Learning to paint with oils. Oil painting master class for beginners How to draw on paper with oil paints

Oil painting at first glance seems complicated. In fact, this art can be mastered on your own. It is very pleasant to work with soft thick paints. Pure colors delight the eye, awaken the imagination. The main thing is to prepare everything you need and master the first artistic skills.

How to paint with oil on canvas?

The secret of the charm of oil paintings lies in the texture of the paints. Composed of colored pigments and linseed oil, they perfectly reflect light, mix easily, creating new shades. A novice artist should learn the technique of painting and create conditions for comfortable work.

Here's what needs to be done.

• Set up a studio. You need to work in a bright, well-ventilated area. Suitable veranda, attic, in the summer - a gazebo in the garden.
• Buy tools and materials. At first, it will be enough to use 5 colors - red, blue, yellow, white, black. You will need 3 brushes of different thicknesses, made of synthetics or hog bristles, as well as a palette knife - a small artistic spatula.
• Prepare the plane for drawing. So that the strokes lie evenly, the surface is primed. This is not necessary - many great masters worked without soil. But it is better for a beginner to stick to traditions.
• Mix materials. Writing with pure dye from a tube is difficult. Most painters prepare a mixture of paints, turpentine and linseed oil. The proportions are selected individually - the more thinner, the thinner the paint and the softer the stroke.
• Practice mixing colors. Combining different combinations of colors with a brush, you get interesting shades.

Having taken the preparatory steps, you can begin to create a picture.

How to paint in oil on canvas

Professional painters work on linen, wood panels, and even thick paper. For beginners, a primed canvas is recommended. You can buy it in an art store or process it yourself. To do this, the fabric is coated with a mixture of PVA glue and white water-based paint in a ratio of 1 to 10. Three layers are applied, allowing each to dry properly. The next course of action is as follows.

1. Make a sketch on the ground with a pencil or charcoal.
2. Apply underpainting - the basis of the composition. It is written with a thin layer of paint diluted with turpentine. Wait until the paint dries.
3. Write the main layer of the picture. Here, linseed oil is used as a diluent. Strokes are made smaller and thinner.
4. Correct deficiencies. 3-4 days the surface will be wet. During this time, you can scrape off the paint in some places and rewrite them again.
5. Coat the image with varnish. Varnishing is done on a completely dry surface.

A week ago, Yulia Skrypnik, editor of the MIF.Creativity platform, sent me a message: “Nastya, hello! Can you make an article next week with an exercise in Classical Painting Lessons? I answered that I would do it, and a thousand and one fears of a creative person spun in my head:

“I can't paint with oils. The last time I took oil paints in my hands a few years ago, and I can’t say that this experience was successful. Suddenly, nothing will work out for me at all and I will only spoil the canvas. ”

Pushing my fears aside, I began to study the book. Of course, in paper form, simply because its smell is inspiring in itself.

The book is divided into 4 chapters and each of them has several lessons. I planned to read the book to the last page and then choose which of the lessons I would do. However, there was so much new knowledge and inspiration that already on page 48 I took oil paints and thinner out of the box and climbed into the wardrobe in search of an old outdated T-shirt. And what about a t-shirt? Read more 😉

Lesson 2, which we will study with you, is devoted to imprimatura with wiping. I didn't know what it was either until I started reading the book, and that's okay.

Imprimatura(from Italian imprimatura - the first layer of paint) - a term used in painting: color tinting of the surface of an already finished white primer.

You have probably seen the work done using this technique.

Materials:

• Drawing materials- paper and pencil, or charcoal if you are going to draw directly on the surface
• primed surface- wooden surface or canvas
• Palette
• Oil paint natural umber. You can use natural sienna or earthy green - experiment with colors
• Titanium white or quick-drying whites such as alkyd. They are convenient because they dry overnight.
• Linseed oil(optional)
• Cotton rag- a torn t-shirt will do (paper napkins are not recommended)
• Large bristle brush

Above, I have listed the materials recommended by the author of "Lessons in Classical Painting" - Juliet Aristide. I didn't follow all of these instructions. The “same” material may not always be at hand; you should not give up creative experiments because of this.

First stage: staging a still life

Then it's time to start drawing. I did it immediately on canvas with a pencil, however, the author recommends first doing it on paper, and then transferring it with tracing paper. And this is good advice, because trying to use an eraser on a canvas is fraught with the formation of "dirt". I didn’t get hung up on the drawing either, because the purpose of this lesson is tonal underpainting.

