Free Oil Painting Tips & Articles
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! |
Free Tips & Articles On Oil Painting
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What Makes a Great Oil Painting?
This can be a highly debatable topic, but I do think there are certain qualities a great painting should have. Feel free to disagree, but here is what I think. It has to grab your attention and have the ability to draw someone in to have a closer look. There should be some snap or fire in the color harmonies even if it's a darker painting. The lighting should be natural and have its own glow, unlike the faux lighting effects often used. There must also be detail in the shadows and dark sections of the painting as well as detail in the highlights. It should also achieve an adequate sense of depth.
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Top 3 Best Oil Paints For Beginners on a Budget
So you are ready to take your fabulous journey into the wonderful world of oil painting when you realize just how expensive supplies can be! I know personally how frustrating it can be when you are not able to afford good quality supplies, but have no fear... This post is going to talk about three great quality oil paint brands that will fit any budget. I am sure you have heard of the saying "You Get What you Pay For". Well this is not always the case, especially when it comes to oil paint. Today's oil paint manufacturers have made awesome quality oil paints available for every artist, no matter what budget or skill level.
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Abstract and Realistic Painting Techniques
Art is usually divided in the main categories "abstract" or "realistic". But the difference between abstract and realistic painting techniques shouldn't be absolute. As long as abstract is just abstract and realistic just realistic, there's no movement or development. Painting becomes interesting right where abstract and realistic painting meet. Realistic paintings are immersed with abstract aspects like color, composition, forms and texture - and abstract paintings that are really only abstract don't mean anything to a human anymore. Good abstract art always has some (new and creative) referral to our memory of sensory perception.
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Taking the Fear Out of Oil Painting
For anyone that has thought about learning how to paint, or has started to learn how to paint; there usually exists some degree of fear, anxiety, and vulnerability issues. This is natural but debilitating, and it need not be. Oil painting is the best, but the hardest medium to work with. But don't be afraid of it. It's an amazing medium. Very sensual and versatile. Once you get a feel for its characteristics, you will be able to get the most out of it and discover how wonderful it really is.
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Oil Painting For Beginners - How to Get Started
Never apply final varnish to an oil painting unless it has thoroughly dried. Oil paint requires anywhere from 6 to 12 months (or longer) to dry depending on how thick the paint was applied to the canvas. If you want to add a temporary finish to paintings that have not dried thoroughly you should consider using a retouch varnish....
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Varnishing an Oil Painting
Never apply final varnish to an oil painting unless it has thoroughly dried. Oil paint requires anywhere from 6 to 12 months (or longer) to dry depending on how thick the paint was applied to the canvas. If you want to add a temporary finish to paintings that have not dried thoroughly you should consider using a retouch varnish....
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Oil Painting Lesson - Introduction To Oil Painting Fundamentals
To accurately convey your feelings about the subject you are painting, you must learn and understand the fundamentals of painting like drawing, color, value and composition. I hope to give you a better understanding of these fundamentals in this article. This article is meant to be an introduction. You should study these topics further on your own when you have time.
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Oil Painting Lesson – An Introduction To Oil Painting Supports
An oil painting support is any surface that oil paint can be applied to. There are a variety of different surfaces that artists use to paint on. Everything from certain woods, canvas, and even metals can serve as supports for oil paint. This article will introduce you to those various supports and hopefully help you decide which support is best for your style of oil painting.
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Oil Painting Art Course - Is Using Photographs OK? Edgar Degas and Norman Rockwell Thought So
Edgar Degas painted from photos: Degas became a painter just at the beginning of photography. He first had others shoot photos for him for his use in his paintings. Later, he became an expert photographer. Degas' paintings show the influence of photography in the cutting off of figures. Before Degas, the whole person was inside the painting. In many of Degas' work, the figures are cut off mid leg or their figures are cut off on the left, right and top by the edge of the painting. This cropping came from his reference photos.
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Oil Painting For Beginners - Tips and Much More
Oil painting dates back to Roman times - at least, becoming much more popular in the 15th century, where it was mixed with medium, making it similar to the way current day oil paints look and feel.
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Tips on Oil Painting - The Shaping Phase
The shaping phase is the third phase of a basic oil painting process. The first phase is the drawing phase and the second phase is the block-in phase.
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Tips on Oil Painting - The Qualities of Color
Artists often talk about the temperature of a color or a painting. Temperature is really an element of hue. The warms colors are the yellows and the reds while the cool colors are the greens and the blues.
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Tips on Oil Painting - Advanced Palette
In this article I will discuss the tube colors belonging to an advanced palette based on a basic 6-color palette. I find these colors the most useful and often necessary to round out a versatile palette.