30 + Painting Tutorials in Oil and Watercolor

Browse the library of free painting tutorials.

Choose from step-by-step paintings of butterflies, animals, birds, flowers, and landscapes, organized by medium and skill level.

If you’re new to painting, do these in order:

Beginner’s How-to Paint Guide - Select a medium, materials, skim the fundamentals, quick-start exercises and answers to frequent questions.
Beginner Oil tutorial - Find answers about oil painting and learn the oil painting rules for doing the tutorial.
Beginner Watercolor tutorial - Paint using the watercolor techniques of painting wet on wet and wet on dry.
One easy Oil project - Paint a cuddly Teddie Bear using the two rules of oil painting.
One easy Watercolor project - Use your techniques to paint a colorful Monarch Butterfly.

Full library of Step-by-Step Painting Tutorials in watercolor and oils.

Oil Painting Tutorials

Learn to do oil paintings of animals, landscapes, flowers, a hummingbird and butterfly - all skill levels.

Library of watercolor and oil step-by-step paintings

Watercolor Tutorials

Detailed step-by-step lessons to paint animals, birds, butterflies, and flowers for beginners and beyond.

What's Included in the Tutorials?

The tutorials generally include:

A reference photo and/or the finished painting image - You're welcome to trace a drawing from the finished painting.
Materials list; colors, brushes, what you paint on, and clean-up, etc.
The painting process with detailed explanations: How to mix the colors, tips on composition and using values.
Rules and techniques specific to the medium
When I make mistakes, I show you how to fix them.
As soon as you have paint and a couple of brushes, you are ready to start painting the tutorials.

Most of these step-by-step lessons focus on nature – butterflies, birds, flowers, animals, and landscapes.

To see how these techniques come together in finished artwork, visit my Beautiful Nature Paintings gallery.

Painting Tutorials by Artist Carol May

Painting has been my pass-time for many years. Back in the 1980s when my mom retired, she took up painting and I became one of her students.

Oil was my learning medium. Then at the turn of the century my sister gave me a calendar with watercolor artwork. I thought - I can do that.

So, I applied what I had learned with oils and taught myself watercolor.

The basics of painting art (composition, mixing colors, values, etc.) are the same for any medium. Now I switch back and forth between oil and watercolor.

Oil Tutorials

Oil paintings are long-lasting and held in high regard for their rich, luminous qualities.

The steps of oil painting are the same steps that are used for acrylic or alkyd paintings.

If you are brand-new to oil painting start with these tutorials.

Oil painting for beginners

This page answers many frequent questions about painting oils. What's the best paint, best brushes, what to paint on, can we use oils straight out of the tube, and more.

Use the rules of oil painting while painting an Oriole.

View Tutorial

How to oil paint teaches the rules and steps of using oils step-by-step.

Learn how to oil paint.

Paint a lovable Teddy Bear with this step-by-step tutorial.

Are you eager to learn more about oil painting?

Learn and paint using the classic rules and techniques of oil painting.

View Tutorial

Easy Oils

Painting Daisies

Daisies are a popular subject.

Limited Palette

Paint this fun fish with only 3 colors.

Paint a Dog

Learn and use the rules of oil painting.

Paint a Butterfly

Do this lovely Malachite butterfly.

Oil Hummingbird

Paint an iridescent hummingbird.

Painting Roses

2 for 1: Paint a red + a multi-color rose.

Next Level Oils

Once you are familiar with the rules of oil painting, these tutorials are the next level for expanding your painting skills.

How to Oil Paint

A lively horse running in the surf.

Paint a Lion

The king of the jungle done with oils.

Paint a Landscape

You can paint this mountain landscape.

Paint a Waterfall

Colorful foliage with falling water

Paint Ocean

Rolling surf crashing on the rocks.

Paint a Beach

Sunset shining on the beach.

Ocean Colors

What colors do we paint the ocean?

Paint a Wave

Do a transparent wave with oils.

Watercolor Tutorials

Watercolors allow the white of the paper to show through thus creating delicate, luminous colors.

The more we paint - the better we get!

You may choose to paint birds, butterflies, animals, and flowers and learn the techniques of watercolor at the same time.

Beginning Watercolor Tutorials

Learn the basic watercolor techniques by painting the hummingbird below. Then see how easy it is to paint the butterfly.

Watercolor for beginners

Begin painting watercolor with a Ruby-throat Hummingbird and learn how to paint a wash, paint wet into wet, and paint wet on dry.

Practice and hone your skills by painting the tutorials.

Then you can use the same techniques to paint your own favorite subjects.

View Tutorial

Easy watercolor butterfly

Enjoy an easy butterfly painting tutorial as you draw and watercolor a vibrant Monarch with simple steps designed for beginners.

You may either trace the butterfly or follow my step-by-step diagrams that make drawing the butterfly a breeze.

If I can do it. - You can do it.

View Tutorial

Easy Watercolor

How to Watercolor

Learn the basic WC techniques.

Glazing WC

Painting with watercolor glazes.

Paint a Horse

Have fun painting a vivid background.

Painting Daylilies

Watercolor some passion pink flowers.

Paint a Butterfly

Paint any butterfly with 5 steps.

Paint Giraffes

3 different styles to paint giraffes.

Next Level Watercolor

Move on to the next level when you can finish the beginner projects and you're ready for more.

Three Flowers

Watercolor iris, poppies + echinacea

Painting Koi Fish

Pour the watercolor background.

Painting butterflies in a watercolor composition.

Paint Butterflies

3 butterflies in a composition

Paint a Hummer

Watercolor a Rufous on a thorn branch.

WC Butterfly

You can paint a realistic butterfly.

Mix Skin Colors

Paint this child with only 3 colors.

Mixed Media

Acrylic + watercolor is fun painting.

It's my pleasure sharing my knowledge and techniques with you. Start painting and keep painting. The more we paint, the faster we learn, and the better we get.