Oil Painting for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide 2023

Oil Painting for Beginners: Step-by-step guide 2023, this blog is for anyone who wants to try oil painting and they have no idea, what to do with it?

Here you can learn about oil painting tips, techniques, material, tutorials, and oil painting vs acrylic.

If you’re thinking about starting an oil painting but you still have doubts because you think it might be too complicated for you.

Then this blog will show you a way to have a good start let’s. Let’s start.

Table Of Content

Why Oil Painting

Why is oil paint and not any other media usually people try some kind of water-based painting like acrylic or watercolor?

Before we start oil painting and to be fair acrylic and watercolor are great it’s possible to paint wonderful things with them.

So, one might ask why try oil painting at all right painting is painting, where’s the difference? The main difference is drawing time.

Oil paint dries slowly so it gives you plenty of time to mix your colors change things on your canvas if necessary and work an entire day wet on wet.

I can get a cup of coffee or even a good night of sleep and come back my paint is still wet and more time means more control.

The second point oil is naturally glassy this quality allows colors to be more vibrant and vivid.

This is especially true for the darkest colors plus colors don’t change after drying oil is very consistent.

Finally, oil is an extremely pleasant medium to handle it can be buttery or creamy thin or thick fluid, or sticky.

Whatever, the consistency is just great.

Plus you can paint as many layers as you want and get all sorts of various effects to paint transparent.

Paint opaque thick or thin whatever you want it is without a doubt the most versatile medium.

Basic Steps to Start With Oil Painting

To start with oil painting there are eight basic things you will need

A surface to paint on which can be canvas or panel.
Paintbrushes which you can find in any art store and they will even be sectioned based on what paint they are intended for.
Oil Paint.
Rags or paper towels to wipe your brushes.
A pallet – I use a piece of glass and taped a gray piece of paper to the back of it make sure you tape all along the sides because the edges can be sharp and you can cut yourself be careful)
Solvent Capable ( Oil paint is not water-soluble you will need a solvent capable of thinning the paint and cleaning brushes)
Container and Sauce dish ( It is used to hold your solvent and Medium)
Glass Scraper ( It is used to scrape the dried up oil paint from your pallet)

Does Oil Painting Require a Lot of Materials?

Beginner artists get confused, what material is required before starting the painting projects.

List of Oil Painting Materials

As for colors if you are a beginner painter I suggest buying an Introductory Set.

Start with which is less expensive than artist-grade oils and it will contain all the essential colors you will need.

Here I mentioned a list of basic common colors that would make a great palette of skin tones nature.

Titanium White
Mars or Ivory Black
Yellow (Cadmium yellow light, Lemon yellow or Hansi yellow light)
Yellow Ocher
Sienna
Raw Umber
Alizarin Crimson
Cadmium redx
Ultramarine Blue and
Sap Green

If you want to go a step further you can add

Cerulean blue hue
Blue emerald
Viridian Green

Once you get some practice and you decide you want to keep oil painting. You can continue to grow your collection to other colors.

Is Oil Painting Is More Complicated

Most people think that oil painting is more complicated than any other medium. To me this is not true oil painting is the most forgiving medium at all, because you have all the time you need to make corrections.

I want to talk about this idea of complexity because I think it’s keeping too many people away from this technique and this isn’t fair.

The old masters were at the pinnacle of their art. So, of course, what they did was super complex but it doesn’t mean that a beginner can’t paint with a very simple approach.

It’s just like “math” it can be super complex or it can be super simple just because the greatest geniuses of our time have invented super complex.

Theories don’t mean that no one else can know two plus two and it’s the same thing with Oil painting.

No matter how complicated some masters make it look it can be very simple if you want it to be it’s not that oil painting is more complicated

it’s just that the amount of possibilities is so vast that you can build whelming.

Student Grade Vs Artist Grade Painting

Student Grade

In a nutshell, it contains fewer pigments and more filler so, the quality of paint is slower and you may run out of paint faster because you end up having to use it.

The Upside is that they are a lot cheaper than artist-grade paints. So, it is perfect for beginners.

Artist Grade

Artist-grade paints contain more pigments which are more is more vibrant and The paint will be lost longer since you don’t have to use much.

They are quite expensive, so it is recommended that users start using this once you’re comfortable with oil painting, and you ready to invest more in supplies.

Is Oil Painting is Toxic

Is all painting toxic?

Many people do not want people to try painting because they fear that it is toxic but there is a common misconception in saying that oil painting is toxic.

The practice of oil painting without proper care can indeed be unsafe but it’s just like everything else.

Oil painting is not toxic by itself the basic paint tube only contains oil and pigments, It doesn’t smell and it will cause no harm as long as you don’t ingest it. So, there’s no risk.

Safety issues mainly come from the solvents used to thin the paint down working the brushes like turpentine or mineral spirits.

These solvents evaporate and create fumes that can eventually be harmful if inhaled. This is why you should paint in a well-ventilated room.

How to Clean Oil Painting Brushes

To prevent all risks solvents and mediums should be used with moderation and all containers should be kept shut as much as possible.

If you come from watercolor you might have taken the habit of pouring water in a glass to clean your brushes before you change colors.

Well you don’t need to do that for oil painting dipping your brush in solvents is not necessary because of the consistency of oil paint, you can simply use a piece of paper towel to wipe off the paint out of the brush and pick up a new color.

Many people think that they have to use a solvent to clean their brushes but it’s not true. You can choose to use a slow drying oil like sunflower oil instead or you can use soap and water.

If you need to clean your brushes with the solvent you should get an airtight jar with a piece of material that can be used as a filter, it will separate the pigments from the solvents.

When everything is resting at the bottom you can pour the solvent into another jar scrub the pigments.And then put the fresh clean solvent back in the initial Jar, this way you never have to dispose of the salt

Of course, it’s not as easy as using water but if you use oil painting products in moderation the risk is very limited. There are many other tips and tricks you can use for safety.

What is use of Mediums?

Mediums are used to speed up or slow down the drying process, they can also add a matter or glossy finish or add texture to the paint there are so many different mediums.

If you’re wondering what something is for usually, the label will explain what it is and what it does. Otherwise, you can talk to someone that works at a local art store.

I hope this blog is full of the information you need. I also suggest you do a little bit of research.

You can always ask somebody at a local art store and get some actual advice from somebody with more experience. Well, that’s all I have for today and I hope this blog was helpful to you,

if you have any suggestions or comments please leave them in the comments below. Portrait villa also hires internships to help new talented artists to practice live on the projects of custom oil painting.

If you have good hand on experience and you are an expert then you can earn a good amount of money working for a company or freelancing. Oil painting prices vary as per your experience.

If you are really interested to get an intern please click on the career and send your portfolio.

we will review it and get back to you ASAP.

Thank you have a great day…!