# Need help! What are the most important things to know as a beginner at oil painting?



## devon (Mar 29, 2016)

What are the most important things to know as a beginner at oil painting?


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## adamtyler (Mar 28, 2016)

devon said:


> What are the most important things to know as a beginner at oil painting?



Hi, Devon! 
1) Oil painting is "from dark to light." Meaning that it's easier to start with the darker colors as your base then layer your highlighting colors on top of it.

2) Oil painting is "meant to be seen from a distance." Pause painting every now and then and take several steps back. Are the proportions right? Are the colors looking good? The painting still look good from far away?

3) Experiment! Break the rules! We are living in a modern world where the sky is no longer the limit. So enjoy your painting. Usually experimental artists use 'easier' and cheaper mediums like acrylics, but why not oil? Go for it!


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## devon (Mar 29, 2016)

adamtyler said:


> Hi, Devon!
> 1) Oil painting is "from dark to light." Meaning that it's easier to start with the darker colors as your base then layer your highlighting colors on top of it.
> 
> 2) Oil painting is "meant to be seen from a distance." Pause painting every now and then and take several steps back. Are the proportions right? Are the colors looking good? The painting still look good from far away?
> ...


thanks adam!it was a great help!


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

Welcome to the forum.

One thing to remember when painting with oils is that you can use an acrylic underpainting if you want. Oil over acrylic is OK, but never paint acrylic on top of oil paints you will have a pilling problem if you do.


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## adamtyler (Mar 28, 2016)

TerryCurley said:


> Welcome to the forum.
> 
> One thing to remember when painting with oils is that you can use an acrylic underpainting if you want. Oil over acrylic is OK, but never paint acrylic on top of oil paints you will have a pilling problem if you do.


 Really True!!! I find people trying to work on acrylic over oil, which is basically impossible. The oily base repels the water in the acrylic so its almost impossible to paint and you end up with the resulting adhesion problems. The basic rule when painting in oils is Fat over Lean. In other words high oil content over low oil content. And this works between layers of oil as with oil over acrylics as well. :smile:


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## kpnuts (Apr 3, 2016)

Interesting and very helpful, I used oil paints in my teens (several millenia ago) and was thinking maybe I would give them a go.


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## M Winther (May 14, 2016)

I think the most important tip to the beginner is this: use alkyd medium (e.g. Liquin, Galkyd, etc.) instead of linseed medium. It makes life easier for the budding artist, for it avoids many mistakes (such as painting lean over fat), and the paintings become more archival and will yellow less. (However, perhaps Hard Wax Oil could be used as medium, instead, as I suggested in my recent thread.)

Mats


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## Mel_Robertson (Feb 23, 2016)

I watch this guy a lot his names kevin hill, his video's make me want to learn oils but he only paints landscapes but I consider him a master.
he gives great tips all the time.


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

M Winther said:


> I think the most important tip to the beginner is this: use alkyd medium (e.g. Liquin, Galkyd, etc.) instead of linseed medium. It makes life easier for the budding artist, for it avoids many mistakes (such as painting lean over fat), and the paintings become more archival and will yellow less. (However, perhaps Hard Wax Oil could be used as medium, instead, as I suggested in my recent thread.)
> 
> Mats


Plus it dries quicker! I use Walnut Alkyd Medium. Love that stuff.


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## M Winther (May 14, 2016)

meli said:


> I watch this guy a lot his names kevin hill, his video's make me want to learn oils but he only paints landscapes but I consider him a master.
> he gives great tips all the time.


But it is all about acquiring "likeness" by resort to different techniques. This is impressionism and it is outdated. Personally, I'm not interested in how well an artist can paint a thing in nature. I'm interested in what he has to say. So _expressionism_ is better. Why not paint large homogeneous areas of green, as in below paintings by August Macke, rather than making the impression of grass blades, by way of some neat brush technique? This is why expressionism is closer to abstract art and this explains why the first abstract painters, Kandinsky and Malevich, found support among them. /Mats


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