Oil Painting for Beginners
Oil paints can be an amazing medium to work with, from quick Alla-prima oil canvas sketches to photo-realistic oil portraits.
Artists’ oil colours are made by mixing dry pigments with linseed oil, meaning oil paints take longer to dry vs acrylics. You can enjoy the luxury of being able to tweak, alter, soften and blend your work, creating wonderful, subtle paintings.
This page is a starting point for your oil painting journey, helping you to choose the right palette, understand techniques and supplies, and get inspired with oil painting ideas.
How to Paint with Oils
It’s important to learn the basics of oil painting to give yourself the best chance of creating great works. Here you’ll find lessons on beginner oil painting topics, from underpainting and fat-over-lean to creating the right consistency for your paints and varnishes. There are also articles on solvent-free oil painting and water-mixable oils.
You can explore classic oil painting glazing techniques, grisaille and scumbling, or even try an impressionistic approach with still life!
When it comes to materials, there are plenty of tips to help you choose the right brushes, canvas, mediums and tools to get you started, and an advanced Oil Painting Portrait Glazing Course when you’re ready.
