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Oil Painting Medic is a practical guide to oil painting techniques, materials and troubleshooting. NOTHING on here is AI. Begin with Home or Start Here. Browse my Artbooks and Whats Trending. With copious articles covering portraiture, landscapes, still life, and problem solving, this blog helps artists improve technique and overcome challenges. Navigate by theme in the sidebar.

Focus On Oil Painting Demonstrations: Step-by-Step Tutorials and Projects

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Welcome to my collection of oil painting demonstrations. Each tutorial shows the development of a painting from the first sketch to the final artwork. These demonstrations reveal not only how each painting was created, but also the art materials needed, the painting techniques explored and what you will learn. Where to Start with Oil Painting The aim of this section is to prompt the artist to get painting. Whether you are a beginner in oil painting or an experienced artist looking for further practice, these demonstrations are designed to provide guidance that can be applied to your own work. Every project explores artistic principles such as colour mixing, tonal values, composition and brushwork. What You Will Find on Each Demo Page Each art demonstration will be structured similarly. Here is what you’ll find on each tutorial page. An introduction on what you'll learn. This might be colour-mixing, tonal judgements, alla prima or painting shadows. Themes will vary from dramatic la...
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Focus On Artwork Restoration, Repairs, Painting Problems and Art Defects

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A painting starts to crack, the canvas begins to warp, dull patches spread over the paint layer, and water damage threatens to spoil months of work. A painting that has high financial or sentimental value can cause further worry. How can the artist save an oil painting from the bin? Cure for Damaged Oil Paintings The good news is that an oil painting can be remedied, regardless of the damage. A torn canvas can be repaired; dirty varnish can be removed and the artwork restored to its previous vitality. Understanding the root cause of these defects will help the same thing happening again. This collection of articles explores practical solutions to a wide range of oil painting problems, from surface flaws and structural damage to conservation and insurance. Common Defects in the Oil Pigment An oil painting is the most durable, robust and tough medium in existence. Take a look at the Old Masters, paintings that have survived time, heat, damp and handling. An oil painting will never crack ...
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How do I Paint Blonde Hair on My Portraits?

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Blonde hair in oil painting often looks chalky, muddy or flat when the artist relies too much on white or browns. True blonde hair contains an array of hues — blues, earth colours and violets. By understanding how blonde hair behaves tonally and chromatically, the artist can mix cleaner pales, richer darks and convincing highlights. The True Colour of Blonde The portrait artist faced with painting blonde hair may automatically reach for titanium white and vary it with black or dark brown for shadows in the belief that these colors will create convincing blonde hair. Instead, the hair looks lifeless. What colors should the artist use for blonde hair? How Not to Paint Blonde Hair How to Paint Blonde Hair Rachel Shirley Before making changes to a portrait with blonde hair, the artist may identify what went wrong with the hair aspect of the painting, which could be any of the following: Making blanket assumptions about blonde hair in that it always contains lots ...
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How do I Make Gold Look like Gold with Oil Paint?

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The artist trying to convey metallic effects with oil paint may be disappointed if brass ornaments or gold jewellery resembles dollops of mustard in the still life painting. How can the artist get gold effects in painting? Gold: An Introduction Gold is one of the most tricky colours in oil painting. Many artists expect it to behave like yellow, only to end up with mustard‑coloured jewellery or dull brass. The secret to painting convincing gold isn’t brightness — the secret lays in contrasting neutrals, and unexpected cool hues. Problems with Painting Gold Jewellery How to Paint Gold   A still life setting featuring gold objects such as jewellery may appear tarnished or plastic-like due to misconceptions about the colour gold, causing the artist to use a lot of yellow, orange or ochres. Such idealistic concepts about the colour gold may be indicative by the following notions and practices. Having the subconscious idea that all gold is basically yellow, yellow-orange or ochre. ...
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How Can I Paint the Mona Lisa in an Hour?

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The painting of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is the most famous portrait in the world, partly due to the subtle and hard‑to‑define shadows around the face known as sfumato . Sfumato is one of the painting modes of Renaissance art and is difficult to achieve. I decided to paint the Mona Lisa and post it on YouTube as speed art. Here are the common pitfalls of painting a face with a subtle expression. Tips on Painting the Portrait of the Mona Lisa See my two YouTube clips on painting the Mona Lisa. The first glaze (above) was completed in around twenty‑five minutes. Once the first glaze was touch‑dry, I began the second glaze (below), which took a further half‑hour. The second process enabled me to elaborate on shadows and refine shading. Both processes have been speeded up so viewing time is compacted to a few minutes. The most common problems with painting a portrait with delicate detail such as the Mona Lisa are the following: 1. Expressing shadows on th...
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How do I Erase a Mistake from My Painting?

