Drawing oil paintings. How to paint with oil paints: a guide for beginners

The art of painting is a vast layer of world culture, dating back to the prehistoric period. In the Paleolithic era on the walls of the caves in which they lived primitive people, drawings depicting animals and birds began to appear. It is characteristic that primitive contours drawn with ash, clay or chalk always depicted animals that could be the object of hunting. If people were depicted, then they were necessarily hunters.

Buffaloes and mammoths

More conscious painting, and already in a sense colorful, appeared later, in the 12-10 centuries BC. For example, a buffalo was depicted with ocher, accidentally found by a cave artist, and its horns and hooves - with coal, deposits of which were everywhere in those days.

Oil paints for painting in an extremely primitive form began to appear in the 10th-7th centuries BC. Spectral and chemical analysis determined the presence of natural pigment in the patterns on basalt stones. Several images were painted with paints that contained egg yolk and white.

How and with what to draw?

Still genuine artwork oil paints appeared only in the 15th century AD. The art of painting has acquired a material basis. Oil paints began to be widely used by artists thanks to the efforts of the Dutchman Jan van Eyck, who actively promoted them and even created an entire theory on the topic “How to paint with oil paints.”

Incident at the Museum

The Dutch or Flemish school of painting is one of the most subtle artistic techniques. Each brush stroke of the masters of the 15th and 16th centuries is distinguished by unprecedented naturalism. When Flemish paintings, still lifes and landscapes were exhibited at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow in 1984, an expert group of artists gathered to evaluate the paintings. One of the paintings suddenly attracted everyone's attention. The painting showed a vase that sat on the kitchen table with a bouquet of freshly cut flowers. A drop of dew fell from one of the flowers onto the tabletop. It was depicted so realistically that the group leader asked all the artists present: “What is your opinion, how do you see the level of technology?” The painters replied: “The drop is so real that you want to brush it away with your hand...”

The drop of dew depicted by the Flemish artist has not dried in six hundred years. Perhaps, thanks to such drops, the art of painting is eternal.

Oil paints for painting

A modern set of colors in the artistic palette contains about twenty names:

• cadmium red;
• titanium white;
• cobalt blue;
• fuchsin is persistent;
• cadmium yellow;
• ultramarine blue;
• lemon cadmium;
• pink paint;
• the paint is bright red;
• viridon greens;
• scarlet cadmium;
• azure;
• light yellow ocher;
• cadmium orange;
• mauve paint;
• light green cadmium;
• Indian yellow;
• gas soot;
• purple dioxin;

How to paint with oil paints so that the image is rich and expressive? Of course, experience is needed, which does not come immediately. But the first steps can already be taken now, and for this you need to purchase some supplies.

Where can I buy?

Specialized art stores sell a variety of kits and kits for artistic creativity. Oil paints for beginners in a small set can be bought relatively inexpensively; they will be enough for painting simple paintings. It is best to master the basics of painting by depicting any objects. This could be a bowl of fruit, a yellow apple with a red side, a cut watermelon or a bunch of grapes. Novice artists do best with fruit and vegetable themes.

How to paint with oil paints if you have nothing else at hand? Of course, you need a canvas or cardboard sheet of a suitable size for the work. They can be purchased at the same art store, along with thinner and several art brushes. Canvas for oil paints can be sold ready-to-use, coated with a special primer, or in the form of a piece of coarse fabric that you will have to prime yourself. If you do not have experience working with primer, it is better to buy ready canvas, already stretched on a stretcher.

Paint brushes come in several types depending on size, hair quality and hardness. Each type is designed for a specific job. Wide and hard brushes are suitable for applying backgrounds; softer brushes perform more important work in drawing out the details of the image. And thin ones are needed for final finishing, applying the smallest touches.

How much to buy?

Art kits that include paint brushes can be quite expensive, but you shouldn't buy them because only a small part of the kit will be used and the rest will sit idle. For a beginning artist, you need 3-5 brushes different styles. This is a wide flute, two medium-sized brushes (numbers 2 and 3) and a pair of brushes numbered 1 and 0. In this set you can paint anything: from a still life or landscape to a portrait of your favorite dog. Although a portrait with oil paints is a very delicate work, and you will be able to cope with it only after gaining experience.

