Oil Painting Techniques

Oil Painting Techniques:

There are so many techniques out there when it comes to oils. By far one of the most versatile of all mediums. You will develop many of your own

So I want to get talking to you about the start of decision making, and the end result. Whether you want to just paint as a hobby, or get into painting to make some money on the side. Or you may want to get into doing commission work.

"Visitor"

I think I need to guide you through a few fundamentals, and where you start with the basics here in oil painting techniques.

Ok, lets have a look, right from the start:

•  Think on what you hope to achieve, and devise a workable route to that objective.
•  Research the market if you wish to sell  your work.
•  Approach your oil painting techniques process in logical steps, which usually entail:

a. Sketch your compositional possibilities.

b. Do some charcoal/pencil/oil sketches to arrange your tonal values.

c. Experiment with various color schemes and harmonies.

d. Preparing canvas and paint for the your new art work.

e. Creating you art work.

f. Varnishing, framing and hanging the work.

Getting an idea of where you begin and end in oil painting techniques, is good organization in the long run. But though the objectives of painting  is an acquired skill, it will take time. Even years to fine-tune these skills. As you will change your ideas, and also things keep on changing around you. The art market keeps on changing and trends never stay still.

As you know, were concentrating on four main subjects here, but these ideas can be applied to any subject you want to paint.

Your Goals:

Decide what it is you want out of oil painting...... try different styles, from modern to fine art. There are so many styles in between. Maybe you want to choose a few different styles that suit you best.

Your Market:

What sort of market do you want to break into. There are so many out there now, and with the internet; selling your art online is a great opportunity for an artist to get their name out there. So that the public can see what you can do. And selling your work online - the internet has taken away the necessarily of selling through galleries.

So..... doing some market research can give you an idea on how you want to tackle selling your art. And research what sort of styles and subjects are the flavor-of-the-month, at the time. Yes... trends do change, and keeping up to date on this, can be the difference in selling you work or not.

Say if you paint animals, have a look around and see what styles are popular, and which animals seem to be selling the most, by other artists. O' yes, you can learn from other artists, by seeing what they are doing.

Doing your Painting:

From thinking of ideas, to making sketches. You need to spend some time here investigating what it is you want to paint.

How you want to outlay your painting. Remember, to never put a subject right in the middle of your painting. This gives the impression of an amateur and you don't want to be seen as that, do you.... The outlay is very important to how your painting will look. If you get this wrong, you will stand back at your painting from a distance and know there is just something wrong, yet, cant quite put your finger on it.

Have a look and study other paintings and their oil painting techniques, and see how different settings are done. Learn form them, just don't look at them. Study them, and ask yourself why. Why is this painting the way it is? and why is that?  Questioning - makes you think and look at a piece of art in a subjective way. It makes you notice and learn rules. Look at nature. You cant go wrong there.

Pride of the Jungle! -Janet Farthing

In oil painting techniques what sort of color schemes do you want to use? do you want to experiment? try putting some colors together on a separate piece of paper to see if they look right. And are the tones right for how you want your paintings to stand out with.

Don't forget to prime your blank canvas with a primer paint, before you begin your painting. Yes, your canvas does need to be pre-prepared first, just like painting a house. There are primer paints specifically for this job.  This way your paints will have a firm and solid base to be applied. Your paint colors will thank you for it.

Choose what paints you want to use before-hand. And know that if you don't have some much needed colors, you will need to purchase them before hand. Because if you start your painting and find out that you are missing a color - it could effect your painting if you needed this specific paint to blend with another. By the time you go out to get the paint. Your oils might have dried a bit too much and your blending of the colors will be partially ruined.

Once you have gone through these steps and finished you painting. Then in oil painting techniques, do you want to frame it? What sort of frame. Or do you want to make your own frame and varnish it yourself.

Even choosing a frame for your work needs special consideration. As the effect of the overall painting can be in question. If frame that is too big, it can dominate and loose the painting. If the frame color is not right, the painting will not be shown off to its full glory. This we will chat about later. As its a skill in its own.

When I work, I work very fast, but preparing to work can take any length of time.-Cy Twombly

These decisions may seen a little daunting, though, with

Even if you are not thinking of selling any time soon. Some of these steps are needed, to what subject you want to paint, trying out different compositions. To having your paint colors organized. And of course having your canvas ready.

Having your preparation done in advance, will make the whole process so much easier. And you feel that you have not forgotten something, so you can glide through your process of painting your own art work.  Just take your time, and have fun.

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