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An otherwise effective oil painting can be spoiled by a garish tree, a black splodge or a grey expanse of water that clashes with the painting’s vibrant colours. In trying to fix the problem, the artist may fiddle with the area, overworking the paint until it becomes a muddy mess. How can the painting be put right? Culprits to Making Mistakes in Oil Painting Correct an Oil Painting Rachel Shirley Few things are more frustrating than completing a satisfactory oil painting except for one particular area. An oil painting is only as good as its weakest point. No matter what the artist does, the offending area continues to draw the eye. Scrapping the painting may seem the only option. The following may have led to this point: Completing the painting in one go, causing the final part to be rendered when tired or rushed. Guessworking an area, such as using green paint straight from the tube for grass or trees. Working from a poor photograph. Fiddling too much with...
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Focus on Portraiture: How to Paint Portraits: Skin Tones, Light, and Features

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Portrait painting is one of the most rewarding yet difficult areas of art. Many things can go wrong; a shadow out of place, a feature slightly off, and the subject’s likeness vanishes. Portraiture means more than just copying the image in front. It relies upon spot-on facial ratios, skin tones, colour links and the subtle details that give a face character and expression. A Hub Resource for Portrait Artists This page brings together my portrait painting articles, tutorials and guides to help artists improve their portrait painting skills.   Painting your first portrait? Honing existing skills? This page provides a focal point for any practitioner seeking keyways to bring a realistic human likeness. Skin Tones and Colour Mixing in Portrait Painting Skin tones can seem so elusive when what we see fails to compute onto canvas. Assumptions push in, insisting tones are a definite shape or colour, that features have outlines. But no. Faces contains a rich variety of hues that subtly shi...
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Focus On Art Techniques: Glazing, Scumbling, Blending and Alla Prima

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What are the main oil painting techniques? The beginner may find the list confounding: glazing, impasto, alla prima, scumbling, tonking, and sfumato. What do they all mean? When should I use each? In a nutshell, art technique describes paint application. – how the pigment is applied. Whilst drawing, and composition play a part, the next step is the oil pigment. How does the artist transform a concept into a real painting ? The answer is when the first brush mark is laid to canvas. In other words, the art technique. A Balance of Impasto or Glazing Methods In fact, there is no wrong way to apply paint The main art techniques can be combined and boundaries pushed. Scopes for experimentation are endless. This hub page provides the path forward. Find articles on this blog to discover ways to make a painting reality. The mastering of various techniques enables the artist to control texture, colour intensity, mood and the overall look of a painting. A Choice of Art Systems to Choose from Fro...
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How to I Treat Craquelure in my Oil Painting?

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Craquelure are fine hairline cracks that appear in an old oil painting. Some art restorers may not decide to treat it, for it is the normal process of ageing and adds charm to the appearance of the artwork. Solving the Craquelure Problem in an Old Painting This old oil landscape painting shows cracks in the paint layer called craquelure. This is caused by the aging process of the oil paint that has dried out over time. The proper preparation of gesso will minimize the appearance of these cracks. A close up of this painting showing craquelure. Image right shows distortion in the canvas due to botched restoration. Masking tape had been stuck onto the back of the canvas to hide a hole. Sadly, the resultant stresses in the canvas have exacerbated the cracks. Any restoration work would now require extra care. How to Tension an Old Oil Painting in Restoration The image shows the painting after I had removed the offending masking tape and repaired the holes i...
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Focus On Colour in Painting: Pigments, Mixing, Tone, Temperature and Behaviour

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Colour is often the reason someone chooses to paint. Even tone has colour. Black is a mix of all colours; white has nuance. Nothing is truly black or white. Blue brings notions of coolness, distance. Red advances with warmth and intimacy. Every colour from green to purple stirs mood and longing. The artist pigment becomes the tools from where the language of colour can be placed onto canvas. But which pigment should the beginner choose? What does the perfect collection of art pigments look like?   The Meaning of Colour This hub-page brings together my selection of articles on many aspects of colour mixing. See it from a painter’s perspective, covering everything from colour mixing and translucency to tonal values and colour temperature.   Colour remains one of the most confounding aspects of painting. Many artists struggle with what pigments to choose from; what colours to mix. Frustration blooms when their colour mixtures fail to match what is imagined. Muddy hues, dull patch...
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I’m Confused about Oil Painting Mediums, What are they For?

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Cold pressed oil, thickened oil, drying oil, refined oil, stand oil, poppy oil, linseed oil, safflower oil — what are they all for? It may seem that an array of oil mediums is needed for oil painting, not to mention alkyds. Does the artist really need all these mediums? Below is a simple guide to oil mediums and what they do. What Oil Mediums Are For Oil Mediums in Art Techniques Although great oil paintings are possible without mediums, it helps to know what they do. The artist can then make informed decisions about which medium to use for certain effects. Separate articles cover alkyd mediums and water‑mixable mediums. Simple Guide to Oil Painting Mediums Oils and solvents alter the properties of oil paint. Linseed oil is the carrier of oil paint and adding more makes the paint more translucent and runny, similar to adding water to watercolour. This is why linseed oil is the most commonly used medium. Solvents such as artist’s spirits or turpenoid clean brushes and add...
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Focus On Landscape Painting: Trees, Skies, Water, Mountains and More

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Think about a landscape and many ideas come to mind: woods, mountains, lakes, skies, snow and ruins. Think of colour, light, texture and atmosphere. Where does the artist begin with landscape painting? This hub page gathers my best landscape art tutorials and more are on the way. Find tips, fixes and art materials required to get started. This page provides an easy navigation to the desired landscape content. Painting Trees and Woodland Find articles on trees and foliage , woodland scenes, autumn colours, spring buds, and seasonal greens. Learn how to paint dappled shadows from canopies, bare trees and the coarse bark of tree trunks. Learn to paint flowers and to avoid muddy colours. Painting Skies, Clouds and Weather And how about skies and atmosphere? I used to keep weather records and learned about the clouds. Terms like cirrus, cumulus and mackerel became familiar terms and enhanced my understanding of the sky. This focus page pulls together tips on how to add drama to your sky ...
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