Have you ever dreamed of painting a beautiful, expressive oil painting? In this article you will find some tips to help you dive into the wonderful world of oil paints. Once you master the basics of working with oil paints, canvas will become your world of fantasy!
Method 1 of 5: Preparing a Creative Space
Method 2 of 5: Preparing Oil Paints
Method 3 of 5: Start writing
The brush should be held by the handle or its protruding part, but up to the metal frame. This will allow you to hold the brush correctly while making strokes without squeezing it too tightly.- First, make a pencil sketch of the future painting on canvas. This will help you build a composition, small details, straight lines, etc. before starting to work with paints. Having made a sketch, you can easily make changes to it. First - a pencil sketch, and then - painting with paints (of course, if you do not plan to draw something abstractly random).
- As an exercise, practice using black and white colors to paint a palette of all shades of gray from white to black. This will give you a sense of saturation and contrast.
- Don’t be lazy and watch a large number of educational videos and sites about painting on the Internet. Many generous artists have left a wealth of information online for you to use. Type in the search words such as “painting lessons” or “painting training” and see what the search engine gives you.
- Don't be shy about asking a more experienced artist for help. He can look at your work and give constructive advice on how to improve your technique.
- In the process of creating your painting, it is important to understand what stage you are at. One of the rules is to draw using the “thin to thick” method. This means that it is better to apply a light coat of paint with less oil to the canvas first. So loose paint will consist of one part paint and two parts thinner. As you progress through the stages of your work, each subsequent layer will contain more oil and less thinner. Excessive oil may cause the layer to wrinkle when it dries.
- When applying colors, make them brighter than in real life. Then the picture will not seem dull and tired.
- Try to place the same color in the same place on the palette - this way you will instinctively gravitate towards the desired color as your sense of color and shade develops as you work.
- Don't get carried away with mixing colors on canvas. It's very easy to turn an area of a painting into a dirty brown spot if you frequently try to fix something on several layers of different colors. If you are trying to fix something and it didn’t work out on the first try, then it’s better to wipe off the entire area with a rag - the paint will easily come off the canvas.
- Oil paints take a long time to dry, so you have plenty of time to wipe off your paints within 24 hours of application. As with other paints, if the layer is too thick, it will not dry completely for a long time.
- If you are painting outside, stand so that the sun does not fall on the canvas or palette. Both the canvas and the palette should be in the shade; if there is too much sunlight, you will mix the colors incorrectly and, when you come home, you will find that the painting is dirty and dark.
- When working outdoors, you should limit yourself to fewer colors. You can prepare the necessary colors at home and then you won’t have to take all the colors to the “battlefield”.
- The work should dry in a cool, dry place where it will not be smeared, scratched, touched, etc. Do not leave the painting to dry in the dark, this can lead to yellowing of the paints, since the work will be covered with a light film.
- Don't leave your painting to dry in a place where there are a lot of insects - they leave terrible stains on fresh paints when they stick to them.
Nowadays, many people choose handicrafts or various types of artistic creativity as a hobby. With the market filled with mass-produced goods, the demand for handmade souvenirs is increasing. Photographs or computer illustrations are printed multiple times. You can create an exclusive thing by learning how to write for beginners. It is quite possible for even a beginner to master this painting technique. This way you will make a wonderful gift or interior decoration. Even if you try to repeat exactly the same plot twice, you still won’t get a perfect copy. This determines the uniqueness of original works of art.
Preparation of materials
To create oil paintings for beginners, you will need the following:
- base (canvas or fiberboard);
- paints;
- brushes;
- solvent (white spirit) and a small container for it;
- palette for mixing colors.
Professionals also use palette knives - special flexible metal spatulas with a wooden handle, which they use to apply paint to canvas. For a beginner, it’s enough to master brushes. In addition, professionals paint pictures on an easel or a special sketchbook, if they go out into nature to paint pictures from life for novice artists - the plot is quite complex. It is better to make them from your imagination or using a photograph. It will be easier.
From the point of view of professionals, it is more convenient to work on an easel, since it is easier to step away and evaluate the result from afar. In your first experience, you can also practice on a table surface, although it is better to take some kind of plywood and place it on your lap or place it on a chair at an angle. Such a review of your work allows you to better assess its quality and notice errors in time. Although for the first experience you should do what is convenient and comfortable for you, so as not to be distracted from the main thing.
Please note that the paints are used unevenly, so for a beginner it is better to purchase them separately. The release form is offered in various volumes. White paint disappears the fastest, but black paint is used in very small quantities. It makes sense to first decide on the plot, and then purchase paints in the appropriate shades. For you you will need one set, and for a summer landscape - another. In order not to waste money on unnecessary colors, it is better to buy only the necessary ones in approximately the required quantities. Although in fact all shades can be obtained with only three primary colors (yellow, red, blue), as well as white and black.
