias, that is, it will have a second color mixed into it. For example, some blues have a small amount of red, while others have a small amount of yellow. For example, Ultramarine Blue has a red bias, while Phthalo Blue has a yellow bias. This means if you mix a blue color that has a red bias with one that has a yellow bias, you will get a mud color since you now have all the colors in one pile of paint. - Prepare your painting support
When you buy canvas panels, stretched canvases, or loose canvas, they come either prmed or unprimed. If they are primed it means they already have a coating on them so you can immediately use them to paint on. If they are unprimed, you first need to apply a coat of gesso so the oil paint does not sink into the material. For beginners it is much better to buy painting supports that are already primed. Start with something inexpensive, no point in wasting money since at this stage you will be doing a lot of practice sketches.
Quick tip:
Buy large painting supports and divide it up into smaller areas. This is more economical and you can paint different compositions to see what works best. - Find your subject matter
The best way to learn oil painting is to go on location and paint from life. This way you will get the best idea of colors, and you will be able to see things more accurately – even if this means going out into your garden and setting up a still life. Start with something simple like a few children’s building blocks or a view of buildings – you will soon learn to see how the color of objects change depending on if they are in the light or shade.
Quick tip:
Don’t worry about getting a perfect composition in your first few paintings, focus on finding a subject matter where you can really see the colors, and practice mixing the colors on your palette. - Use large brushes
Don’t worry about painting every detail – it is more important for you to spend time looking at the colors in front of you and trying to capture them without making it look too realistic. You can hone your drawing and compositional skills later, for now concentrate on capturing the color and light.
Quick tip:
As a beginner it is best to have brushes that give you the most flexibility, so buy filbert brushes. They allow you to do thick brushstrokes as well as thinner ones with one brush. Start out with a size 10 or 12, size 6 and size 2 filbert brushes. Also buy a rigger brush (a very thin ferule) for when you are ready to do very fine lines (and sign your paintings!).