Before you start imprimating with a wipe, it's worth checking how the surface of the canvas or wood panel absorbs the paint. Some types of cheap acrylic primer hold the paint well, it will be difficult to wipe it to the surface color. If you come across such a primer, you can pre-coat the entire surface with a very thin layer of linseed oil.

And now the most interesting! It is necessary to cover the canvas with a thin layer, intensively shading the paint with a stiff, fairly large bristle brush. The author recommends not to be afraid of too dark a color and not to dilute the paint, because otherwise the layer will come out too thin, but I thought that my paints had been idle for a long time and had thickened, so I added a thinner, and this was really a mistake.

Tip from the book: If the picture is too large and complex to finish it in one session, the process can be broken down into stages (for example, the first half in one day, and the second half in another)

Let's start wiping. The outline of the pattern shows through the layer of oil, so it's not difficult. It is necessary to constantly intercept the rag in order to use clean parts. For large areas, it is convenient to wipe the paint with your index finger, and for small elements, I wrapped a rag around an orange stick.

The wiped underpainting can be finished after step 4, but if you add dark and light accents, the work takes on a more finished look. Therefore, using the glazing method, I added white and deepened the shadows with a dark color.

Work is ready! Several obvious mistakes were made, jeans were stained with paint, but most importantly, an incredible pleasure was received from conquering their fears.

I used to be afraid of books about classical painting, it seemed to me that they were created at least for students of specialized universities, but it turned out that this was not at all the case.

I urge you not to be afraid! Try something new, go beyond the usual materials and techniques.

The art of painting is a vast layer of world culture, rooted in the prehistoric period. In the Paleolithic era, drawings depicting animals and birds began to appear on the walls of the caves in which primitive people lived. Characteristically, the 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 definitely hunters.

Buffaloes and mammoths

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

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

How and what to draw?

However, genuine oil painting did not appear until the 15th century AD. The art of painting has acquired a material basis. Oil paints became widely used by artists thanks to the efforts of the Dutchman Jan van Eyck, who actively promoted them and even created a whole theory on the topic "How to paint with oil paints".

case in the museum

The Dutch, or Flemish, school of painting is one of the finest artistic techniques. Each stroke of the brush of the masters of the 15th-16th centuries is distinguished by an unprecedented naturalism. When Flemish paintings, still lifes and landscapes were exhibited in 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 on the kitchen table with a bouquet of freshly cut flowers. A drop of dew fell on the tabletop from one of the flowers. She was depicted so realistically that the team leader asked all the artists present: "Your opinion, how do you see the level of technology?" The painters replied: "The drop is so real that you want to brush it off with your hand ..."

A dewdrop depicted by a Flemish artist has not dried up in six hundred years. Perhaps, thanks to such drops, the art of painting is eternal.

Oil paints for painting

The modern set of colors in the artistic palette contains about twenty items:

• red cadmium;
• titanium white;
• blue cobalt;
• fuchsin resistant;
• yellow cadmium;
• blue ultramarine;
• lemon cadmium;
• pink paint;
• bright red paint;
• viridian greens;
• scarlet cadmium;
• azure;
• light yellow ocher;
• orange cadmium;
• pinkish-purple paint;
• light green cadmium;
• Indian yellow;
• soot gas;
• dioxin purple;

How to draw with oil paints so that the image is juicy 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 accessories.

Where can I buy?

In specialized art stores, a variety of kits and kits for artistic creation are sold. Oil paints for beginners in a small set can be bought relatively inexpensively, they will be enough for drawing simple pictures. It is best to learn the basics of painting from the image of any objects. It can be a bowl of fruit, a yellow apple with a red barrel, a cut watermelon, or a bunch of grapes. Fruit and vegetable themes are best for novice artists.

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

Paint brushes come in several types in terms of size, hair quality, and hardness. Each type is designed for a specific job. Wide and hard brushes are suitable for applying the background, softer brushes do a more responsible job of drawing the details of the image. And thin ones are needed for final finishing, applying the smallest strokes.

How much to buy?

