oil painting for beginners

what do you need to paint with oils?

• Your subject
  
• Paint and brushes
• Good light and ventilation
• Clean-up supplies
  
  

what oil paint is best for artists?

Use professional artist paints. They cover better and will save money in the long-run. Find reputable paint companies here.

how long does it take an oil painting to dry?

Oil paintings may be handled in a few days. 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.

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 cool and warm blues.

Disposable paper palettes are very handy.

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

Paint the background and the sides of the canvas with the #12 flat brush.

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

Integrate in some greens you mix from blue and yellow.

Occasionally put in some orange or yellow to indicate light and warmth.

• It is a good idea to repeat colors throughout the painting.

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

The background colors are softly blended 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.

• Finish the Oriole.

Paint his legs with a light grey. Mix blue and orange with white to lighten it. Make sure to do his black toenails hanging over the branch.

The yellow belly behind his left leg (on the right in the painting) is brighter yellow on the sunlit side and shadowed on the other side.

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.

• Check out the flowers.

Have both cool and warm white on the flower petals to help separate them from each other and show where light is hitting them.