Helpful Information To Make You A Better Oil Painter

Oil painting has been around for a long time and still today there are artists that use this medium as their preferred technique of expression. Anybody who has ever considered taking up an arty pastime has possibly had oil painting cross their minds. The Renaissance made it popular, but we have kept that popularity going all these years. Below are some oil painting guidelines that may help just about anybody.

Tip #1: Ever seen the yellow tint in the light colors on an oil painting? That yellow is there because linseed oil was utilized. It is always best to use a poppy seed oil with lighter shades so you don’t get this effect.

Tip #2: Oops! You made an error! Now what? A fast fix for this trouble is to use alcohol to get rid of the layer of paint making the trouble. Alcohol works quite well in making mistakes disappear on the oil canvas.

Tip #3: Always dry your oil paintings in bright sunlight. If left to dry in the dark the oil tends to rise to the surface and creates a yellow film across the top of the painting.

Tip #4: Speed is the key when it comes to drying. All those under layers need to be quick at drying otherwise your top layer will crack and ruin the entire piece of art. Look for hues with things like cobalt and lead added since these can speed up that process.

Tip #5: Never use deep black colors when in the under layer process owing to the slow drying time. Black is the slowest of all colors when it comes to drying. It is best suited for the top layer of paintings.

Tip #6: Try laying all your paint colors out on the same area of the painting palette each time. This will sooner or later become second nature and you won’t even need to look down at the palette to grab bits of color.

Tip #7: If possible, it is recommended that you utilize linseed oil in as many under layers as possible. This is due to the fact that those layers need to dry first and this kind of oil dries quicker than the others.

It may all seem a morsel difficult in the beginning, however once you get the basics of the idea you won’t have any problem. Most professionals advise taking some classes when you first get started. There is a wealth of experience in these places that can really make a difference. If you’re not sure where to find a class then you can try searching at the art department at your local university.