Art kits that include paint brushes can be quite expensive, but you should not buy them, as only a small part of the kit will be used, and the rest will lie idle. For a beginner artist, brushes are needed in the amount of 3-5 pieces of different styles. This is a wide flute, two medium-sized brushes (number 2 and 3) and a pair of brushes number 1 and 0. In this set, you can draw 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 it will be possible to cope with it only after gaining experience.

There are several methods of painting, following which you can achieve success. The technique of painting with oil paints is complex and diverse. To depict any subject, it is necessary to create many shades by mixing colors. Moreover, even an experienced artist cannot guess the right combination the first time. The work of creating a picture is based on the constant correction of the originally received tone. This is a fascinating, but rather unpredictable process.

What is required from the artist?

How to paint with oil paints in order to achieve a good result the first time? First of all, the artist requires perseverance. In addition, at least basic skills, the so-called basics in painting, are required. Oil paints, the master class on drawing which will teach you how to handle them, become understandable and easy to use in the process of studying.

Education

What is the best way to use oil paints? We offer a master class of the first stage for beginners.

After stretching the canvas on a stretcher, it must be primed. This is necessary so that the paints are not absorbed into the fabric structure, but lay down 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 proportions, 1:1, the mixture should be well stirred and, before being applied to the canvas, diluted with a small amount of water to the consistency of thick cream. After that, you can cover the surface of the future picture with soil. As soon as the primer dries, check it with a light touch of your fingers for adhesion. If it doesn't stick, then the canvas is ready to go.

Next stage

Next, you need to apply a background to the canvas. It can be a background image or a one-color 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. With this tool, it is convenient to apply the paint in a thin, even layer, and then make the coating as thin as possible so that you do not have to wait too long to dry. As you know, oil paints dry very slowly, this process can take up to a month or two. Therefore, you need to be prepared for a long break in work.

The background coat is dry, 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 painting is light in color. On a dark background, the contours can be marked with sharply 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 candies 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. The finished paint can be typed 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. In the already existing add a little black and stir. Then we apply shadows, it's not difficult, the drawn jug itself will tell you where the dark stripes should be.

The jug is ready, proceed to the next part of the drawing, the cups. They are also ceramic, and thus the task is simplified. After all the cups are drawn, they are also shaded. It is necessary to monitor the direction of the shadows, since the conditional light in the picture falls on both the jug and the cups at the same angle. Compliance with the rule of corner lighting is one of the foundations of pictorial art.

Glass or faience

The next step is a vase with plums. There are certain difficulties in the image here. A vase should not be painted glass, since glass gives many shades, somewhere it is transparent, somewhere it is darkened. Depicting these nuances will be quite problematic. It is better to draw a faience vase, which will require elementary shadows and nothing more.

With plums, too, everything is simple, the main thing is to depict them from such an angle, as if they partially cover each other. If the drawing is done from nature, then this task is not difficult.

Finishing touches

Dark blue paint is most suitable for depicting plums. In places of their contact, it is necessary to indicate this with thin curved lines. Be sure to draw cuttings of plums, they will emphasize the idea of ​​the artist. But of course, not every plum should have cuttings, in total they should be depicted five or six, no more.

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

Now many people choose needlework or various options for artistic creativity as a hobby. As the market is filled with mass-produced goods, the demand for handmade souvenirs is growing. Photographs or computer illustrations are printed multiple times. An exclusive thing you can create by learning how to write for beginners. It is quite possible even for a beginner to master this painting technique. So you will make a wonderful gift or decoration for the interior. Even if you try to repeat the same story twice exactly, you still won’t get a perfect copy. This determines the uniqueness of the original works of art.

Preparation of materials

To create oil paintings for beginners, you will need the following:

• base (canvas or fiberboard);
• paints;
• brushes;
• solvent (white spirit) and a small container for it;
• palette for mixing colors.

Professionals also use palette knives - special flexible metal spatulas with a wooden handle, which apply paint to the canvas. It is enough for a beginner to master the brushes. In addition, professionals paint pictures on an easel or a special sketchbook, if they go out to work in nature to paint pictures from nature for novice artists - the plot is quite complicated. It is better to do them by imagination or using a photo. It will be easier.

From the point of view of professionals, it is more convenient to work on an easel, as it is easier to step back and evaluate the result from afar. In your first experience, you can practice on the surface of the table, although it is better to take some kind of plywood and put it on your knees or put it on a chair at an angle. Such a review of your work allows you to better assess its quality and notice errors in time. Although for the first experience it is worth doing it in a way that is convenient and comfortable for you, so as not to be distracted from the main thing.

