The Trouble with Oil - Preparing a Canvas for Oil Painting

Why you need to correctly prepare a canvas when using oils

What are Different Types of Paints made From?

Same pigment, different binder

A quick way to understand brushes + video

Overview of acrylic brushes and the brush choices I make for a simple landscape

8 tips for Stretching a Bespoke Canvas

Do you need to go bespoke? Or will a readymade canvas do?

The 5 Key Differences between Acrylics vs Oil paints - a Beginners Guide

Are acrylics or oils your natural medium?

Water-Mixable Oils vs Traditional Oils for Solvent-Free Oil Painting (Video)

A comparison between the pros and cons of water-mixable oils and traditional oils

How to…

How to Choose a Basic Portrait Painting Palette for Oils

How do you match skin tones?

How to Paint a Simple Still Life using Oil Paints

A simple coffee cup step-by-step study using oil paint for beginners

How do you Approach Lighting a Portrait Painting?

Different options for portrait painting lighting

How to Paint an Oil Portrait – Part 1 of 5

How to use classical oil painting techniques to build up a Grisaille portrait

How to Paint an Oil Portrait - Part 2 of 5

Introducing white

How to Paint an Oil Portrait - Part 3 of 5

Looking at tonal relationships within the portrait

How to Paint an Oil Portrait - Part 4 of 5

Refining our portrait painting

How to Paint an Oil Portrait - Part 5 of 5

Final part in the Grisaille oil painting tutorial

How to Paint a Portrait in Oils - Timelapse Video

Time-lapse video of the Grisaille portrait tutorials

Oil Painting Techniques & Terms

Glossary for Oil Painting Terms - The Essential Guide for Beginners

A guide for understanding basic oil painting terms

The 3 Key Secrets of Portrait Painting Success

How a simple change in approach can help your portrait paintings

7 Questions every Artist needs to ask before Varnishing an Oil Painting

Should you use a Dammar of Mastic? What about a spray or brush?

The Importance of Contrast in Painting

How learning to view your paintings as drawings can improve realism in your work

The 3 Steps to Becoming a Better Painter, by Painting Less

How too many choices can cause decision fatigue and stop you progressing in your practice

How to Mix Colour Strings

How to use Classical techniques to speed up your painting

Exhibitions & Old Master Oil Painting Techniques

Inside the Artist's Studio, Ruben's House & the Art of Antwerp

An art tour of Antwerp, Belgium to visit Ruben’s studio and house, experiencing the altarpieces of Baroque artist Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577 -1640)

How to Paint, Sleep (and Nearly Die) like Cézanne

How a visit to Cézanne’s art studio in France highlighted the power of taking action on your dreams (even if you’re a late bloomer)

Inside Rembrandt's Studio

A close look at the oil painting techniques used by Rembrandt, and the lighting used in his studio in Amsterdam

Discovering Zorn, the Petit Palais & Patisseries in Paris

A retrospective exhibition in Paris of the Swedish painter Anders Zorn

Singer Sargent & Friends

Exhibition review of John Singer Sargent show

Discovering Velázquez, The Duke & Unexpected Treasures

Discovering Velázquez paintings hidden in plain sight in London

Studying Holbein's Portrait Drawings: A Brief Encounter

Exhibition review of a selection of Hans Holbein portraits

Self Portrait Painting selected for Ruth Borchard Competition

Painted with Ivory black, Raw Umber and Titanium White on pre-primed linen

Monet & Architecture at the National Gallery (London)

An exhibition review of Impressionist Claude Monet, focusing on Monet’s relationship with architecture

On Tate, Turner & Unlikely Partnerships

A look at the history and development of Turner’s style and influences