If you're like me, you may have started your art journey with acrylic paints or watercolors and you were terrified at the thought of attempting to use oil paint. The process always seemed so complex, but I fell in love with the works that artists were able to create with the medium. The truth is, although it does seem daunting at first, all it takes is a little practice and the passion to create.

Tools of the Trade

Oil Paint

Of course, the main thing you will need is actual paint! While it will be tempting to buy all of the beautiful color options, I recommend starting out with the following basic colors (which are included in a lot of introductory sets) as you can mix these to get your secondary colors. 

• Titanium White
• Ivory Black
• Burnt Umber
• Cadmium Red
• Alizarin Crimson
• Ultramarine Blue
• Viridian
• Yellow Ochre
• Cadmium Yellow

Paint Brushes

A lot of artists recommend investing in a good set of brushes when you begin your journey with oil paint. If you do this, be sure to clean your brushes off well and take good care of them. You definitely can and should start out this way, but if you would like to get a feel for painting first you can also start with a generic brush set and upgrade when you're ready.

Painting Surface

A great place to start is with a small canvas or gesso board to experiment and get used to oil paints. However, there are a plethora of options when choosing what surface you want to work on, so really anything will work! Just make sure to gesso the area first if it isn't already.

Paint Thinner

Otherwise referred to as mineral spirits/turpenoid, paint thinner is necessary in the beginning layers of your painting. It helps the oil paint dry more quickly and thins out the paint (see fat over lean rule below). You may want to reach for an odorless paint thinner to avoid the strong odor. Turpentine is another option, but do keep in mind that it is a bit more harmful/toxic.

Palette

The palette you use can be something as simple as a paper plate. Though, if you think you may want to re-use your paint, a good option is palette paper. Use a sheet to lay out your paints and place another one on top once you are finished painting to preserve your unused paint for up to two days.

Kitchen Rag/Paper Towels

Anytime you're working with paint, it's a good idea to have a rag or paper towels on hand to wipe off brushes. Using an old kitchen rag can save you money and isn't as wasteful, so I generally prefer this option.

Palette Knife

Although these are not necessary, palette knives are very handy when you need to mix paint. They can also be used to apply paint and give various effects to your work. If you are interested in a quality palette knife, check out Oakblade by Ray Hyder. His palette knives are incomparable!

Things to remember

Fat Over Lean Rule

When you begin painting, always start with mostly paint thinner and a little bit of paint on your brush to lay down that first layer of paint. As you begin building up your painting, mix in more and more oil paint. After a couple of layers, you should have mostly paint on your brush to prevent your top layer of paint from cracking.

Brush Care

Cleaning your brushes properly can save you from unnecessary heartache. It is a process, but it is worth it to ensure your brushes last. All you need is your paint thinner in order to get all of the excess oil paint off of your brush, and some pink soap to clean the bristles. Once you've gotten off the excess paint and cleaned the brush, simply rinse (and repeat if necessary).

Never use acrylic paint over oil paint

Acrylic paints are water-based and oil paint is oil-based. Therefore, it is generally not a good idea to mix the two. If you want to use both, you can use oil paint on top of acrylics. If you use acrylic paint on top of oils, you risk the oil paint not drying properly, causing paint to flake off.

Avoid water when using oils

As you probably guessed, it is not in your best interest to mix your oil paint with water. When cleaning your brushes, it is okay to use water to rinse off at the end of the cleaning process, however, you want to avoid getting water into any of your paint or mediums.

While there is a learning curve in mastering oil painting, just remember to have fun, keep exploring and to not be too hard on yourself. Everyone is different and has to start somewhere. Happy creating!

♥ Kaity