Which foundation should you choose?
Traditionally, oil painting is done on canvas, but for a beginner this can be difficult as the fabric needs to be stretched over a stretcher and primed. However, modern technologies have advanced in this direction. Specialized stores sell ready-made bases onto which paints are immediately applied. They are not cheap, but they are just right for a beginner, as they make the work much easier.
Another option is to use fiberboard. Every man's household has scraps of this material stored after repair work. It’s easy to find it by asking friends, relatives or acquaintances. Someone has definitely used it and keeps some leftovers in the pantry just in case.
The texture of the fiberboard sides is different; one looks absolutely smooth, while the other looks rough, vaguely reminiscent of a woven structure. You can use both, but it is better to apply more layers of primer to a rough surface, otherwise the color may appear dull in the future, since the paint will seem to sink into the structure of such a “canvas”.
If you decide to try the oil painting technique for beginners for the first time, you can use a ready-made fiberboard base with a primer already applied. They are also sold in specialty craft stores. It is better to take a small sheet size, no larger than landscape. Once you have gained some experience, purchase or prime a format of any size yourself.
You can immediately order a frame for your future painting. Once decorated, any canvas looks elegant and complete. However, most often the baguette is selected according to color and width to match the finished work. This is also an interesting and creative process. Seeing the same image in different frames will help you understand how different the canvas makes an impression. Even oil paintings by novice artists look exquisite in a good frame, but poor framing can ruin a professional’s painting. So this stage must also be treated very carefully.
If you still decide to prepare the DPV base yourself, a simple and cheap way is to use regular gelatin; you can add PVA glue to it to make the color white. This primer should be applied in several layers, allowing the previous one to dry first. Three times will be enough. You should feel that the surface has become different. When the base is prepared, you can move on to
Types of brushes
To work with oil, use bristles or synthetics. Their fibers are hard, elastic, and interact well with the paint composition. To begin with, you can buy two or three pieces. A thin one, for example No. 1, will be needed to work out the details, wide ones are needed to create large background surfaces in the case of a landscape - the sky, grass, water, draperies in a still life. Do not use squirrel brushes for oil painting. They will spoil. After each use, especially if you are going to take a long break from the creative process, thoroughly wash your tools with solvent to prevent the paint from drying on them.
Oil paintings for beginners step by step
Considering that you have prepared the materials and base, creating a canvas, regardless of the plot, consists of the following steps:
1. Apply a linear drawing to the canvas with a simple pencil or paint directly.
2. Distribute shadows and highlights - the darkest and brightest areas of the image, respectively.
3. Complete the background and all large objects.
4. Draw small details.
Remember to constantly step away from the picture, assessing the result from afar. As you work, try to mix different shades of colors on your palette. The final touch will be to frame the painting.
Subjects
To make simple oil paintings for beginners, choose an appropriate theme. The easiest way is to make a still life, that is, a composition of household items, a vase with flowers. If you are working from life, and you will need a lot of time the first time, use objects that will not change in a week. You may have to complete the painting in several steps, so when composing a still life for the subject of an oil painting for beginners, it is better not to use flowers. They may change color, wither, or new buds will bloom. The perception of the composition will change. It will be difficult for you. The easiest way is to work with a photograph or copy an easy image you like. Don't take stories with a lot of detail. It is very difficult to paint a portrait.
How to make a landscape?
If you want to decorate your wall with a nature painting done by yourself, it is better to use a tutorial on how to paint oil paintings for beginners step by step. It is quite possible to do this using ready-made instructions. The main thing is to understand what elements the image consists of, and it is better to start working from the background and general space, moving sequentially to smaller details located closer to the viewer.
Let's go plein air
Painting oil paintings in nature is very pleasant, but you need to work quickly, since the weather can get worse, and the sun is constantly moving, changing the direction of light and shadows. Beginning artists can use a camera to photograph the initial painting. If you get tired of working for a long time the first time, then you can finish the painting at home.
How to draw flowers?
If you want to decorate the interior of a room with an oil painting with a bouquet in a vase, it is better to choose asters as your first experience. Asters are perfect. They are not difficult to make, as they are a simple elliptical shape, and the small petals are easy to do with separate strokes in a circle. Also suitable are daisies, sunflowers, lilacs, lupins, mimosa - in a word, choose those with inflorescences or individual elements of a simple, clear shape that can be created in one stroke, drawing several details later. Your task is not to convey the photographic accuracy of the object, but to create a beautiful impression of what you see.
