OIL PAINTING MEDIC

Confronting art techniques for oil painting for the first time may overwhelm the beginner on the diversity on offer. Fine art painting books would suggest that oil painting requires complex practices and materials, but this is not necessarily the case. The beginner may enjoy simple oil painting techniques with effective results, and which will give the fledgling artist satisfaction. Basic Oil Painting Methods Every Beginner Should Try Key Techniques for Oil Painting Rachel Shirley The beginner in oil painting may begin with alla prima, which simply describes a painting completed in one session and therefore in one paint layer. Quick oil painting sketches of landscapes or skies, for example, are typically completed in alla prima. Such a technique requires the application of neat oil paint straight onto the painting surface. Oil painting impasto complements alla prima, in that impasto describes a thick paint layer, and one which may enhance the painting with brisk brush mark...

Because the colour of snow is inherently white, this knowledge will be carried into snow paintings, resulting in a flat portrayal of snow. The beginner in painting snow will stick to pale colours, or just white, creating a painting that appears unfinished for the white patches that abound. Some artists make the mistake of darkening the colour of snow with black, resulting in dirty looking snow that lacks atmosphere. What Makes Snow Colours Look Bleached or Muddy An unsatisfactory painting of snow could be avoided if certain painting practices are avoided, which are: Colour Mixes for Snow Rachel Shirley Restricting the colour of snow to white Darkening the colour of snow with black or dark brown Portraying snow as a quilt-like layer lying on every perceivable surface portrayed in the painting, resulting in an idealistic painting of snow Trying to paint snow from memory or using poor reference material Toning down dark and contrasting colours that are actually in the resource m...

The beginner in oil painting may try to make a sky sketch more interesting by filling it with idealistic puffy white clouds. Such a cumulus painting is likely to be expressed with white paint upon a stark blue sky. The contours of the clouds will have a bubbly or candyfloss look. A painting of cumulus clouds of this nature could spoil an otherwise accomplished landscape painting. Why Clouds Often Look Puffy, Flat or Cartoonish How to Paint Realistic Clouds Rachel Shirley The following oil painting practices will often be the culprit of an unsatisfactory portrayal of cumulus clouds: Trying to paint the clouds from memory Using a colour palette that is imagined rather than what is real, for example, restricting the colours to mere white or cream and black Painting clouds merely to fill an empty space within the painting Working from an inferior photograph Blending the colours of the clouds too much Using the same brush marks throughout the sky painting Using a flat (or...

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...

Painting reflections in water is often a problematic area for the beginner. They are sometimes illustrated as simply an inverted image of the object above, often misaligned or too idealised. In other cases, water is painted as harsh blue or slate grey with repetitive wave marks. Such portrayals tend to look naive to the viewer. Common Mistakes with Painting Water Realistic Water Painting Rachel Shirley By identifying common painting practices that cause unrealistic water, the artist can begin to improve. Frequent issues include: Using any blue or grey at hand and applying it neat over the water Painting identical waves all over the surface Giving the water a definite, unnatural edge Ignoring weather conditions when judging tonal values Painting reflections misaligned or not vertically true Using identical colours and tones for reflections and the objects reflected Adding edges to reflections that do not exist Tips for Painting Water and Reflections ...