Create your own masterpiece with oil colors.
The oil painting techniques by 15th century painters from the Netherlands, such as Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden, were so brilliant with color and realism that the medium soon spread to the rest of Europe. Thin layers of glazes and oils made light pigments translucent and dark colors rich. Oil painting is a versatile medium because of its slow drying times. Oil colors are made by mixing dry pigments, such as burnt sienna, and adding linseed oil. To paint your own masterpiece, start with a set of oil colors and canvas.
Instructions
1. Draw with vine charcoal on a prepared canvas, which is stretched canvas with a layer of gesso. You may purchase a prepared canvas in various sizes or make your own, using canvas, stretcher bars, and gesso. Create a drawing for the blueprint of your painting. You may use a photograph or a still life as a reference.
2. Pour paint thinner into a glass jar, about halfway. You will use this to thin your tubed oil paints. Pour glaze medium into another glass jar halfway for creating glazes with your oil colors.
3. Squeeze a little oil paint from your tube onto your palette. Dip a medium-sized stiff brush into a glass jar of paint thinner. Mix it with the paint on the palette and brush a thin layer of paint over your canvas. Choose colors for each area of your painting and paint a thin layer. Allow your first layer to dry for 24 hours before painting the next layers.
4. Mix colors from your tubes of oil paint together to achieve new colors. A color wheel may guide you in mixing colors. For example, red and yellow make orange, and blue and red make purple. To darken a paint color, add blue or black to the paint. To lighten a paint color, add white or yellow to the paint. Add more layers to your painting to create more details.
5. Dip a clean soft brush into your glaze medium, that your poured into a glass jar, and mix it with your desired color to add a layer of glaze to an area of your painting. Typically you use a glaze for a second or third layer. You may use lighter colors over dark colors with your glaze to create a luminous color.
6. Add tones to your oil painting, which are shadows and highlights. Use blue, brown or black for shadows, and use white or yellow for highlights. Be sure to allow at least two days of drying time between your layers.
