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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.

My Painting Compositions are Off Balance: The Viewfinder Drawing Tool may Help

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Looking at the world unedited is overwhelming for the artist. An interesting subject matter may be overlooked with lots of elements vying for attention. Furthermore, the drawing may end up falling off the edge of the page. How can the artist plan the best composition for painting? A tool called the artist’s viewfinder will make things easier. The viewfinder is a piece of card with a window cut into it, from where the world can be viewed a little at a time. It’s rather like looking through the camera lens prior to taking pictures. The artist's viewfinder In a separate article, I have demonstrated how to make your own viewfinder from cheap art materials . Planning the drawing ready for painting is also made easier as the proportions of the ‘window’ are compatible with most sketchbooks. A simple grid to aid drawing is also provided. This will help simplify a seemingly complex subject matter, such as this line drawing of keys, as it is sectioned into quadrants. The v...
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How to Make a Viewfinder a Drawing Aid for Artists

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Using a viewfinder is a great way of making drawing easier. Composing pictures for oil painting is also made possible when the artist isn’t sure where to begin. A Drawing Aid for Oil Painting Finding inspiration from life can be overwhelming. What does the artist cut out and leave in? The viewfinder is ideal for editing out unwanted visual information in order to simplify what is seen. The viewfinder is simply a piece of card with a window cut in the middle from where the artist may view a particular aspect. Looking through the window is rather like looking through a camera lens before taking a picture. Plotting your drawing is made easier because the image can be viewed through a frame. Here, I will show you how to create a viewfinder containing a frame compatible with most drawing pads. Plotting your drawing couldn’t be easier. Making a viewfinder is simple. Here is a step‑by‑step demo on making your own. Demo on Making the Artist’s Viewfinder The first image shows ...
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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 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 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 an area, causing it to lose life and...
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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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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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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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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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How do I Paint Ethnic Skin Colours in Portraits?

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Painting portraits of people with dark skin could be a challenge for the portrait artist if normally painting people of white European origin. The beginner may simply add black or brown to skin colours, resulting in an unconvincing colour of dark flesh. How can the artist paint dark skin with realism? Problems with Painting Skin Colours of Different Races Pigments for Dark Skin Tones Rachel Shirley The portrait painter faced with painting a dark skinned person for the first time may feel challenged at the idea of using different oil pigments and ratios to the usual practice. Painting an Indian person, for example, may turn out unsatisfactory because of the following malpractices: Rendering dark skin, such as African, Indian or native Aboriginal skin colour by adding black to a premixed skin colour pigment . Introducing white to a very dark skin colour such as African to express highlights, resulting in grey. Assigning a separate flesh colour pigment for different skin ...
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How do I Make Glass Look Like Glass in My Painting?

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Trying to paint glass in a still life may seem impossible due to its elusive quality. The artist strives to make glass look solid, yet it is partially invisible. In other cases, reflections and shadows may confuse the painting. How does the artist make glass look real? How to Paint Glass Painting Glass in a Still Life Rachel Shirley Before improving a still life with translucent objects, the artist must identify the causes of unrealistic glass: Assuming glass is completely transparent and painting objects behind it without altering the palette. Ignoring refraction or distortion caused by curved glass surfaces. Outlining the glass with definite dark lines. Using neat white for reflections and highlights. Why Glass is Difficult to Paint Unlike opaque objects, glass contains multiple visual elements at once: Reflections on the surface (windows, people, furniture). Shadows cast onto the glass by neighbouring objects. The glass’s own shadow — solid ...
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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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How to Make a Viewfinder a Drawing Aid for Artists

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Using a viewfinder is a great way of making drawing easier. Composing pictures for oil painting is also made possible when the artist isn’t sure where to begin. A Drawing Aid for Oil Painting Finding inspiration from life can be overwhelming. What does the artist cut out and leave in? The viewfinder is ideal for editing out unwanted visual information in order to simplify what is seen. The viewfinder is simply a piece of card with a window cut in the middle from where the artist may view a particular aspect. Looking through the window is rather like looking through a camera lens before taking a picture. Plotting your drawing is made easier because the image can be viewed through a frame. Here, I will show you how to create a viewfinder containing a frame compatible with most drawing pads. Plotting your drawing couldn’t be easier. Making a viewfinder is simple. Here is a step‑by‑step demo on making your own. Demo on Making the Artist’s Viewfinder The first image shows ...
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