It is perfectly stable to put a base of acrylic and then place oil paint over it. Linseed oil added to oil paint will extend color, increase flow and increase workability. Oil paint with added medium is called long, oil paint used directly from the tube is called short or stiff.

You place you oil paints on a wooden board called a palette the very best palettes are made of pear wood.

It is very important to understand your paints and know which colors are:

Transparent (see through) Semi Opaque (slightly see through) and opaque (not see through) getting started put as much oil paint on your brush for two strokes three maximum always end your brush stroke on the canvas.

Make sure that you use linseed oil only when you are painting with the wet on wet method or process.

Do not confuse yourself with all of the many other mediums. Wait to discover those when you are more experienced. If you can actually afford the professional paints, definitely go ahead and buy them. You will notice immediately that they are completely different from the student paints.

Always buy the best brushes that you can afford. The Da Vinci brand brushes are the best professional brushes. Buy long handle bushes. The technique is to hold near the end of the handle. When developing talent one point to consider is the ability to take risks. Just play around with your paint however first understand it, only paint at an easel and make sure to stand back from your painting all the time. Never put your expensive brushes in turps when you are working in a session. Go ahead and wipe them clean with paper towels or cloth wash out your brushes in turps or a similar solvent at the end of a session and then be sure to clean immediately with soapy water.

Preparing the canvas the foundation of you piece

It is quite essential that you put on the first underpainting or wash on your canvas. This takes away the glare of the white (which will reflect back at you, quite annoying) and the more layers of paint you get onto your canvas the better and the more professional looking your painting, the more luminous the paint ant the more the painting will sing out with color and texture.

Traditionally an earth color of a burnt umber or raw umber, raw sienna or an ochre was painted on as a good first underpainting. Sometimes it can be pretty exciting to paint on a bright red or dark blue as your first underpainting especially when you are in the habit of putting on three or four layers and seeing the underpainting come through your painting. Use a big wash brush to apply the first underpainting it you use acrylic as your underpaint it will dry quickly and get you started quicker.

How to apply oil paint in two methods

1. Wet on wet or All Prima (in one step)

2. Stage Painting or Glazing Fat over lean

Wet on wet is applied by using the paint stiff, which is directly from the tube Or thinned to the consistency of salad dressing with linseed oil the essential part of painting wet on wet is making your brushes and painting knives do the work for you.

You definitely want to have full control of your brushes and experiment with different brushes to see the marks and texture streaks that they make.

Never work with turps unless you are working with the glazing method.

Never ever stand your brushes in any turps working in your painting session.

Turps will burn the bristles and inevitably there will be some left in the brush when you start to use color.

This will make it difficult to keep control of the flow or thickness of paint. The glazing technique is a process of building up your painting in a series of layers of the thinned paint.

This specific method for the glazing technique with oil paint it is called fat over lean

A Lean 1st layer thinned with solvent

A Lean 2nd layer thinned with less solvent

A Lean 3rd layer thinned with less solvent

A Fat 4th layer straight from tube

A Fat 5th layer thinned with little linseed oil

A Fat 6th layer thinned with more linseed oil

It is very essential that you this process exactly follow or the layers of paint will dry at different levels and possibly crack the paint. Granted, it is a slow method and you absolutely need some patience however the results are spectacular tonal values which are essential in painting. This glazing method gives you full control of creating tones in acrylic paint. Here there is no mystery about paint.

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.

The shading and brush work should be appropriately done. Because an artist may want to have a loose brush stroke as part of their style or effect and it’s acceptable for that painting. But in some paintings you can tell that the artist may have been a little lazy and did not render out an element as well as they could have. You can spot this by looking at other elements in the painting. See if they are of similar quality, or some spots of the painting are more refined than others.

The painting needs to have a certain level of detail, otherwise it did not take that long to make. You can see this when a painting gets your attention but the closer you get to the image or zoom in on an image the illusion falls apart. It’s because it lacks detail.

