Do you have a dream that you can paint beautiful and expressive oil paintings by yourself? According to my experiences of painting for more than 35 years, I would like to give you 10 helpful oil painting tips for beginners. Hope the following tips can be helpful on your way of making your dream come ture.

(Pictured Above: Evening Majesty Painted by Thomas Kinkade)

10 Most Helpful Oil Painting Tips for Beginners:

Painting Beginners Tips No.1 :
Try to find and create a working space that can be left setup, and undisturbed.  This saves a great amount of time for you, so when the mood and time allows you to paint, you can get right to it without any disturbances!

Painting Beginners Tips No.2:
Please lay your oil paint onto your palette in the same order during each painting session.  You will instinctively know where to grab that next color quickly.

(Pictured Above: A New Day at the Cinderella Castle Painted by Thomas Kinkade)

Painting Beginners Tips No.3:
Don’t use straight tube black, in the under paintings or imprimatura.  Always use a blend that includes burnt umber (it accelerates/speeds drying).  Ivory Black takes a very long time to become dry enough.

Painting Beginners Tips No.4:
Add more oil to your mediums for each subsequent layer as you paint as this will help keep the top paint film intact to prevent cracking.  Lower layers will dry faster pulling the oils from the still wet upper layers.  These oily wet upper layers will also remain flexible for a longer period of time, which helps prevent cracking.

(Pictured Above: Mountain Chapel Painted by Thomas Kinkade)

Painting Beginners Tips No.5:
There are many different paint oils that can be used as a medium, but for the beginner, stick to linseed oil as it dries the most thoroughly within the under paintings and historically is the most sound.

Painting Beginners Tips No.6:
As your skill and understanding of different medium progresses, you can try Poppy oils in the upper layers, especially with light colors as this oil tends to dry more clearly and is very slow to dry.

Painting Beginners Tips No.7:
Allow your oil paintings to dry within your studio rather than a closet. Dark, enclosed area conditions cause the oils to dry funny, yellowing and bleeding to the surface.  Proper air circulation and some light from within the studio will prevent this.  If you have carpets or pets, lean them facing the wall to help keep the dust and hair from collecting on the surface of paintings, otherwise, face them towards you so you can enjoy the pleasure of viewing them before they go off to the gallery.

Painting Beginners Tips No.8:
Start with small canvas's and simple subjects.  Some of the worlds greatest paintings are of these items.  An apple, eggs, a tea cup and spoon.  Keeping it simple allows you time to understand how to manipulate the paint correctly.

Painting Beginners Tips No.9:
Read everything you can get your hands on about oil painting.  There is a lot of literature out there, both online and in libraries.  Why? it's been more than 400 years in the history of oil painting, so it has developed a lot of literature and information. You can learn a lot from reading, which will help you to better understand oil paintings and create more beautiful and meaningful paintings.

Painting Beginners Tips No.10:
Get involved with an art club.  It's not for little ol'ladies with blue hair any longer! Bouncing around ideas and perfecting your skill will be a group goal at these clubs!

Thank you for reading. Hope the above tips can be helpful for you. Good luck!

Definition of Oil Painting:

Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil. Commonly used drying oils include linseed oil, poppy seed oil, walnut oil, and safflower oil. The oil may be boiled with a resin, such as pine resin or frankincense to create a varnish; often prized for its body and gloss. Different oils confer various properties to the oil paint, such as less yellowing or different drying times. Certain differences are also visible in the sheen of the paints depending on the oil. An artist might use several different oils in the same painting depending on specific pigments and effects desired. The paints themselves also develop a particular consistency depending on the medium.

Although oil paint was first used for the Buddhist Paintings by Indian and Chinese painters in western Afghanistan sometime between the fifth and tenth centuries, it did not gain popularity until the 15th century. Its practice may have migrated westward during the Middle Ages. Oil paint eventually became the principal medium used for creating artworks as its advantages became widely known. The transition began with Early Netherlandish painting in Northern Europe and by the height of the Renaissance oil painting techniques had almost completely replaced tempera paints in the majority of Europe.

Edited by Kevin from Xiamen Romandy Art Limited.
Founded in 2001, Xiamen Romandy Art Co., Ltd. is one of the leading oil painting galleries engaged in the production of handmade oil paintings in China. Our high quality products and excellence in service have helped us to enjoy a high reputation among our clients. Look forward to hearing your kind inquiries.

Tags: 10 Most Helpful Oil Painting Tips for Beginners, Oil Painting Techniques.

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