Please note that paints are consumed unevenly, so for a beginner it is better to purchase them separately. The release form is offered in various sizes. White paint is the fastest to leave, but black paint is used in very small quantities. It makes sense to first decide on the plot, and then purchase paints of the appropriate shades. For you will need one set, and for a summer landscape - another. In order not to waste money on unnecessary colors, it is better to buy only the necessary ones in approximately the required amount. Although in fact all shades can be obtained with only three primary colors (yellow, red, blue), as well as white and black.

Which base to choose?

Traditionally, oil is painted on canvas, but for a beginner, this can be difficult, as the fabric needs to be stretched onto a stretcher and primed. However, modern technology has advanced in this direction. In specialized stores, ready-made bases are sold, on which paint is immediately applied. They are not cheap, but they are just right for a beginner, as they greatly facilitate the work.

Another option is to use fiberboard. In the household of any man there are scraps of this material stored after repair work. It is easy to find it by asking friends, relatives or acquaintances. Someone has definitely used it and keeps leftovers in the pantry just in case.

The texture of the sides of fiberboard is different, one looks absolutely smooth, and the other is rough, vaguely resembling a woven structure. You can use both, but it is better to apply more layers of primer on a rough surface, otherwise the color may seem dull in the future, since the paint will seem to fall into the structure of such a "canvas".

If for the first time you decide to try the oil painting technique for beginners, you can use the finished fiberboard base with the primer already applied. They are also sold in specialized craft stores. It is better to take a small sheet size, not more than landscape. When you have gained some experience, you will acquire or prime yourself a format of any size.

You can immediately order a frame for your future picture. Decorated, any canvas looks elegant and finished. However, most often the baguette is selected by color, width to the finished work. This is also an interesting and creative process. When you see the same image in different frames, you will understand how different the impression the canvas makes. In a good frame, even oil paintings by novice artists look exquisite, and poor design can ruin a professional canvas. So this stage should also be treated very carefully.

If you still decide to prepare the WPV base yourself, a simple and cheap way is to use ordinary gelatin, you can add PVA glue to it to make the color white. Such primer should be applied in several layers with preliminary drying of the previous one. Three times will be enough. You should feel that the surface has become different. When the base is prepared, you can proceed to

Types of brushes

To work with oil, bristles or synthetics are used. Their villi are hard, elastic, and interact well with the composition of the paint. To get started, you can buy two or three pieces. Thin, for example No. 1, will be required to work out the details, wide ones are needed to complete large background surfaces in the case of a landscape - sky, grass, water, draperies in a still life. Do not use squirrel brushes for oil work. They will deteriorate. After each use, especially if you are going to take a long break from the creative process, wash the tools thoroughly with solvent so that the paint does not dry on them.

Oil paintings for beginners in stages

Given that you have prepared the materials and the base, creating a canvas, regardless of the plot, consists of the following steps:

1. Draw a line drawing on the canvas with a simple pencil or paint right away.

2. Distribute shadows and highlights - the darkest and brightest parts of the image, respectively.

3. Complete the background and all large objects.

4. Draw small details.

Do not forget to constantly move away from the picture, evaluating the result from afar. In the process, try to mix various shades of colors on the palette. The final touch will be the design of the picture in the frame.

Plots

To make simple oil paintings for beginners, choose the appropriate theme. The easiest way to make a still life, that is, a composition of household items, vases of flowers. If you work from nature, and you will need a lot of time for the first time, use objects that will not change in a week. You may have to do the painting in several steps, so when composing a still life for the subject of an oil painting for beginners, it is better not to use flowers. They may change color, wither, or new buds will open. The perception of the composition will change. It will be difficult for you. The easiest way is to work with a photo or copy an easy image you like. Do not take plots with a lot of details. It is very difficult to paint a portrait.

How to make a landscape?

If you want to decorate a wall with a nature view done by yourself, it is better to use the tutorial on how to paint oil paintings for beginners step by step. According to the prepared instructions, this is quite possible to do. The main thing is to understand what elements the image consists of, and it is better to start working from the background and the general space, moving sequentially to smaller details located closer to the viewer.