One of the most important effects a painting must have is the ability to pull you out of your element, and stir up emotions. Or if the painting causes you to reflect or ponder. If you can find yourself starting to mentally wander in the painting and it gets your imagination going, then it’s a good painting. But if you can feel somehow refreshed a little for having gotten lost in the painting and temporarily forgot about the days troubles, then it’s a great painting.

A painting class is usually attended by more than one student so it wouldn’t be boring. However, before you enroll in a class, be sure to do some research first. Look for a class wherein the trainer has sufficient skills and experience in painting.

There are many websites that offer lessons about painting. With just a click of the mouse, you’ll find hundreds of websites to choose from. However, you have to do some research before enrolling in an online class. Keep in mind that not all websites provide excellent lessons. Some will actually just try to give you lessons but with unreliable information and content.

Another great way to take lessons about painting is the use of DVDs. But why use DVD painting lessons? Well, instructional DVDs are cheap, useful, and convenient to use. Compared to taking a class, this method is far more convenient because all you need is to have a DVD player at home and learn at your own pace.

You can take lessons at any time you want, as long as you play the DVD. But then again, look for a DVD that has been made by reliable instructor to get your money’s worth. If you want to learn how to paint, then you have to learn from the best painter.

Paintings have underlying principles that organize the elements of the picture in order to bring the eye of the viewer into and around the image in an interesting way and to organize the elements into a cohesive whole.

There are nearly infinite ways to structure a picture. Some are obvious, like a mother arching over and protecting a resting or sleeping horizontal child. Another obvious composition is the opposing angles of two fighters in a boxing match.

Some of the principles of composition:

o Beauty is organized variety.
o Variety equals interest.
o A picture needs a dominant element, a sub-dominant element and subordinate elements organized into interesting relationships. This creates order for the viewer so that you, the painter, can entertain the eye of the viewer with a varied and therefore interesting picture order.
o The dominant element can be made dominant by a somewhat central position, by size dominance or interest dominance, and through the complexity of the dominant element or its psychological dominance. For instance, the eye of a viewer is drawn to a human face.
o Those elements need to be varied in size and shape for maximum interest.
o The viewer needs to have a path to those elements that is interesting.
o Thumbnails … small sketches … can organize your picture before you get into the details.
o The negative areas (spaces between objects) are as important as the objects.
o The center of the picture is the most powerful … not the exact center … but the area around the center is where your dominant element gains strength.
o Tension between two elements adds interest (like the opposition thrust of the fighters mentioned above).
o Division horizontally suggests peacefulness.
o Those divisions should not be equal as that would create a boring picture.
o In a painting of a sky, mountain range and valley let’s say you want the sky to dominate. You would make the sky ½ the height of the canvas (3/6ths). But a linear (3-2-1) stacking would be boring. 3-1-2 is more interesting. So sky 3, mountain range 1 and foreground valley 2.

Art courses, classes, videos and TV shows that teach technique but don’t address composition miss the key to making good pictures.

To be sure, an understanding of technique, color theory, form, drawing, perspective and proportion need to be studied and developed but they should serve on an underlying structure.

Finding an oil painting for a loved one is the perfect gift. There are so many options available in the online shop. High quality oil painting reproductions are faithfully reproduced and will make a gift that has the wow factor and that will be cherished and admired for years to come.

Choosing a reproduction painting is so much more satisfying than a flat and lifeless print; prints often lack the true colors and the vitality of a hand painted reproduction. If you are struggling to find the right painting for your recipient why not replace an existing print with an oil painting reproduction and be recognized for your innovation and thoughtfulness.

If you still cannot decide which painting to choose why not considers a portrait? There is no need for endless sittings, simply choose a photograph you would like to see in hand painted oil painting and enjoy an amazingly detailed lifelike results.

Choosing a portrait gives you endless choices; choose one of your favorite wedding pictures, group of friends’ photo, holiday memories, graduation, children’s portraits or a cherished family photo.

