Getting Started with Oil Paint

Getting started with oil paint is very exciting. The smell, the long brushes, the little pots and cloths and palettes are all part of  the process. Don't be daunted by a new box of beautiful oil paints and a shining white canvas, be bold on your adventure!

Equipment:

A Palette - this can be an expensive traditionally shaped mahogany palette or a cut sheet of white melamine. A large china plate will do too. White is good for the surface so you can see the subtle colour mixtures and tonal depths.

Dippers - these are the pots for cleaning brushes and for holding the medium which will be used to slacken the oil paint. Two dippers as you work. Screw top tins are good for travelling if you can find them, screw top glass jars good for working at home.

Brushes - Long handled hog brushes are good, round tips and flats, three or four are a good start, build up as you progress. When you have finished, clean the brushes gently in white spirit. Then with the bristles in the palm of your hand, work washing-up liquid gently into the bristles to loosen all the paint residue. Rinse and dry with the bristles upwards in a jar so they dry.

Palette knives - good for different types of mark-making, try different shapes. These are also useful for scraping the palette clean at the end of painting.

Rags - cotton scraps cut into rectangles, also use these to wrap you brushes up to transport.

The supports - to work on you could use hardboard painted with emulsion, Canvas primed ready made, raw canvas, thick  good quality watercolour paper works well, panels covered with sized calico, muslin etc. Before you start painting you could stain the support with Burnt Umber and Indian Red or any base which will match your subject. Moisten you brush and scumble the paint over the surface, don't worry about unevenness.

Oil paints - Different types, some very expensive. Artists' are the most expensive students' are cheaper but not as permanent. Store these flat and use the card  boxes for as long as possible as you can see if anything is leaking. Always set your paints out just before you need them and then replace the caps immediately. Roll up tubes from the bottom to keep air out and fix with tape if they puncture. 'Work' the tubes a bit between your fingers before you start so the pigment and oil don't separate, especially if it is some time since they were used.

 Start with basic colours: 

Whites: Flake white, now in tins because of the lead content, a really good white. Titanium White is OK too

The Yellows: Lemon Yellow and Cadmium Yellow

Earths: Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, Indian Red or Burnt Sienna  these are all good for knocking back colour if it is too strong.

Blues: French Ultramarine, Prussian Blue, Payne's Grey, Cobalt, Cerulean Blue

Reds: Alizarin Crimson, Spectrum Red, Cadmium Red,

Green: Viridian but try to mix greens

Black can be created by using colours already in the list and can be subtly linked to the colours being used.

Starting!

Lay out your tubes in colour groups names upwards, don't remove the caps until you are ready to paint and then replace immediately. Lay out you brushes in sizes. Have your palette close and your two dippers near. Have your medium in the dippers. This could be linseed oil or turps and oil if you wish or just white spirit. Use white spirit to clean your brushes as you work.

Squeeze your colours out in family groups.

Hopefully you will have stained your support ready to work. Sketch in the basic shapes lightly with diluted paint or charcoal. Work from light to dark but don't try to work a lot of dark detail into heavily loaded wet paint. Mix your colours on the palette not on the board or canvas.

In general keep colours down so you can always have a reserve for the strongest lights at the end. You can try mostly painting light over dark under painting. Try dragging lighter paint over dark with a feathery touch which leaves some specks of dark showing through. This gives contrast and life to the paint. If you like this effect, then paint in your subject with transparent colours and let this dry before you start again. The advantage of this is if anything goes wrong you can wipe it off and still have your underpainting so no damage will have been done.