There are several painting techniques that you can follow to achieve success. The technique of painting with oil paints is complex and varied. To depict any object, it is necessary to create many shades by mixing colors. And even he can’t guess the right combination the first time. experienced artist. The work of creating a painting is based on constant correction of the initially obtained tone. This is a fascinating, but quite unpredictable process.

What is required from an artist?

How to paint with oil paints to achieve a good result the first time? First of all, perseverance is required from the artist. In addition, you need at least basic skills, the so-called basics of painting. Oil paints, a painting master class that will teach you how to use them, become clear and easy to use as you study them.

Education

How the best way use oil paints? We offer the first stage master class for beginners.

After the canvas is stretched onto a stretcher, it must be primed. This is necessary so that the paints are not absorbed into the fabric structure, but are laid out in an even layer over the entire surface of the canvas.

The simplest, but fairly reliable primer is a mixture of PVA glue (polyvinyl acetate dispersion) with water-based paint for finishing work. The proportion should be in equal parts, 1:1, the mixture should be stirred well and before applying to the canvas, diluted with a small amount of water to the consistency of thick cream. After this, you can cover the surface with primer. future painting. As soon as the primer has dried, check it with a light touch of your fingers for adhesion. If it does not stick, then the canvas is ready for use.

Next stage

Next you need to apply the background to the canvas. This can be a background picture or a monochromatic painting of a certain part of the picture. For this work, you can use flat, hard brushes or a palette knife - a pear-shaped metal spatula. This tool is convenient for applying paint in a thin, even layer, and then making the coating as thin as possible so that you don’t have to wait too long for it to dry. As you know, oil paints dry very slowly; this process can take a month or two. Therefore, you need to be prepared for a long break from work.

The background coating has dried, you can proceed to the next step.

Next in line is drawing the contours of the sketch. This is done with a pencil lead if the background of the picture is light in color. On a dark background, contours can be marked with sharpened white chalk. In any case, it is necessary to outline all the contours before the process of painting with oil paints begins.

If the picture should depict several objects, then you need to start with the largest one. For example, this is a ceramic jug with a handle, and four cups are placed around it. Next to them is a small vase with plums, and behind it are several sweets scattered right on the tablecloth. This plot involves the use of several colors of oil paints: brown, dark blue, black, yellow, red and white.

Shadows as part of the drawing

Since the drawing begins with a ceramic jug, a little brown paint is squeezed onto the palette, which must be diluted to the desired consistency. You can put the finished paint on a brush and make the first strokes. After the jug is drawn, it should be shaded. This will require the same brown paint, but darker. Add a little black to the existing one and stir. Then we apply the shadows, it’s not difficult, the painted jug itself will tell you where the dark stripes should be.

The jug is ready, let's move on to the next part of the drawing, the cups. They are also ceramic, and thus the task is simplified. After all the cups are depicted, they are also shaded. It is necessary to monitor the direction of the shadows, since the conventional light in the picture falls on both the jug and the cups at the same angle. Compliance with the rules of angular lighting is one of the foundations of painting.

Glass or faience

The next stage is a vase with plums. There may be certain difficulties in the image here. The vase should not be made of glass, since glass gives many shades, in some places it is transparent, in others it is darkened. Depicting these nuances will be quite problematic. It is better to draw a vase made of earthenware, which will require elementary shadows and nothing more.

With plums, everything is also simple, the main thing is to depict them from such a perspective, as if they were partially covering each other. If the drawing is done from life, then this is not a difficult task.

Finishing touches

Dark blue paint is most suitable for depicting plums. In places of their contact it is necessary to apply thin curved lines to indicate this. You definitely need to draw plum cuttings; they will emphasize the artist’s idea. But naturally, not every plum should have cuttings; in total, five or six of them should be depicted, no more.

And the last “characters” are candies. The main thing here is to outline believable contours, and you can color the wrappers however you like. After the painting is finished, it must dry. It’s better to put the canvas somewhere in a corner, facing the wall and check it from time to time.

