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Painting with Oils
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THE NATURE OF
OILS
 Unlike
watercolour, oil colour can be used opaquely - in other words,
a light colour is capable of covering over a darker colour,
if applied thickly enough. This means that oil colour is
more forgiving than watercolour, because the artist can rectify
mistakes and change areas of a picture that are not successful.
Some artists apply the colour so thickly that pictures have a three dimensional
quality, and often a palette knife is used, rather than a brush. Oil colour can
also be used thinly, by mixing it with a medium, and it is possible to create
thin, translucent glazes, as a watercolourist would. Unlike watercolour however,
oil colour can remain wet for a considerable time, depending on the properties
of individual colours and how thickly they were applied. This enables the artist
to blend and rework areas of the picture at leisure. This versatility has ensured
that oil colour has become the most widely – used medium in the history
of art.
PREPARATION
Oil colour is very concentrated, and can
damage clothing and furniture. Wear old clothes and roll up your sleeves.
Have a couple of old rags ready, and a bottle of white spirit to remove
stains and to clean brushes. Try to work in natural light as artificial
light can affect your perception of colours.
An easel is advisable for oil painting so that you can apply the colour without
catching your arms on the wet art board. Failing this, prop the board up on a
table against the wall, or similar, at a height that is convenient for your posture.
A bamboo stick with a padded cloth end, known as a "mahl" stick, is
useful as a support to steady your painting arm. Hold it in your other hand and
prop it against a dry area or edge of the canvas or board. A mahl stick is necessary
because often you will not be able to rest your wrist on any areas that are still
wet, as you would with a watercolour painting attached to a drawing board. These
can be purchased from an art shop, or you can make one yourself quite easily.
COLOUR MIXING
 Before
you begin painting it is best to practise a few basic exercises. Firstly,
squeeze out a small quantity of the colours you wish to use onto the
palette. Pour a small amount of the oil painting medium into an old
saucer, or similar, and use a brushload to thin the colour when required.
The colour often remains useable for several days.
Use a scrap piece of card, and try a few brush-strokes with each brush, to see
how very differently they perform. The square-ended one is for blocking in larger
areas, whereas the bullet-ended one is better suited to small areas of detail.
Knowing how to mix colours and how much paint to use can only come with experience
and experimentation. Red, Yellow, and Blue are called the Primary Colours. This
means they cannot be mixed from other colours. Your set of colours can be mixed
to form a comprehensive range, but remember that sometimes it may be necessary
to mix 3 or even 4 colours to achieve a result.
Once you have achieved the correct colour, you must then achieve the correct
tone (or shade) i.e. the strength of the colour. Remember that black is not the
only way of darkening a colour. It can make colours look dirty. Try experimenting
with browns and blues. They darken colours in very different ways to black. Conversely,
try lightening colours with yellow or white, or a combination of the two. It
is advisable to make notes to remind you how to achieve various colour mixes.
Finally there are no shortcuts to learning about colour mixing.
It is inevitable that you will make mistakes, but some of them may be happy ones!
COMPOSITION
 Choosing
subject matter is a very personal thing. If you are inexperienced,
avoid complex compositions, you will become frustrated and abandon
the picture! It is better to tackle a simple scene and do it well.
Before committing yourself to paper, consider the scene from different angles
and distances until you settle on the best viewpoint. Work out which section
of the scene you are going to paint and then lightly, with a soft pencil sketch
out the basic lines of the composition. Do not concern yourself with too much
detail at this stage. Correct any mistakes with a soft putty eraser to avoid
tearing the paper surface, and never use an eraser on wet paper.
PAINTING
Whether you are painting a still-life, a
figure or a landscape the same rules apply. The pictures opposite show
how a painting is built up in stages.
| 1. Simple
tonal sketch of the composition in diluted yellow ochre and
brown. Allow to dry. The artist has made a feature of the dramatic
sky by keeping the horizon line low in the composition. The
farm building provides a useful focal point. |
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| 2. The sky
area is blocked in with thicker paint applied with the square
ended brush. A basic mix of blue & white is used for the
sky and yellow and white for the clouds. The darker areas of
sky are created by mixing the blue with a touch of crimson
to make purple, and applied on top of the existing blue sky,
once it has dried. Areas of white are also added into the clouds
to create highlights. Remember gouache dries quickly. Here
the artist has applied the paint in an impressionist way, adding
layer on layer with no attempt to blend colours together whilst
wet. The basic underpaint of the path and grass areas is blocked
in with mid green and cream. |
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| 3. The background
trees are created by adding blue with the green mix, giving
the impression of distance. The basic underpaint of the farm
buildings and large tree is added. (It’s advisable to
allow the sky to dry before adding tree detail). |
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| 4. More layers
of tone have been added and the picture is now at full strength.
The medium allows both dark and light areas of detail to be
painted on top of the undercoat, as shown clearly in the foreground
grassy area. As a general rule, undercoat layers should be
thin, with the consistency of the paint increasing for the
top layers. Areas of detail have now been added to the farmhouse
and the large tree. The paint has been scraped on sparsely
to create the broken texture of the tree’s leaves. Finishing
touches are added with a small brush. The picture is impressionist
in style, so no attempt has been made to paint individual leaves
or blades of grass etc. |
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FINISHING TOUCHES
Oil paintings are traditionally framed without
glass and window mounts, though there is no reason to prevent you using
these methods. When the picture is dry to the touch, you can apply
a thin coat of retouching varnish (available from artist supply shops).
This will restore the intensity of the colour. Proper picture varnish
should not be applied for six months
CARE OF EQUIPMENT
Never stand brushes upside down in cleaning
jars. This ruins the bristles. Always thoroughly clean brushes in soap
and water at the end of the day and restore their shape before putting
them away. Do not contaminate the purity of your paints by dipping
brushes into them, or by using the wrong tops. Always use the palette
for mixing. Make sure the tops are firmly screwed onto the tubes to
avoid drying out. |
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