Let's go to the open air

It is very pleasant to paint oil paintings in nature, but you need to work quickly, as the weather can deteriorate, and the sun is constantly moving, changing the direction of light and shadows. Beginning artists can use the camera to capture the initial one. If you get tired of working for a long time the first time, then you can finish the painting at home.

How to draw flowers?

If you want to decorate the interior of the room with an oil painting with a bouquet in a vase, it is better to choose asters as a first experience. Perfect fit. They are not difficult to make, as they are a simple elliptical shape, and small petals are easy to make in separate strokes in a circle. Daisies, sunflowers, lilacs, lupins, mimosa are also suitable - in a word, choose those that have inflorescences or individual elements of a simple, clear shape that can be created in one stroke, drawing a few details later. Your task is not to convey the photographic accuracy of the object, but to create a beautiful impression of what you see.

So, you have learned how to create oil paintings for beginners. Choose the plot you like, buy the necessary materials and start an exciting creative process.

When we start drawing, we usually start with a pencil, and only then we take on paints. Someone for watercolor, and someone immediately for oil paints, acrylic, tempera. If everything is more or less clear with watercolors and pencils (after all, some experience has already been gained at school in drawing lessons), then with oil everything is much more complicated. Of course, we see that artists paint in oils, and their paintings live for centuries. But from which side to approach oil paints? How to paint with oil?

The first thing to find out for yourself is

What and on what to draw

Artists paint on canvas stretched on a stretcher. But for beginners it will be too expensive.

It must be borne in mind that oil painting is a rather expensive pleasure (compared to other techniques, of course). Working with oil requires a certain investment of money.

Oil painting on cardboard

In fact, it is correct to say not “how to paint with oils”, but “how to paint with oils”. Artists do not paint, but paint with oils. Let's remember this. So,

How to paint in oils on cardboard

In art stores, ready-made special primed cardboard is sold.

If you want to save money, you can take any cardboard and cover it with primer yourself. The primed cardboard should dry thoroughly. Wipe the ground surface with linseed oil before painting.

Here are two soil recipes for self-production:

1. Adhesive primer: 10 g of gelatin, 100 g of zinc white or chalk (a little more than half a glass), 400 ml of water (2 cups). For elasticity, add 4 ml of glycerin or honey. This amount of soil is enough for 2 square meters of canvas or cardboard.
2. A very good primer is obtained according to this recipe: mix 4 chicken eggs with 160 ml of water and add 120 g of zinc white (or chalk)

In addition, you will need flat bristle or synthetic brushes and a wooden palette to get started. A palette made of plywood must be pre-soaked in oil and dried well. Otherwise, it will draw oil from the paints placed on it, which causes the latter to thicken.

Oil paints cannot be painted with one brush, like water-soluble paints, for example, watercolors. While working in oil, the brushes are not washed, so you can not put light and dark tones on the picture with one brush. So buy synthetic or bristle brushes no. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 to start with. Then, no doubt, you will want to have more brushes. To depict small details, you will need one or two small brushes with soft hair, such as kolinsky or squirrel.

Remember to keep your brushes very clean! If not washed in time, a dried brush quickly becomes unusable.

Less necessary, but useful to the painter, are other items, for example, a palette knife - a special knife with which they clean the palette, mix paints, remove excess paint from the picture, etc.

Armed with everything you need, draw. It must be borne in mind that the first layer will probably "roll" as it were. It's not scary. Just rub in the paint and it will set.

What is the beauty of oil paint and cardboard? You can draw on the same cardboard as much as you want!

You are drawing something. You didn't like what happened? Wait for it to dry and paint on top of the drawing!

beauty

Oil paint has a dense structure, therefore, unlike watercolor, the previous layers will not show through. After the end of the drawing, you can’t even guess whether there is something else under the finished drawing or not. This property of oil paint is very useful, especially in the initial stages.

I think it has become clearer to you how to paint with oil on cardboard. There is nothing difficult. Pure pleasure!

Well, when it's time to move to the canvas, of course, you decide.

Maybe you decide to paint on canvas right away?

P.S. By the way. In art stores, there is an option to buy canvas not on a stretcher, but on cardboard. This is a cross between a stretcher and cardboard - not as expensive as canvas on a stretcher, but not ordinary cardboard either. You can consider this option as well.

Oil painting is a magnificent, wonderful technique.

Creative success to you!

How to paint with oil, video