Oil Painting 101

Instructor: Julie Beck

Araboston.com • Juliebcreative.com
Instagram: @juliebcreative
 INTRO & GENERAL SAFETY
Oil painting can be overwhelming without a solid starting point. It’s not always as easy to just buy some
supplies and experiment. My hope for this information is for you to feel confident about what you buy
and why.

Don’t eat your paint. And don’t get paint in open wounds. Wear gloves if you’re concerned.

Wash your hands well after painting.

DO NOT WASH YOUR HANDS OFF WITH SOLVENT. Soap breaks down oils, so just use soap.

Brush Washing best practices for both your brushes AND the environment: When you’re done
painting for the day, wipe off any excess paint from your brushes. Use a brush cleaning tank (or glass jar)
with linseed oil in it to swish your brush around and get even more paint out of your brush. Then take
your brush to the sink and use soap and water. Video for washing brushes.

DISPOSING OF OILY PAPER TOWELS OR RAGS: Oil paint itself is not flammable. You can not light oil
paint on fire like a solvent. However, oxidation is a chemical process which means it GIVES OFF HEAT as
it cures. The fire hazard here is if you leave bunched up paper towels covered in oil in an open garbage
can. This is a recipe for spontaneous combustion. Get an Oily Waste bin which closes automatically and
empty it regularly.

Another option is to let them lay out in the open and let them dry before throwing them away. This lets all
the heat dissipate before they go in a garbage can. Dispose of them in an outside garbage can for extra
precaution.

Anything that is a solvent IS flammable. Store safely.

DISPOSING OF DIRTY OIL OR SOLVENT: When/if your cleaning tank gets too full or gross, you can
collect the oil/solvent/paint in a large glass jar (like a spaghetti sauce jar). When that is full, bring it to
your toxic waste disposal day in your town. They are used to taking house paint and oil paint and paint
thinner.

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 THE PAINT
THE ANATOMY OF YOUR PAINT AND THE PAINT LABEL

Oil paint is just a powdery pigment held together by some see-through oil.

1. Manufacturer: Michael Harding

2. The name of the color: Scarlet Lake

3. The pigment name and number: PR170 Napthol Azo

4. The oil used: Linseed Oil

5. The ASTM rating: Lightfastness: Excellent

6. Transparency of the paint: Semi-opaque

A great deep dive resource on how to read a paint label.

Things to note

Not all “yellow ochres” look the same brand to brand.

Anytime the word “hue” is used in the name it means it’s not the ACTUAL color, but it’s like a knock-off
of that color and is made with cheaper pigments.

Student grade paint has fillers in it (less actual pigment) so you’re getting a weaker version of the paint.
It’s like raisins in a trail mix.

If your paint label lists 2 pigments, this tube of paint is a CONVENIENCE COLOR. It may be a mixture of
2 things you already own. Kings Blue is just Ultramarine white mixed with Titanium white.

Light VS Medium VS Deep: You’ll find that tubes of paint can be confusing. Cadmium Red Light …
Cadmium Red Medium…. Cadmium Red Deep. What’s the difference? When the paint company is making
Cadmium red, they can heat it at different levels which can make the pigment shift. Often this will slightly
shift the color and where it lives in color space. Cad red LIGHT is a slightly more orange, slightly lighter
red. The cad red DEEP is a slightly more purple, slightly darker red.

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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STARTING OUT

Choose a single set of paints that covers a good amount of color ranges. Use this palette repeatedly until
you feel comfortable with it. Then try out substitutions or additions.

ZORN PALETTE/
ARA BOSTON GRISAILLE ARA BOSTON LIMITED ARA BOSTON FULL PALETTE JULIE'S STANDARD PALETTE
PALETTE

White
White
Cadmium Yellow
Cadmium Yellow
Yellow Ochre
Yellow Ochre
White Raw Umber
White Raw Umber
Yellow Ochre Cad Red Light
Raw Umber Cad Red Light
Cad Red Light Alizarin Crimson Permanent
Ivory Black Alizarin Crimson Permanent
Ivory Black Burnt Umber
Burnt Umber
Cobalt Bright Turquoise
Ultramarine Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Ivory Black
Ivory Black

WHITES

I almost exclusively use lead white. Is Lead toxic? Yes if you eat it or rub it in open wounds. Can you use it
for painting without getting lead poisoning? Yes.