If you are feeling like adding a dash of variation you can add a pop art effect to your portrait or something more traditional.

For any oil painting the best brushes to use are hog hair bristle brushes and the softer haired sable brush. Hog hair bristle brushes have been favoured for many years by professional artists because of their quality and durability, the latter being very important for continued use with solvents and many oil mediums. The Da Vinci range of hog hair brushes are handmade in the traditional manner of collecting each single hair and gathering them into the required shapes, they are also untrimmed leaving the original tips which naturally split into 2 -3 points, enabling each hair to hold more paint. Economic brushes and made mechanically and are trimmed, removing these ‘tips’.

Whilst hog hair bristle brushes are known to be stiffer and can leave brush stroke marks (which some artists prefer), the higher quality brushes have a certain softness. The Raphael ‘Paris Classics’ range is an example of this kind of brush. Held in very high regard, it is made from the finest Chinese bristles, which are known throughout the world as the highest quality available.

The brushes supple hairs are ideal for portrait painting, whether it be for grounding work, or for thin glazes and blending. Other highly recommended hog hair brushes are the Da Vinci Series, which like the Raphael range are softer, but still durable and springy.

For blending in oil portrait painting there is no better brush to use than sable. Although susceptible to wearing out, especially on thicker grained canvas, the soft brush is perfect for finer detailed work and for use in subtle blending techniques such as sfumato. These brushes don’t come cheap however, but their high price is justified by their extremely high quality.

Buying the good brush for your oil painting is important. Because low quality brushes are made cheap, are horrible to use and are not very durable.

Oil painting can be much more forgiving than watercolors for watercolors are very not able to be erased or alter much after you start. When working a watercolor you need to be quick and know exactly what effect you want. The moment that you put the brush to the paper the pigment sets in. You can choose to put water on the paper before you set the brush on the paper or you can just lay the strokes right on. Also, watercolors are translucent which means that you can see through it so know what you are looking at for mistakes will jump out at you.

Another feature of watercolors is that you can delineate with far better exactitude than you can do with oils. You can put a pen and ink line right to the paper and carry that line anywhere on the paper. What lines of ink that you put on a watercolor are clear and permanent. A great weakness in watercolors is that you cannot rework it. For example, if you do not like the tone of a color you applied, you can take your brush dip it into water and apply that to the tone. The tone will lift out to a point but leave the residue. Now you apply a new tone and notice that it is not as clear and fresh. Further, if you try and rub the pigment into the paper it will get muddy looking and loose all it beauty. The key to success with watercolors is to be quick and light. Do not attempt to edit, try and do everything through on the first time.

Oil painting on the other hand can be very forgiving for you can get a rag and thinner and just rub off the oils that you did not like and rework it. Also, oils are much stronger in tone and stand-out even at great distance. Oils have a rich luster that watercolor cannot approach. However, the greatest weakness with oils is that you cannot delineate very will. Unlike watercolor where you can introduce a pen and do lots of cross hatching in desired sections of the work, oils do not permit the use of a pen or any other drawing tools, the paint brush is the ruler of the oil canvas.

One Popular kinds of many paintings is the oil painting. Below are tips to create a beautiful oil painting on canvas for beginners.

The first thing to do is to start your oil painting with an acrylic underpaint because acrylic dries quickly. When you use oil as under paint it will take some time for it to dry. Acrylic underpainting can quicken your work with your canvas.

Make sure that you have a good lighting- The importance of good lighting is it brings out the color more and also lessens the strain on your eyes. It is advisable that you paint on a place with plenty natural sunlight or if not buy an indoor light that has a good lighting.

Good ventilation is also important – This is very neccessary especially if you use oil paint thinners and cleaners because some of these chemicals is toxic and not good for your health so be cautious when working with this product. Consider using a water soluble oil paint instead because this can be diluted with water and eliminating the need for other solvents.

Make sure that you follow the rule of “fat over lean”. This means that each layer of your oil painting should have higher oil content than the ones below. This reduces the chance of your paint to crack.