So, you have learned how to create oil paintings for beginners. Choose the plot you like, buy the necessary materials and begin the exciting creative process.
All people have tried to draw since childhood. Some people do it well, and in the future a person will connect their life with art, but some people don’t succeed in everything. Everyone has been to a gallery or art exhibition at least once in their life. And, of course, from time to time there was a desire to take and draw something yourself, just for yourself. Today we will tell you where to start our creativity.
For oil painting you will need:
1. Stretched canvas;
2. Palette;
3. Pencil 2B;
4. Decorator brush 25 mm;
5. Brushes for working with oils;
6. Oil paints.
Oil paints are sold either in specialized stores or in regular supermarkets. They come in two types: a set, which contains several different colors of paint, or they are sold individually. It is best to buy oil paints separately. Firstly, this way you can replenish your collection by using some colors more often and others less often. Secondly, if you run out of paint of a specific color, you will just need to buy more, rather than purchasing a whole set.
It is best to choose special brushes for working with oil. The most convenient brushes are made from pig bristles. They are harder and will work great for your job. It is better not to experiment and do not paint with your fingers, this can be dangerous, since oil paints are very toxic.
You may also need a palette for your work. If you plan to paint constantly, then you should buy a special wooden palette. But in principle, glass or a plate can serve as a palette. The paint should be squeezed out onto the palette gradually, from left to right. You should never immediately mix light and dark colors. The middle of the palette should remain empty, where we will mix our paints. There are also special whites that can be used between paints. Usually a lot of them are consumed, so it is better to stock up on them in advance.
Oil painting technique
There are several types of techniques for working with oil: a la prima and multi-layer.
A la prima is a technique that involves quickly applying paint to a canvas. This technique does not require preliminary pencil sketches. We still paint the landscape in oils gradually, but very quickly. If you did not have time to finish your painting, you can finish it the next day, since the paint will not have dried by this time. In this technique, it doesn’t matter at all whether we paint the sky with oil, or paint the mountains with oil, or paint water with oil, the main thing is a generous amount of paint.
Multilayer technique
Suitable for longer work. This technique involves applying several layers of paint. When we paint nature with oils, we need exactly this technique. Since in one painting, you can combine many images and transfer them on canvas.
We always paint a landscape in oils step by step. Don't grab everything at once. To begin, draw what you want onto the canvas with a pencil. This is done in order to correctly distribute the ton and paint in the future. Afterwards, it is recommended to apply primer. In principle, there are canvases already saturated with soil. The primer itself helps the paint adhere better to the canvas.
LET'S LOOK AT SOME EXAMPLES THAT YOU CAN TRY TO DRAW IN OIL:
1. How to paint grass with oils.
This is the easiest thing you need to start with. Prepare the necessary paint and make several shades of green on the palette. Initially, if you doubt your abilities, draw what you want with a pencil. And then, use paints. Apply paint onto the canvas smoothly, from bottom to top. Use darker paint at the bottom, and lighter paint at the top. Work carefully with the brush, do not make too many lines so that they do not turn into a blot.
2. How to paint water with oil.
Water is the next stage, already more complex. Try to convey shallowness and depth with shades of paint. This can be done by using a lighter blue color or, conversely, a darker blue. Take a canvas and roughly mark on it with a pencil the places where it is deep and where it is shallow. Prepare paint on the palette. Apply paint to the canvas gradually. First, paint the area where it is shallow, use light tones of paint for this, then depth, here a dark blue color will come in handy. Don't forget about color transitions. You can also create waves using small strokes of white paint.
3. How to paint trees in oils.
First draw a tree on the canvas with a pencil. Try to convey the tree branches, foliage and contours as naturally as possible. The pencil is very easy to erase and this will allow you to practice before working with paints. Then take on the paints. To begin, depict the trunk itself using brown paint, add small stripes in a darker shade, depicting the bark of a tree. Draw the branches in lighter tones. Foliage can be any color. If the tree is spring, then you can “play” with green shades, but if it is autumn, then yellow, red and green colors are perfect.
4. How to paint grapes in oils.
The drawing of grapes requires special attention. Before work, carefully study either similar works or photographs depicting this berry. One of the most difficult elements will be the leaves, which will require special attention. If this is still very difficult for you, just draw berries. Draw bunches of grapes with a pencil. Try to stick to a natural oblong shape. Afterwards, first paint the contours of the berries with darker paints, paint over the rest of the berries with a little lighter paint. Use white paint or other light colors to create highlights.
