As you know that we are going to talk about oil painting in this article. So we will not spend any more time speaking about something else. First of all if you are a beginner, you should know what oil painting really is. Oil painting is actually one of the most versatile and adaptable medium of painting still existing today. And this versatile art form has a lot of techniques. Here we will be talking about some tips and techniques to go through oil painting that can make you a real professional within a very short time.

Oil Painting Techniques

Learn how to draw: Actually some people think that drawing is not necessary to do oil painting. But it is a wrong perception. If you are an experienced drawing artist then you can easily take up oil painting within no time. It is the basic part of art. And learn to draw at first. Best idea is to find a book on fundamentals of drawing and then start practicing according to it.

Learn about Color: color is the most confusing part of painting. Especially the beginners will face a lot of hurdles indentifying the colors. Understanding few basic things like color temperature, hue and intensity is very essential. So for that you have to learn the color theory very well. Remember color makes your painting speak.

Materials: if you don’t have much idea about painting materials you can do nothing. Actually it is the weapon of any painter. Like if you want to be a guitarist and you don’t know anything about guitar is it possible that you can achieve anything? Yes the same thing applies here. You should have all the information about materials needed for painting. Learn about the different kinds of brushes and their work.

Master your Brushes: this is the most important thing in case of painting. You should have a great control over your brushes. Until and unless you have that you can’t make out good painting even you have beautiful concepts. Things will not work out. Practice a lot with different types of brushes to have a hold over it. Unless that you can’t even go with unique techniques.

Maintain Organized Palette: Having an organized palette is very necessary for a painter. Always keep your palettes clean. One good idea to keep your palette clean is using alcohol to wipe. But never think that using fewer amounts of colors will help you to keep your palette clean. Do everything in your palette specially the mixing of colors but at last try to keep it clean.

Techniques of Oil Painting:

Dry Brush: First and foremost we will talk about dry brush technique. It is actually all about using a small amount of paint directly from the tube. Actually this technique works well in the rough surfaces. The raised part of your surface picks up the paint as you will apply the color with a thin force. Actually it is mainly used to portray the broken color effect.

Painting on a Toned Ground: Sometimes you may see that the white of the can sometimes be too much bright or have too much contrast. This may lead to an obstacle in starting the painting. You can tone the ground of the canvas with any color you like. But the most popular colors used to tone the ground are red, yellows and browns as because these colors have a rich appearance.

Alla Prima Painting: This technique is also known as ‘Direct Painting’. It is a technique of oil painting in which you can finish a painting in just one sitting. Actually it might be a good idea to make a sketch of the painting with some thinned down oil paint. This will help to get the idea of placing the colors. Though working in this technique needs a lot of practice but don’t get discouraged. It works great.

Working with Painting Knives: If you have never used a painting knife before, you should obviously give it a try. It is a different type of painting technique from the traditional brush painting. Painting with a knife is just like as you spread butter over a piece of bread. So you should obviously try out this awesome painting technique.

Glazing: Actually glazing gives more luminescence to the colors used in painting. The colors are actually not mixed before applying. Rather they are mixed optically using single transparent layers of colors. The technique is very tricky and thus needs a lot of practice. But we can say that it is not too difficult as some people say. If you practice a bit you can master this technique.

Now you have already got some beautiful tips and techniques that are really essential in oil painting. You shouldn’t have any other reason to waste time if you looking forward to be an oil painting artist. Just pickup your brush and have a fun over the canvas.