All people have tried to draw since childhood. Some people do it well, and in the future a person will connect their life with art, but some people don’t succeed in everything. Everyone has been to a gallery or art exhibition at least once in their life. And, of course, from time to time there was a desire to take and draw something yourself, just for yourself. Today we will tell you where to start our creativity.

For oil painting you will need:

1. Stretched canvas;
2. Palette;
3. Pencil 2B;
4. Decorator brush 25 mm;
5. Brushes for working with oils;
6. Oil paints.

Oil paints are sold either in specialized stores or in regular supermarkets. They come in two types: a set, which contains several different colors paints or they are sold individually. It is best to buy oil paints separately. Firstly, this way you can replenish your collection by using some colors more often and others less often. Secondly, if you run out of paint of a specific color, you will just need to buy more, rather than purchasing a whole set.

It is best to choose special brushes for working with oil. The most convenient brushes are made from pig bristles. They are harder and will work great for your job. It is better not to experiment and do not paint with your fingers, this can be dangerous, since oil paints are very toxic.

You may also need a palette for your work. If you plan to paint constantly, then you should buy a special wooden palette. But in principle, glass or a plate can serve as a palette. The paint should be squeezed out onto the palette gradually, from left to right. You should never immediately mix light and dark colors. The middle of the palette should remain empty, where we will mix our paints. There are also special whites that can be used between paints. Usually a lot of them are consumed, so it is better to stock up on them in advance.

Oil painting technique

There are several types of techniques for working with oil: a la prima and multi-layer.

A la prima is a technique that involves quickly applying paint to a canvas. This technique does not require preliminary pencil sketches. We still paint the landscape in oils gradually, but very quickly. If you did not have time to finish your painting, you can finish it the next day, since the paint will not have dried by this time. In this technique, it doesn’t matter at all whether we paint the sky with oil, or paint the mountains with oil, or paint water with oil, the main thing is a generous amount of paint.

Multilayer technique Suitable for longer work. This technique involves applying several layers of paint. When we paint nature with oils, we need exactly this technique. Since in one painting, you can combine many images and transfer them on canvas.
We always paint a landscape in oils step by step. Don't grab everything at once. To begin, draw what you want onto the canvas with a pencil. This is done in order to correctly distribute the ton and paint in the future. Afterwards, it is recommended to apply primer. In principle, there are canvases already saturated with soil. The primer itself helps the paint adhere better to the canvas.

LET'S LOOK AT SOME EXAMPLES THAT YOU CAN TRY TO DRAW IN OIL:

1. How to paint grass with oils.

This is the easiest thing you need to start with. Prepare necessary paint and make several shades of green on the palette. Initially, if you doubt your abilities, draw what you want with a pencil. And then, use paints. Apply paint onto the canvas smoothly, from bottom to top. Below use more dark paint, on the contrary, it is lighter on top. Work carefully with the brush, do not make too many lines so that they do not turn into a blot.

2. How to paint water with oil.

Water is the next stage, already more complex. Try to convey shallowness and depth with shades of paint. This can be done by using a lighter blue color or, conversely, a darker blue. Take a canvas and roughly mark on it with a pencil the places where it is deep and where it is shallow. Prepare paint on the palette. Apply paint to the canvas gradually. First, paint the area where it is shallow, use light tones of paint for this, then depth, here a dark blue color will come in handy. Don't forget about color transitions. You can also create waves using small strokes of white paint.

3. How to paint trees in oils.

First draw a tree on the canvas with a pencil. Try to convey the tree branches, foliage and contours as naturally as possible. The pencil is very easy to erase and this will allow you to practice before working with paints. Then take on the paints. First, draw the trunk itself, brown paint, add small stripes more dark shade, depicting the bark of a tree. Draw the branches in lighter tones. Foliage can be any color. If the tree is spring, then you can “play” with green shades, but if it is autumn, then yellow, red and green colors are perfect.

4. How to paint grapes in oils.

Grape drawing requires special attention. Before work, carefully study either similar works or photographs depicting this berry. One of the most complex elements there will be leaves that require special attention. If this is still very difficult for you, just draw berries. Draw bunches of grapes with a pencil. Try to stick to a natural oblong shape. Afterwards, first paint the contours of the berries with darker paints, paint over the rest of the berries with a little lighter paint. Use white paint or other bright hues in order to draw highlights.

