1. Start Small
Begin with a small canvas or canvas board to get familiar with how the paints and mediums behave. Experiment with different techniques before moving on to larger pieces. Affordable surfaces for beginners include oil paper and canvas pad.
2. Set Up Your Workspace
Choose a well-ventilated area and organize your essentials: oil paints, brushes, palette, metal dipper, mediums, solvents, a container for cleaning brushes, and a cloth. A tidy setup makes the process smoother and more enjoyable.
3. Sketch It Out
Lightly sketch your composition with a pencil or soft pastel. Alternatively, create a thin underpainting using oil paint diluted with turpentine to speed up drying and make layering easier.
4. Select Your Brushes
Bristle hog hair brushes are the classic choice for oils—they’re sturdy enough to handle thick paint without losing shape. You can also experiment with soft-haired brushes for blending and finer details. Check out our brushes for oils.
If you want to read more about how brushes are made, take a look at our blog.
5. Prime Your Surface
Apply gesso to protect your surface from oil seeping in and to prevent damage from the acids in paint. Pre-primed canvases are ready to use, but you can add extra layers of gesso for a smoother finish.
6. Learn Basic Colour Mixing
Start with a limited palette: red, blue, yellow, white, black, burnt umber, and magenta. Mixing your own colours will teach you about colour theory and save money on paint tubes. Expand to secondary colours as you gain confidence.
7. Understand Mediums and Solvents
Mediums alter drying time, texture, and finish.
- Linseed Oil: Slows drying for better blending and maintains colour vibrancy.
- Poppy Seed Oil: A pale, slow-drying oil that resists yellowing, making it ideal for light colours and glazing.
- Liquin: Alkyd resin medium. Speeds drying, creates a silky, glossy consistency.
- Turpentine: Dilutes paint, speeds drying, and cleans brushes.
- Oil Painting Medium: A mix of oil and odourless thinner for smooth flow.
- Citrus Essence: 100% natural, pleasant-smelling solvent.
- Siccative Oil: Accelerates drying time.
- White Spirit: Economical brush cleaner (not recommended in paint).
- Odourless Mineral Spirit: Alternative to turpentine, with the advantage of being odourless.
- Fragonard Gel Medium: A thicker, colourless medium that increases paint fluidity without losing reactivity. It enhances adhesion between layers and accelerates drying time.
- Brush Cleaner: A gentle yet powerful cleaner designed to thoroughly remove oil paint from brushes while conditioning the bristles for longevity.
8. Follow the Fat Over Lean Rule
To avoid cracking, each new layer of paint should have more oil (“fat”) than the one beneath. Start with lean layers thinned with solvent, and gradually increase the oil content in upper layers.
9. Patience Is Key
Oil paint takes time to dry. Allow layers to cure properly before adding more. Rushing can cause cracking and muddy colours.
10. Varnish for Protection
Varnishing is an essential final step that protects your painting and enhances its appearance for decades. Once fully dry, you may notice uneven surface qualities—some areas appear glossier or more matte due to pigment and binder differences. A varnish evens out these variations, giving the painting a unified finish.
Choose your varnish finish based on the effect you want:
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Gloss: Deepens colours and creates a rich, saturated look.
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Matt: Softens reflections and can lighten darker areas for a more subtle appearance.
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Satin: Offers a balance between gloss and matt, adding depth without too much shine.
Application methods include brush, spray, or airbrush. For added protection, select a varnish with UV resistance. Allow your oil painting to dry thoroughly—ideally 6 to 12 months—before applying varnish to ensure a durable, stable finish.
