Walter Foster Creative Team - The Art of Oil Painting: Discover All the Techniques You Need to Know to Create Beautiful Oil Paintings

The rich, versatile art of oil painting has captivated artists for centuries and continues to be a favorite artistic medium. Oil is a very adaptable medium that lends itself to many painting stylesfrom the precision of photorealism to the freedom of expressionism. The projects in this book are a collection of lessons from some of the finest and most popular oil painting books published by Walter Foster Publishing. Each artist shares personal techniques and insights for mastering the medium. And because all these fine artists have developed their own special approach to painting, there are countless lessons to be learned from their individual and distinct perspectives. Learn from these artists wide range of experiences and styles as you follow them through a diverse presentation of subject matter and instruction. Above all, have fun painting in oil!

T here are so many items to choose from in art supply stores, its easy to get carried away and want to bring home one of everything! However you only need a few materials to get started. A good rule of thumb is to always buy the best products you can afford. And think of your purchase as an investmentif you take good care of your brushes, paints, and palette, they can last a long time, and your paintings will stay vibrant for generations. The basic items youll need are described here, but for more information, you can refer to Oil Painting Materials and Their Uses by William F. Powell in Walter Fosters Artists Library series.

B UYING O IL P AINTS

There are several different grades of paint available, including students grade and artists grade. Even though artists grade paints are a little more expensive, they contain better-quality pigment and fewer additives. The colors are more intense and will stay true longer.

Basic Palette

C HOOSING A P ALETTE OF C OLORS

The nine colors shown above are a good basic palette (including a warm and cool version of each of the primary colors). Each artist featured in this book has some unique colors in his or her palette, so these lessons will give you an opportunity to try out some other colors. Keep in mind that there is always more than one way to mix a coloronce you understand the basics of color theory, you can get a better feel for the art of mixing color. (For more on color, please see .)

Selecting Supports
The surface on which you paint is called the supportgenerally canvas or wood. You can stretch canvas yourself, but its simpler to purchase prestretched, preprimed canvas (stapled to a frame) or canvas board (canvas glued to cardboard). If you choose to work with wood or any other porous material, you must apply a primer first to seal the surface so the oil paints will adhere to the support (instead of soaking through).

P URCHASING AND C ARING FOR B RUSHES

Oil painting brushes vary greatly in size, shape, and texture. There is no universal standard for brush sizes, so they vary slightly among manufacturers. Some brushes are sized by number, and others are sized by inches or fractions of inches. Just get the brushes that are appropriate for the size of your paintings and are comfortable for you to work with. The six brushes pictured below are a good starting set; you can always add to your collection later. Brushes are also categorized by the material of their bristles; keep in mind that natural-hair brushes are best for oil painting. Cleaning and caring for your brushes is essentialalways rinse them out well with turpentine and store them bristle side up or flat (never bristle side down).

Fan Brushes can be useful for creating foliage and texture or for glazing with thin paint.

Flat Brushes can be used to create soft, blended strokes or can be turned sideways to make thin lines.

Small Soft-hair Round Brushes come to a fine point, making them ideal tools for rendering smaller areas and details.

Medium Round Bristle Brushes are ideal for dabbing in thick paint or creating thin, wavy lines.

Medium Bright Brushes are flat with shorter bristles and are perfect for scrubbing in foliage or creating texture.

Bristle-hair Filberts can hold a considerable amount of paint and are generally used for blocking and painting in larger areas.

U TILIZING A DDITIVES

Mediums and thinners are used to modify the consistency of your paint. Many different types of oil painting mediums are availablesome thin out the paint (linseed oil) and others speed drying time (copal). Still others alter the finish or texture of the paint. Some artists mix a small quantity of turpentine with their medium to thin the paint. Youll want to purchase some type of oil medium, since youll need something to moisten the paint when it gets dry and stiff and to thin it for glazing and underpaintings. Turpentine or mineral spirits can be used to clean your brushes and for initial washes or under-painting, but you wont want to use them as mediums. They break down the paint, whereas the oil mediums you add actually help preserve the paint.

P ICKING A P ALETTE

Whatever type of mixing palette you chooseglass, wood, plastic, or papermake sure its easy to clean and large enough for mixing your colors. Glass is a great surface for mixing paints and is very durable. Palette paper is disposable, so cleanup is simple, and you can always purchase an airtight plastic box (or paint seal) to keep your leftover paint fresh between painting sessions.

I NCLUDING THE E XTRAS

Paper towels or lint-free rags are invaluable; you will use them to clean your tools and brushes, and they can also be used as painting tools to scrub in washes or soften edges. Some type of paint box is also useful to hold all your materials, and you may want charcoal or a pencil for sketching. In addition to the basic tools, you may also want to acquire a silk sea sponge and an old toothbrush to render special effects. Even though you may not use these additional items for every oil painting you work on, its a good idea to keep them on hand in case you need them.