oil painting for beginners

how long does it take an oil painting to dry?

Oil paintings may be handled in a few days, but they take months to dry thoroughly.

Alkyd paints look and handle like oil paints and they dry completely overnight.

All my 'Oil' paintings are done with Griffin Alkyds made by Winsor & Newton.

brushes and canvas

• This painting used Winsor & Newton "Galeria" brushes, #4, #8 and #12 flats.

Any bristle brushes of comparable sizes would be just fine.

• A 14"x14" gallery-wrapped stretched canvas

Oil painting for beginners may use any canvas or canvas board.

This painting uses an analogous discord color scheme.

Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel - cool and warm yellows and orange. The discords are the cool and warm blues.

Disposable paper palettes are very handy for oil painting for beginners.

• Use a variation of your warm and cool blues mixed with white.

Mix your colors lightly on the palette. More mixing occurs on the canvas while you are painting.

Use a #12 flat brush to paint the background.

Carry the colors from the face of the canvas over the sides of the canvas.

• Integrate in some greens mixed from the blues and yellow.

• It's a good idea to repeat colors throughout a painting. So, occasionally put in some orange or yellow to indicate light and warmth.

The orange and yellow help warm up the cool background and tie it together with the warm colored bird.

Softly blend the background colors together.

Use a #8 flat brush to paint the bird except for its left leg and eye.

We will let the paint set a bit before doing these.

The bird is painted with various yellows and oranges. Make the colors brighter and warmer on the sunlight side.

Mix a black from your blue and orange and paint the head and beak. Use the #4 brush to paint the beak and toenails.

Mix a brown from Ultramarine Blue and orange for the flower centers.

Use the #8 brush to dab in the centers.

When you do oil painting for beginners always use the largest brush possible. This keeps your painting loose.

Highlight the centers with yellow. (Next photo)

Paint the petals with a soft grey. Mix the grey by adding white to the brown you used for the flower centers.

Add more blue if necessary to keep the grey on the cool side. 

Add yellow or orange to white to make a warm white for the parts of the petals that would be catching the light.

Mix some green and paint a few leaves with light and dark areas.

Spot out where you will paint the branches and leaf stems.

Use the old trick of how to do a painting, look at your painting upside down.

It will give you a fresh look to see any mistakes.

The background was a bit light, so I darkened it for more value contrast.

the oriole

• Paint his legs with a light grey. Mix a grey with blue and orange plus white to lighten it.

• Paint his black toenails hanging over the branch.

• Touch a bit of color in the eye. Use a very pale yellow white on the top of the eye. Put a bit of pale blue-white on the bottom of the eye.

Have both cool and warm white on the flower petals to help separate them from each other.

Use a warm white mixed with a bit of yellow or orange for warm sunny side.

The shadow side of the petals will have a bit of blue or light grey mixed with white.

it's your turn to paint!

Now that you know how to do oil painting for beginners, get your oil painting supplies and start painting.

When you are learning how to paint, relax and enjoy yourself.

• You don't have to paint like a photograph.

• Paint from your heart and express yourself - that is a lot more fun!

Try some of the other how-to paint pages. The more you paint the more fun it is and the faster you will progress.