LEAD WHITE TITANIUM WHITE ZINC WHITE

Warm Cool Don’t

Fast Drying Slow drying Don’t

Strong Paint film Strong Paint film Don’t

Weak tinting BULLY Don’t

Overwhelms color and

Plays well with colors Don’t
drops chroma (pasty)

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 BRUSHES
SHAPES

HAIRS

Soft brushes will put down a more even application. The lower the resistance, the less aggressive they are
pushing the paint around the canvas.

The synthetic hairs have a wide range of assertiveness or resistance. I usually rub them on my face to
determine how soft they are.

Natural Bristles will put down a scratchy mark. They are high resistance brushes so they physically move
the paint around more aggressively.

Mops, fans, and Makeup brushes are SUPER low resistance and are great for softening.

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 SURFACES
You can use any type of priming for oil paint. Oil primed, acrylic primed, universal primed. All good.

Finding the right surface for how you want to paint is a really personal experience. You have to try a
bunch out. If you’re looking to try some differences, find a small image that you want to paint. Get the
same size surface and try doing the same painting 3 or 4 times on 3 or 4 surfaces. You’ll be able to
compare them better this way.

More textured surface = You’ll need more paint to cover it

A non-absorbent surface like lead primed or gesso board, the paint doesn’t initially want to grab onto the
surface so it’s harder to make a solid statement.

For detail or realism, most people prefer a “portrait grade” canvas. This is a smoother texture.

PANELS STRETCHED CANVAS

● Better longevity
● Not flexible
● Easy to frame ● Lightweight
Pros ● Depending on the glue, can be ● Can be taken off stretchers, rolled
reversible and shipped
● Possible to cut down to custom
sizes

● Limitations on sizes (custom sizes

limited to stretcher bar sizes)
● Large sizes, weight is an issue ● Manual labor to stretch the canvas
Cons ● Large sizes, physical limitations ● Humidity and temp can cause
● No “bounce” to the surface canvas to go slack
● Canvas is more prone to “poke
through” damage

If you want to see some comparisons of different panels, you can check out my Panel Test blog post

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 THINGS WE ADD TO OUR PAINTS
Anytime we add ANYTHING to our paints, they become more transparent. Some make them dry faster,
some make then dry slower, some just change the way the paint acts or feels.

SOLVENT

Solvents dry by evaporation. When you add solvent to your paint it gets VERY watery and very
transparent. It allows the same amount of paint to spread over a much larger space. It is thinning out the
paint and once it dries, the very very thin paint dries faster because it has more surface area.

A little bit goes a long way. It makes that paint layer LEANER because there ends up being less oil in the
same amount of space. When you add solvent, the paint often dries within the next day or two.

Solvents are flammable and fuel fire. You should not breathe in solvents excessively, so keep them
covered when not in use. Too much solvent can turn your paints to just the pigment left!

Examples: Turpentine, Odorless Mineral Spirits, Turpenoid, Gamsol

OILS

Oils are a FAT. Oil is what your paint is made with. Oil dries by OXIDATION which is a slower process than
evaporation. We like that oil paint stays mostly wet on our painting surface while we work on them.

You do not want to get hardware store grade oils. Get artist grade oils. These 3 oils are the only oils you
should add to your paints.

LINSEED OIL WALNUT OIL POPPY/SAFFLOWER OIL

Strong Paint Film Good Paint Film Weak paint film (brittle)

Fast Drying Medium drying Slooooow Drying

Yellow Kind of Yellow Clear

DO NOT USE NON-DRYING OILS IN YOUR PAINT OR CLEANING TANKS: clove oil, vegetable oil, etc.

Warmer, drier climates - oil paints cures faster

Colder, more humid climates - oil paint cures slower

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MEDIUMS

If you are just learning to paint, I do not recommend getting complicated with mediums. A medium is
anything you add to the paint. Oil and Solvent are both considered medium but usually when people say
“medium” they are referring to adding additional stuff to the paint to modify the consistency of the paint
or drying time. Keep it simple to start and only consider oil or some solvent to modify depending on
needs.

