New Artist - 2016__

(^1) Paint
You can buy a kit stocked with
all the colours you need. But
if you’re keen to start mixing
colours, buy 200ml tubes of
black, white, red, blue and
yellow, which can produce all
the shades on the colour wheel.
This is a good selection to start
on thick paper, wood or MDF
panels. Just remember to treat
the surface with a gesso primer
first, which stops the paint
from deteriorating the
surface beneath.
Gesso also stiffens
the surface and
gives added
texture so the
paint adheres well.
(^4) Palette
Wood, plastic,
acrylic, glass (quite
heavy), or tear-off
disposable palettes... the
choice is yours. Just make sure
you have room to mix colours.
Foldable versions are useful for
taking outside.
(^5) Easel
Start with a small table easel
which can be easily adjusted
to your height and different
angles so you can paint while
sitting down. This will help
stop you hunching over. Some
easels can be folded up to carry
your canvas, and lightweight
freestanding easels make
painting outside a breeze.
Remember that oil takes much
longer to dry than other media.
(^6) Oil painting medium
Mediums, such as linseed oil or
a mix with turpentine, help you
blend thick oil paints more easily.
They can also give a sheen or
gloss to your finished painting.
Some speed up drying times,
with: Ivory Black or Mars Black,
Titanium White, Alizarin Crimson,
Cadmium Red, Ultramarine
Blue, Cadmium Yellow Light,
Cadmium Yellow and a smaller
tube (it’s intense) of Phthalo Blue.
Add an earthy brown or two such
as Burnt Ochre, Burnt Sienna,
Raw Ochre or Raw Sienna, and a
green (Viridian) and you‘re ready.
For more details on choosing or
mixing colours, see The Basics
on pages 28 and 35.
(^2) Brushes
Start with a couple of small,
medium and large round brushes
between number 2 and number
12 – round brushes are useful for
drawing and creating any type of
line. Then expand your collection
with flat brushes (to apply colour
evenly over an area and create
sharper edges) and filberts,
almond-shaped brushes which
make softer, rounded strokes.
Natural brushes are made from
tough hog hair, are resilient and
give a strong mark. Synthetic
bristle brushes are fine too – just
choose good quality ones so the
bristles don’t fall out! You will
also come across sable brushes,
used for delicate blending.
For more details on brushes, see
The Basics on page 85.
(^3) Painting surface
Stretched, primed canvas has
been used for centuries by
artists, and strong canvas boards
are ideal if you’re painting
outside. You can also paint
Painting in Oils
Keen to try oil painting? Here’s our shopping list of the basic
materials you‘ll need to make those first brush strokes...
1
2
6
6
Essentials