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The most common material in painting is oil paints, which use vegetable oil. The secrets of painting with such artistic material are not hidden from us, but on the contrary, many share their experiences and offer their oil painting lessons for beginners. Everyone can create their own masterpiece. All you need is patience and time! The technique of painting with oil paints has many pitfalls. Therefore, oil painting lessons will be able to show all the stages step by step and reveal secrets.

Oil painting for beginners

Before you run to watch a master class on oil painting, you should purchase paint and everything you need for this painting technique. Let's start with the most basic.

1. Oil paint

   In stores you can find both individual tubes with specific colors and sets that may contain everything an artist needs. However, do not rush to purchase a set, because it is better to choose a couple of individual containers with primary colors. Such paints will be of better quality. Put together a custom set of six to seven colors that can be used to create any other color.

2. Brushes

   It is best not to purchase a set of paints that come with several brushes. They won't best quality. Therefore, choose for yourself those tools that are suitable for you and fill everything you need. For oil paints, we select high-quality and simple brushes. For the first time, it will be enough to have several brushes different types. For example, you can choose flat, bristly and round. Then we select the size of the brushes.

3. Palette knife

   In addition to brushes, many artists use an artistic tool such as a palette knife. With its help, you can easily mix colors on the palette, as well as create interesting three-dimensional effects on the canvas.

4. Solvent

   To thin out thick oil paint. You can use linseed oil or its derivatives.

5. Add-ons

   Beginning artists should stock up on a base for oil painting in the form stretched canvas, a wooden palette, a jar of water, an apron and a lot of old rags. A special box for art materials wouldn't hurt either.

Oil painting technique

There are two main types of oil painting techniques: a la prima and multi-layer painting.
The a la prima technique involves quickly applying paint to the canvas. Here you should not make preliminary sketches with charcoal or pencil. However, the drawing is also created gradually, but very quick strokes. How more paint in every detail of the picture - so much the better! Moreover, the next day you can correct it and finish it.

For other techniques, multilayer, the process will be longer. After all, such a painting will have several layers, and for one to dry completely it will take at least 3 days. Required condition for this technique - a preliminary pencil sketch. It is also recommended to apply primer. Then you can apply the first layer of paint. This oil painting technique is suitable for landscapes and any natural objects.

Step by step oil painting

Before starting the drawing process, you should prepare your workplace. After all, for oil technology you will need a lot of materials and tools at once. Choose a place in the room closer to a natural light source and open window. After all, the oil has a strong smell.
We make a sketch on canvas with pencil or charcoal. We outline even auxiliary lines to build a composition. Drawing large parts and smoothly move on to small ones. At these pores, think about where the light will fall and where the highlight, penumbra and shadow will be located. This will give the picture a realistic look.

Let's move on to choosing a color for each element of the picture. On the palette we place the primary colors that will give new complex shades. For beginning artists, this moment will be difficult, because our brain “sees” colors a little differently. For example, for a clear image blue sky with clouds, you will start mixing paint on the palette and then realize that it doesn’t fit. After all, this shade turned out much brighter than expected. Also experienced craftsmen know that details painted at night will have a darker tone and saturated color. But if a day is planned on the canvas, then the objects will be bright.

Let's move on to paints. The first layer of each object should be painted with liquid oil paint. To do this, we use linseed oil or any other solvent. The next layers can now be applied in thick strokes. Let's start drawing in a convenient way and technicians.

Oil painting on canvas is often a lifesaver for beginning artists. After all, if you applied the wrong color, it can be easily removed, since the paint dries very slowly.

After applying the first layer, give it time to dry completely and only then apply the next one. This usually takes about 3 days. During this period, you can slightly correct the details in the drawing or correct mistakes, or maybe completely erase them with a damp cloth.

Layer by layer, a complete picture will emerge. To preserve its beauty and brightness of paint, it should be fixed with varnish. To do this, wait until it dries completely. It all depends on the number of layers on the canvas.