WHAT THE HECK IS FAT-OVER-LEAN???

You may have heard of the concept of fat-over-lean. Because oil paints take longer to dry than acrylics or
watercolor, we do have some unique considerations when painting indirectly. Remember, this means we
are painting a layer, letting it dry. Then we paint a new layer on top. Repeat.

Fat-over-lean really just means the stuff on the bottom (the stuff you put on your canvas FIRST) should be
equal or faster drying than the layer you put on top of it). If you have a flexible wet layer underneath a
dry rigid layer, this is how cracks can form. Something moving under something not moving is what
causes cracking. Here are some examples:

ORDER GOOD! GOOD! GOOD! GOOD!

THIRD LAYER Paint Paint + a lot of oil Paint Paint + oil

SECOND LAYER Paint + Solvent Paint + a little oil Paint Paint

FIRST LAYER Paint + Solvent Paint Paint Paint + solvent

SURFACE SURFACE SURFACE SURFACE

ORDER GOOD! GOOD! BAD! BAD!

THIRD LAYER Paint +oil Paint + a lot of oil Paint Paint + solvent

SECOND LAYER Paint Paint + a little oil Paint + solvent Paint

FIRST LAYER Paint Paint + solvent Paint Paint + oil

SURFACE SURFACE SURFACE SURFACE

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 OILING IN/SINKING IN & VARNISH
After a session of painting, you may come back and think that your painting looks different. The blacks
look matte and gray … or values look different. This is because of something called “sinking in” where the
oil kind of sinks back and leaves the surface looking matte instead of glossy. This is similar to when you
have dry skin on a tattoo, the colors look dull. Add some lotion and the colors look much more fresh! Your
paint itself hasn’t changed, it just looks different.

There are 2 things to do here:

IF YOU WANT TO KEEP PAINTING AND NEED TO SEE WHAT IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE - OIL IN!

MAKE SURE THE PREVIOUS PAINT IS DRY. Only oil-in the area you need to see. Use the smallest amount
of oil possible to refresh the color. Wipe Off any excess oil before starting. Here is a video example.

IF YOU WERE DONE WITH THE PAINTING AND WANT IT TO LOOK NICE AGAIN - USE VARNISH!

Varnish is a clear protective layer on top of the whole painting.

When to varnish: ideally 6 months after the painting is done. However, this is an unrealistic expectation
for most painters. If you paint in thinner layers, the paint will dry faster. Thicker layers take longer to
dry. There is something called the fingernail test, where if you put your finger nail into a area of paint, if
no impression is made then it's dry. The danger of varnishing too early is that you will reactivate some of
the paint, and it will smear around with the varnish. There's no such thing as waiting too long to varnish.

What to Use:

- Gamblin’s GamVar or Natural Pigment’s Conservar Regalrez: Same stuff, same resin. This is easy to
apply and remove. It’s a synthetic varnish so theoretically you just need to wait until it’s dry to the
touch. Gloss or Satin or Matte Option.
- Dammar or natural varnish: You must wait a long time before varnishing. It’s more of a robust
varnish layer. Harder to remove.

How to Varnish:

1. Clean the surface of the painting. Make sure it’s free of lint or hair or grime. I like to take a little
OMS on a lint free rag and rub the entire surface to get any dust off the surface.
2. Don’t pour the varnish on the painting! Use a medium resistance brush and put a thin layer of the
varnish on the entire surface.
3. Make sure you take out any dust or hair before it sets.
4. Give it 24 hours to dry, but it will be tacky after about 15 minutes if you put it on thin enough

Video: Varnishing an oil painting with Conservar

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 EXERCISES
COLOR TESTS
Try out 3 ways of using the paint on a white canvas. Make notes about how
they act!:

1. Totally opaque, out of the tube

2. Scrubbed thin or transparent on the white canvas. Some paints will
thin out on their own, others might need a TINY bit of oil to thin out.
Is it naturally transparent? Is it very opaque?
3. Mix it with white. See what happens. Some colors are so dark it’s hard
to see what they really look like. Are they strong tinters? Are they
weak tinters?

LAYERING TESTS

Here is an exercise you can do that will show you the HUGE variety of color shifts when you layer things
in different ways. This exercise is with JUST burnt umber and white.