Any suggestions on what's needed to start oil painting?

Question

I would like to try oil painting on canvas. Can someone give me a list of typical items to start with such as colors, paint brushes, etc?

Answer 1

I suggest the Bob Ross type of oil painting. While his paints are expensive, they are drier than other oils. His wet-on-wet technique is one that I've used for years and it works well.

Get a fan brush, a 1" and a 2 1/2" brush, a paint knife, easel, odorless paint thinner, a drop cloth if you will paint inside, and Bob Ross's start-up kit which will include those brushes, the knife, and about eight tubes of essential paints.

You may have to purchase as a separate item the white thin paint that is first used on the canvasses. Buy only stretched canvasses on wood and shy away from board canvas unless you decide that is best for you.

The start-up kit of paints will run around $80; the easel about $30, and several stretched canvasses around $20 or so.

I also suggest you purchase a large tube of Titanium white because you will use a lot of that color. As you begin to paint you will learn which paints are used more or less.

Good luck, painter!

Answer 2

You are going to need a canvas, that is obvious since that is what you are going to paint on.
Get your self couple of brushes, I like Signet by robert simmons, they are inewxpensive and do a fantastic job and are hard to wear down. Get at least one one inch one half inch and one eight of an inch wide. Get filberts because they have three sides to work with : the flat part, the side edge and the tip. Don't get to many brushes you don't need them , most of my paintings are done with one to two brushes. And Picasso said that you should yuse one brush for painting anyway,and nothing under an inch.
The paints that I mix miself from other colors are the greens and grays, because they come out nicer than from the tube,
The paints I would get are cadium yellow light,
cadium orange
cadium red light
alizarin crimson
quinacridone violet
Yellow ochre
cadium yellow medium
naples yellow
light portrait pink
titanium white
primary cyan
prussian blue
I don't like to use white to make the colors lighter I use the pink or naples yellow because white makes the colors flat.
Also go to a library and get your self some books on painting, there is nothing better than to learn painting from masters and to learn from books that show you step by step how to buid a painting. Try north light boooks too you can find them cheap on ebay or amazon.

Answer 3

You need linseed oil and either turpentine or white spirit, or both. Use the white spirit to clean your brushes, and the turpentine to thin the linseed oil, in a proportion of three to one. This is the formula given me by the eminent portrait painter Sir William Coldstream. You can add Liquin to speed the drying process, but the mix given will or should be ready to paint over the following day.

Answer 4

you're also going to need a good medium to thin your paints out with. turptine is toxic, so consider using turpenoid or mineral spirits. you may also want to consider using liquin, that will thin the paints out and make them more palable as well as assist in the drying time. oil will take forever to dry. a couple of weeks at least simply for the touch. overall, a painting needs a good year to dry completely.

also buy some soap to was your brushes with. Lava soap is good. or find some orange glow. any mechanics soap is good too. this will lengthen the life of your brushes as well as yourself.

Answer 5

if you just wwant to try and not invest a whole lot of money I would suggest a painting kit. Then branch out from there to buying supplies if you like the feel of the paint.

http://www.dickblick.com/zz742/67/

Answer 6

You don't say if you have worked with other mediums but if you if you go to a craft store near you i'm sure they can help you with some good yet inexpensive items to get started with. I am a self taught artist and taught myself how to paint with oils with the help of books i checked out from my local library, art books at the book store, and art magazines. My work can be checked out at hellosanantonio.com under artist name ''Guerro''.