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Still Life Painting

November 13, 2010

Whether you have drawn or painted a still life before in watercolor or pastel, you will find that with oil painting a new set of problems will confront you, that of allying what you see to the problems of mixing the pigments and applying them. If you haven’t drawn or painted in watercolor it doesn’t [...]

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Painting Exercise – Mixtures With Lemon

November 12, 2010

For this exercise a sheet of paper, not more than 15 in. x 11 in. (Quarter Imperial) stained with a light umber wash of oil color is recommended. (This can be done by adding a little umber to some linseed oil and wiping it over the paper with a piece of rag. It isn’t necessary [...]

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Choosing, Mixing and Applying Color

November 11, 2010

The three basic activities of oil painting can roughly be classified as, 1, choosing the colors to be mixed, 2, mixing them so that they fuse and handle well, 3, applying them, after mixing, to the canvas or support with brush or knife. In no other medium is it so important to take such care [...]

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Laying Out a Palette for Painting

November 10, 2010

Whichever way you look at it, oil painting can be a messy business. Because of its nature, oil paint isn’t so easily removed as watercolor. If you spill or splash oil color over your clothing or the furniture or floor, it may ruin it. It is advisable then to have plenty of clean rags handy. [...]

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Dilutants, Driers, Varnishes

November 9, 2010

A dilutant is a liquid which will thin down your paint so as to make it easier to handle. Most common is turpentine, but gasoline, so long as it is purified, can be used. You can dilute your color with oil, but this not only tends to make the paint greasy, it can also make [...]

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Oil Painting Canvas and Brushes

November 8, 2010

Canvases are usually flax or cotton/flax yarns, stretched over a wooden stretcher and kept taut by knocking small triangular pegs at the back into the corners where there is room made for them. They are best bought, as preparing and stretching your own canvas is a rather tricky operation for a beginner. Canvas is delightful [...]

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Dippers and Easels

November 6, 2010

A dipper is merely a container to attach to your palette to hold turps or oil or drier to add to your paint. If you find them impractical to use, I suggest you keep your dilutants in jars or pots. This is more practical by far than keeping them in dippers. You will always need [...]

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When is a drawing finished?

October 28, 2010

A drawing is complete when you have nothing more to add to it. It is finished when you feel you have done enough. It is as simple as that. But one or two points occur to me that might help you arrive at that decision. Fill your page completely, from top to bottom and side [...]

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Down and Up

October 27, 2010

Our usual level of looking is in front of us. Generally we look ahead. When you start to draw outside, you will find that you will be looking down, on to the ground, and up, into the sky.Both the ground and the sky are important to an artist. They are part of the world he [...]

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Drawing People continued

October 26, 2010

In these circumstances, it is better to train your memory. You will find that it is much easier to draw an image just after you have seen it. The longer you leave the impression the weaker it becomes. Train yourself to look at people and observe what they do. First, just let the image soak [...]

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