We cover the picture with varnish, place it in a frame and place it in a prominent place! Now oil painting for beginners is gradually moving to a new level, where you can learn new techniques.

In order to learn how to paint with oil paints, or it would be more correct to say, to write with oil paints, you need to have certain knowledge in this area, namely, to understand the variety of tools that are currently presented in a wide range in stores for artists. A novice artist may get lost when entering such a store without prior preparation, because a seemingly obvious set, such as canvas, brushes and oil paints, will not be enough for a good start in this business. This article is aimed at enabling you to virtually visit an artist store, as if accompanied by an experienced mentor. So, let's begin!

Canvas

The first thing we will choose is canvas. As a basis for painting with oil paints, you can choose various materials: board, cardboard, metal plate, glass, plastic. But if we are talking about classical painting, then, of course, you should choose a fabric the right way primed, tightly stretched on a stretcher and ringing like a drum. Yes Yes! The canvas should not sag, its surface should be perfectly flat. In former times, and even now, many professional artists stretch the fabric over stretcher themselves, they prime it themselves. Since these recommendations are intended for beginning artists, we will not delve into the topic of stretching canvas onto a stretcher; we will talk about how to choose the right surface that is ready for work, namely, a canvas that has already been primed and stretched on a stretcher.

It's best to canvas sheet was linen, it can be of medium or fine grain, have a smooth smooth surface without knots, the thickness of the canvas should be uniform everywhere. The grain of the canvas is various irregularities and knots in the fabric, in the weaving of the canvas threads. If there are a lot of such inclusions and the threads are coarse, then you have a canvas with high grain size. It is suitable for drawing objects with a strong texture, for example, old brick walls, gnarled tree trunks, stones, rock debris, etc. Here you can work with large impasto strokes and use a palette knife. Therefore, such a canvas is not suitable for painting objects with a delicate texture or for conveying delicate light and shadow transitions. The delicate transparency of grapes and the face of a young girl cannot be drawn on such a surface. For such purposes, it would be right to choose a canvas finer workmanship, smoother, that is, fine-grained. And it is precisely this kind of canvas that is best purchased for beginning artists; by the way, on it, you can make a more detailed preliminary pencil drawing. And you can easily erase a part of the drawing you don’t like.

Pay attention to the quality of the subframe, that is wooden base, on which the canvas is stretched. We have already talked about the inadmissibility of its sagging, it remains to add that it is necessary to evaluate wood quality, from which the subframe is made. Usually it is linden, pine or birch. The wood must be well processed, dry, smooth, without knots, chips, rot or wormholes.

Oil paints

To begin with, you shouldn't buy a large number of colors, it will be quite enough to purchase a set of 10-12 colors. The most important thing is that this set contains blue (glazes, cobalts), red (cadmium medium, light or dark), yellow (cadmium medium), black (carbon black), white (zinc or titanium white) paints. If you already know how to mix primary colors and get additional ones from them, then even this minimum will be enough for you, but it’s better to diversify a little, even if it’s just your first oil palette! To find out what color is in the tube, look at the color stripe on the label. Complete your set with blue paint (sky blue), ocher tint (light or golden ocher), the so-called “colors of the earth” - natural umber, natural sienna, as well as natural shades of green colors - olive, herbal green, light green, etc. .

We remind you once again, look at the tube label. Or you can buy a ready-made set of paints. Over time, you will understand which paints are used up faster and which ones are not. In addition, before buying paints, it would be good to know what kind color scheme you are planning to paint a picture: it will be tender pastel shades or rich contrast painting? What size will your work be? This may also influence your choice. And, of course, it would be nice to familiarize yourself with the table of colors, the names of which are the same for almost all manufacturers, so you can easily navigate by color and look correct names colors and shades you like. Prices for oil paints from different manufacturers are different, they directly depend on chemical composition paints Paints that contain natural rather than synthetic pigments will cost more.

Brushes

Lucky

In the window of a store for artists, among other things, you will see various artistic varnishes. They are designed to work directly with paints, that is, the brush is periodically dipped into varnish, then into paint. This is what is called " painting on varnish" or "through varnish." Why is this being done? In order for the painting to be immediately bright and rich. And it’s better, of course, to protect it with varnish finished work s good dried paints. As we have already mentioned, varnish gives richness to the colors and, most importantly, protects your work from external influences. When the varnish is dry, the surface of the canvas can be wiped off from dust. Varnishes come in different compositions; they are mainly made on the basis of soft resins.