Objects that are advance are warmer and more intense compared to not advance objects. So to create an illusion of distance in your paintings, paint receding objects with cooler less intense color.

Sometimes there is an instance in which you cannot draw anything. You had the idea but you cannot picture it out. Most often these instances are called uninspired moments. So what you will do is put down your brush and gets some fresh air, walk for a while or listen to music. Do not get discourage, everyone experiences that not just you. Walking and getting some fresh air makes you relax while music can affect your mood, it can brighten up a heavy feeling.

Avoid holding your brush as if you are holding a pencil that is too close to the bristles. Oils brushes are made long for a reason so better be familiar with it. This is made longer so that you can paint further away from the canvas. Hold the brush either in the middle or the end of the brush, start practicing right now.

Have a habit of clean working environment. Keep your painting place clean and organized. An organize environment makes a better working place, so nice canvas is possible to be made.

A painter’s partner of every canvas is its brush so invest into a good set of paint brush. Hog hair brushes are recommended than cheaper brushes that easily shed their bristles. Nylon brushes are suited for acrylic paint.

Oil painting reproductions are a good approach to decorate your home or office while also affording your clients something to consider. You get to treasure the beauty of the master without the costs. Even if you don’t have a preferred artist, you will find a reproduction that will accommodate your house or office decor. With a little hunt and tenaciousness, you will discover painting reproductions to suit your demands.

If you’re going to invest the money into artwork, reproductions are an effective investment. With this caliber of work, you can use these pieces in any room of your house or office for a lot of years to come. Fine oil painting reproductions are as timeless as the masters are. You acquire the beauty for your office for years to come. Why not utilize reproductions to decorate your home or office? It is money well spent. Capitalize on these fine art reproductions while you have the opportunity.

Oil painting reproductions are a gracious approach to acquire the look of a classic masterpiece without anteing up the cost. A lot of fine artists make a living replicating the work made by individuals in the past. You will discover many fine art reproductions available on the market nowadays. You are able to select what piece you want to have that adorn your house or office. With some clicks of a mouse, you are able to find fine art reproductions available to ship to your house within days. If you can’t find something you’re seeking, you can often ask for painting reproductions made when you desire it.

With popular art replicas, you get the picture by Pablo Picasso without the cost of the original. That signifies more individuals can afford to get these fine art reproductions then those that can afford the masters. You get the grace and beauty of the picture along with gratification of a great cost. No one says that art reproductions will fool anyone. That’s not the thought. The thought is to decorate your house or office with a masterpiece.

Corporations are also discovering the effect of fine art on their employees’ motivation levels and their efficiency at work. Today, with the rise of oil painting reproductions, these masterpieces can be available for everyone.

If you would want to furnished your house with some masterpieces of good artists like Van Gogh, Monet, or Salvador Dali then you can surely do this by buying oil painting reproductions. Of course, these paintings are not the original ones but this won’t be too obvious since it is painted on canvas. Not everyone can afford to buy the original paintings, so what art enthusiasts do is look for reproductions. This is an affordable way to enjoy these masterpieces too. Though these reproductions could not replace the original ones, they are still sought by many people. Unlike prints, oil on canvas reproductions does not have a big difference from the original ones. You can even find museum quality reproductions if you find the right dealer.

It is an advantage to look for a great dealer who takes equal interest in collecting paintings and also in choosing oil painting reproductions. He would help you in finding the preferred painting that you would want according to your requirement. A good thing about this is that you can customize your paintings and also you can change the size if needed. It is recommended that you obtain information about the artist who will reproduce the original one and also know about his commissions. The best dealer will find artists who are professionals and experts in their field so that they can reproduce the best paintings that you need. Whether you are decorating your house, your office or your shop, a good oil painting reproduction dealer will aid you in getting the right painting that would suit your design and the color of the area. There are quite a number of dealers out there, make sure that you find the right one that offers a good deal with the best quality paintings.