Free Oil Painting Lessons & Techniques
Welcome to the oil painting section of CreativeSpotlite.com. On the following pages you will find a great selection of step by step oil painting demonstrations, techniques and tips that I am sure you will enjoy. The art instruction on the following pages has been generously donated by professional artists from all over the world. We are most grateful for their generosity and we hope you enjoy! Happy painting! |
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How to Paint a Sunset with Oils
Establishing background Under Color, Horizon Line and Light Source are extremely important for the overall look of the painting. Apply Medium dark flat purple acrylic paint to the entire canvas surface with the 2″ brush and let the canvas and the brush dry completely! When the surface is dry, establish the HORIZON LINE and the light source – the SUN. Use a small brush with dark color for the Horizon line of the painting and use pure white paint for the sun. Tips: Use X brush strokes to smooth the under color. Do not under estimate the precise placement of the Horizon and the Sun. This will save you time and struggle later. If you have to, use measuring tape and a long straight wood piece like a ruler for the Horizon...
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Grisaille Underpainting Technique – Oil Painting Demonstration
There are many methods and techniques that I use to paint a painting. Here is a quickie lesson in an Old Master technique method I sometimes use called Grisaille (or underpainting).
I chose this subject as a demo because it shows how to handle a full range of value from black (the lab) to white (his blanket). The “darks” are not very dark and the “lights” are not very light in an underpainting.
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Flemish Painting Technique – Oil Painting Demonstration
Flemish Technique means different things to different artists and art teachers. I’ve been asked several times to talk about this classic oil painting technique. When I first started Oil Painting I bought reference books that purported to explain this method and to be honest it nearly destroyed my interest in oils altogether. I persevered because I thought this was the only way to use this rich, amazing paint. For the best part of two years I used the technique and got good results but the rigidity of the formula began to make the process boring. That’s simply my taste though so don’t be put off what can be an extremely effective path to success....
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Still Life Oil Painting Demo Using the Flemish Technique
Well here we go! This oil painting demonstration is of a painting that was done over a period of 6 days using the flemish oil painting technique. I used a dryer “liquin” to speed up the process for the clients. Because I’m using a different support than usual, I thought I would also add the process of preparing the masonite board within this oil painting demonstration. The support is cradled in wood strips and makes for a nice presentation ready display without a frame...
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How To Paint Roses : Tackling a Beautiful Yet Complicated Flower
Do you find the thought of learning how to paint roses a bit daunting? All those petals and subtle shades of color! On this page I’ll use a step-by-step oil painting demonstration to show you that the process of how to paint roses is very doable. The same procedure work with acrylics, too....
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Oil Painting Tutorial – Learn to Paint Like Monet
Have you ever wondered how to paint like Monet or wanted to paint like he does? When you see his works, like the huge water lily paintings in the Orangerie Museum in Paris, you know that he was truly a master colorist. Those paintings made such an impression on me that to this day I’m still inspired to follow in his footsteps. I want to venture outdoors, see the natural world around me, and paint it the way that he did. It is an invigorating change from the studio painting approach I normally use. Learning how to paint like Monet is easy. There are three aspects to keep in mind: how he mixed his colors, his technique of applying the paint, and his process for creating paintings.
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Waterfall Demo
To keep the areas wet over the two days it took to paint this image, I worked this painting in sections, doing the figure first. Around the figure I worked just enough paint over the surface to ensure that it would be an easy blend the next day as I worked back into that area.
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The Passing of Time, Oil Demo
This 3x4 ' oil on canvas painting was done in the same manner as "Far Below" where my intention was to do a single opaque pass of wet paint, let that dry for weeks, then go over this with a thinner detail layer that enhances the color and detail, where needed. This is not 'fat over lean' since the layer above drys faster than the underlayer.
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Landscape Painting Demonstration by Dan Schultz
For this 18″ x 24″ studio painting I used Claessens double-oil-primed linen canvas, #15 (my usual painting surface), mounted on 1/2″ Gator Board. I applied an initial wash to the canvas with a color that I hoped would end up being pretty close to my final color for the creek bed in the foreground. I don’t use any medium with my paint, just mineral spirits (Gamsol made by Gamblin) that I sometimes use to thin the paint (which I did for the initial wash, then lightly wiped it with a paper towel).
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Anatomy of a Commission - Oil Painting Demonstration
Although I don’t advertise the fact, I occasionally do commission work. I generally only accept work which is similar to what I normally paint, so if for some reason the commission agreement falls apart, I can sell the painting to another party. In this instance, the commission came through one of my galleries, James Harold Gallery in Tahoe City, California. Commission terms were handled by the gallery, so I won’t go into that here. The collectors are a married couple from San Francisco, who had seen my work in the gallery. They liked my work of Lake Tahoe, but were avid Yosemite lovers (the husband is on the board of the Yosemite Fund) and wanted a fall scene of Yosemite Valley...
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Oil Painting Demonstration of High-Key Painting Method
For this studio painting I used Claessens double oil primed linen canvas, #15 (my usual painting surface), mounted on 1/2? Gator Board. This painting, as with most of my larger paintings, was completed using a photograph as my reference (shown below).
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Oil Painting Tutorial - Painting Drips & Drops By Karin Wells
How to paint water drips on a vertical surface in four easy steps. The following oil painting lesson will demonstrate Karin’s oil painting technique for creating water drips on a vertical surface.