Oil Painting Tips
Ms. Helms’ Oil Painting Tips
Use the right brushes
Know your shapes and textures
Know the orientation (direction) the brush moves
Brush pressure matters
Light pressure is the best, fewer lines and ridges, smoother finish
Paint Quality is a real thing
Better paints, easier painting
Know your paint mediums (things mixed into your paints)
Solvents, oils, and other chemicals
Keep your palette clean – keep your colors pure
Use clean brushes, wipe them off often
Don’t get crazy mixing your colors everywhere, have a plan and stick to it
Stick to 2 color mixtures
Practice your color theory and color mixing
Simple is best!
Don’t over mix
Allow the colors to be chunky, it allows brighter colors and “painterly” shapes
Wet-on-wet or Drybrush?
Sometimes it is better to paint on top of a layer of paint that is still wet, sometimes you need to let it dry… experiment
Have fun!
Oil Paint:
Titanium White
Mars Black
Lemon Yellow
Cadmium Yellow
Alizarin Crimson
Cadmium Red, medium
Ultramarine Blue
Phthalo Blue
Optional:
Burnt Umber
Burnt Sienna
Oil Paint brushes (stiffer bristles)
“Bright” size 4 (small/medium)
“Flat” size 8 (large)
“Round” size 1 (small detail)
Paint Palette (your choice)
I prefer large wood oval
Cleaning:
The Masters Artist's Hand Soap, 4.5oz
The Masters Artist’s Brush Cleaner and Preserver, round container
*Turpinoid, low odor (you will not need this for the tutorial)
*Plastic or glass container with a lid to hold Turpinoid