Solvents

A very necessary and important thing for oil painting. The solvent is needed to dilute the paints, in order to clean the brushes before finally washing them with soap suds.

Tee

This is a ready-made composition for diluting oil paints. It usually contains linseed oil, varnish and turpentine. It is this diluent that is poured into the oil can. If you don’t have it on hand, Pinene No. 4 solvent plus linseed oil will do.

Oil can

A special container into which a tee or solvent is poured. It is usually attached to the palette, for which it has a convenient clothespin attachment. Oilers come in plastic and iron. It is more convenient to have an oil can with a screw-on lid, then nothing will spill and the unused contents will not dry out prematurely.

Palette knives

Necessary and important tool in the artist's arsenal. These are special spatulas designed to remove paint residue from the palette and apply and remove paint from the canvas. There are special painting techniques, when work on canvas is carried out with a palette knife, and not with a brush. There are sets of palette knives on sale different sizes and forms.

Palette

Oh this is real business card any artist! You also need to be able to choose the right palette; the colors on the palette should be placed closer to the edges, leaving room for mixing in the center. Palettes come in different shapes and sizes.

Easel

- a very convenient thing for objectively evaluating your work and seeing shortcomings. Work mounted on an easel is a professional approach. You can work in front of the easel either standing or sitting. From time to time you need to move some distance away from the canvas to see all the details. When buying an easel, focus on its strength, reliability of fastenings, size and model that suits you.

Sketchbook

A special device for painting outside the home. This is a kind of suitcase in which you can place everything you need for work: brushes, paints, solvents, canvases, cardboards. It is quite compact, opens and closes, and has reliable, strong carrying straps. The sketchbook can be of various sizes, with or without legs that can be adjusted in height. When buying a sketchbook, you need to make sure that it is reliable and durable, and has good fastenings. The sketchbook can also be used as an easel at home.

Here are, perhaps, the most basic tips that we hope will be useful to you when choosing materials for painting with oil paints. If you have the full set of tools that we talked about, you can safely start painting your first oil painting! Good luck and creative inspiration!

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Oil painting is one of the most interesting, multifaceted and durable painting techniques.

Paints

home distinguishing feature This type of painting is paint. They are produced by mixing vegetable oil (linseed or poppy seed) with colored pigments. The drying period of paints is very long (from 3 to 30 days). This property art material has its advantages and disadvantages.

Solvent

Solvent for oil paints: turpentine or white spirit. Since these substances have a very strong odor, purified, odorless solvents are now available in art stores. Often a tee (a mixture of linseed oil, turpentine and varnish).

Canvas

Oil paints are very resistant and durable. Most often they paint in oil on canvas stretched on wooden stretchers. Linen or cotton fabric, covered with several layers of special primer. You will learn about the features and rules for selecting canvases on stretchers from the publication. They can also paint with oil on a specially prepared base made of wood, fiberboard, plywood, silk, stone, paper and even plaster.

Easel

You will also need an easel - this is a very convenient device for working on canvas. They are the most different types, from large, bulky and stable ones, to small, foldable and lightweight ones that are convenient to travel with. For the novice hobbyist, a folding tripod is sufficient.

Palette

The paints are mixed on a palette, which can be a varnished wooden board, a glass surface, a small canvas, or smooth surface made of plastic. On the palette you can mix different colors and get the necessary colors and shades. You will learn how to do this from the publication. To ensure that the palette serves you for a long time, keep it clean; the short instructions will tell you how to do this.

Tools

In order to paint a picture with oil paints, they use various art tools: brushes, palette knife, rags, fingers or other experimental devices (blades, cellophane, roller, etc.).

Oil paintings are painted in one session - alla prima, or in several approaches.

Varnish

To protect the paint layer, such works are coated with a special varnish. Since the oil takes quite a long time to dry, it is best to do this 2-3 months after painting, depending on the thickness of the paint layer.