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Oil paintings are bright works that can decorate any room. They look much more impressive than paintings made, for example, in pencil. The artist is required to invest considerable resources and effort. Therefore, if you decide to take up this art, then be prepared to spend money.
Instructions
- First, you need to immediately stock up on the necessary materials: primer, brushes, glue, canvas, paints. You'll spend the most on oil paints. But you also need to know how to choose cheaper things correctly. Particular attention should be paid to the choice of canvas. The material it is made from directly affects your paintings. Therefore, you should give preference to canvas made of hemp or flax.
- Do not start drawing right away; you must adhere to the established order. Pre-glue the purchased canvas so that the paint does not penetrate to the wrong side and does not wet it through. This is quite easy to do; wood glue is suitable for this. When you complete this procedure, take the canvas to dry in a room that is as ventilated as possible. By the way, check if you did everything correctly. An indicator of this will be the strength of the adhesive fold (it should not crack).
- The next step should be to prime the canvas. Without this you cannot start drawing. Applying primer requires care and close attention. If you do this carelessly and carelessly, the material will not be distributed evenly and will simply ruin the painting.
- Now you can proceed directly to the drawing itself. Take paints and brushes, start slowly and carefully apply strokes. There is no need to be afraid that smudges may form on the canvas (if you use oil paints, this is excluded, since they have a rather thick consistency). Once you have painted, let the painting dry.
Don't forget that to create a perfect drawing you need to stretch the canvas very tightly. Therefore, we advise you to buy a good subframe. If you do not use this tool, you may end up with only a drawing damaged by cracks.
Video lessons
Have you long dreamed of trying to paint with oil paints, but don’t know what you need for this? We have collected 28 tips to help beginners understand this matter. We wish you inspiration!
1. The main set of oil paints consists of the following colors: alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, yellow ocher, titanium white, cadmium red, ultramarine blue, Martian black. From these shades it is possible to create any other color.
2. Buy white with a reserve. When mixing paints it will be used up very quickly.
3. For an enjoyable painting experience, invest in quality oil paints and tools.
4. For your first painting experience, it’s enough to buy a couple of brushes of different types. For example, you can purchase round, flat and bristle brushes in different sizes.
5. You can use old rags and cans to clean your brushes.
6. It is not necessary to buy a palette for paint; it is enough to use a board or cardboard.
7. When painting with oil paints there is a rule: thick to thin. For the first layer, buy a solvent. Apply a thick layer over it.
8. Draw in a place well lit with natural light. Otherwise, the colors may then differ from what they appeared to be in a specific light.
9. The easel is adjusted according to your height and position so that you can sit without discomfort or difficulty.
10. Oil paints are difficult to remove from fabric. Therefore, wear things that you don’t mind.
11. To begin, place a sketch in pencil or charcoal on the canvas. Build a composition.
12. To make the drawing more realistic, determine where the light source will be. This way you can easily depict darkened and illuminated areas, shadows, penumbra, and highlights.
13. Light color is obtained by adding white, shadow - by adding black.
14. To prevent the paint from being so thick, mix it with turpentine or linseed oil. Add them to the paint little by little to get exactly the consistency you need.
15. Take your time to apply the second coat. Let the paint dry. Usually this is 3 days.
16. Learn to mix paints. Add layers of paint so that adjacent paints can be mixed with a flat brush. The stroke should go in the direction of mixing.
17. To make the glaze, you will need 1/3 linseed oil, turpentine and oil varnish. Mix them together and you'll get a clear color that can be mixed with other paints to create a glaze.
18. To create the effect of a more transparent figure, you can use a brush with natural bristles. Apply dots onto the canvas with a brush at a 90 degree angle.
19. Use a palette knife to create a thick layer of paint. Smear the paint onto the canvas with a knife. This is the best medium for conveying movement and drawing landscapes.
20. Paints dry for about 3 days. Take this time to critically evaluate the drawing. You can correct the picture or completely erase the details.
22. Clean your brushes with turpentine and an old rag. Scrub the paint until the water running off the brush becomes clear. If the paint dries on the brush, the tool is unlikely to save anything.
23. Paintings take 3 or more months to dry. Until then, leave your creation in a well-ventilated place where the painting will not be disturbed.
24. After your painting has dried, it should be varnished. You will protect your picture and colors from fading.
25. Try not to use the color “Black Ivory” for background coatings, because it takes a very long time to dry.
26. Linseed oil is not used for light paints. Otherwise they will turn yellow.
27. To remove oil paint from your hands, use another oil (baby oil or olive oil). Wipe off the paint with a rag and don’t wash your hands until you’ve completely scrubbed it off.
28. Apply paints to the intended areas, and then use a brush to mix them until you get a gradation that satisfies you.
