Unit 3: Activity 2 "Creating an Object in Oil Paint"

1. Planning Your Painting:
2. Create a rough sketch. Use a hard pencil to create a light sketch of your subject. You can do this directly onto the canvas or onto tracing paper, and transfer it using a carbon copy. When you’re drawing your subject, keep in mind the composition and use of negative space.
   • Composition is the placement of items on the canvas. Choose the best placement so that the eye is drawn around the entirety of the canvas, rather than left to linger on a single spot.
   • Negative space is the space around an object. If you are using an item in real life and are drawing it onto your canvas, draw difficult areas by looking at the space around the figure rather than at the figure itself. Consider what you will fill the negative space with once you start the painting in order to make your subject pop.
   • Make note of overlapping figures, as these add depth to your composition. If your subject doesn’t have any overlapping shapes, consider rearranging until you do. This will add realism to your painting.
3. 2
   Find the light source. To create a realistic painting, you must have obvious patches of light and dark. Look at your subject and determine the angle at which the light is coming from, and where shadows and highlights are located.
   • All light sources cast shadows, but if they are directly above the subject it can be difficult to see them. Try moving your light or your subject so that the shadows and highlights are more obvious.
   • You may not have incredibly dark shadows or incredibly bright highlights. In fact, you likely will have a range of values that are all very near each other. Don’t be concerned if your light source isn’t creating a strong definition of shadows and highlights.
4. 3
   Consider your colors. For new painters, it is often very difficult to match the colors of their subject to the colors they mix with their paint. This is because the brain provides an idealized color value; you see the sky is blue, so you mix blue paint, only to realize that your paint is much brighter and colorful than the actual sky. The trick is to get past the symbols of color our brain uses, and examine the actual colors being used. This will change the brightness of your paints.
   • A painting set at night will be darker and richer than one during the day, which is most likely brighter.
   • Check the color of the light source; on a bright sunny day, your subject will have a golden glow. On a gray day, the light is diffused through the clouds giving your subject a gray tint. You may also have actual colored lights - such as neon signs or tinted light bulbs - that affect the colors of your subject.
5. 4
   Look at the movement of your subject. Are you painting a still life with little to no movement? Or is your figure in a field on a windy day, creating a lot of motion? Paying attention to the movement of your subject is important for planning your brush strokes. Realistic paintings have brush strokes that create movement, or a lack thereof.^[2]
6. Creating Your Painting:
7. 1. 1
      Mix your paints. Oil paint is extremely forgiving in the sense that it takes many days to begin to dry. However, it is nearly impossible to mix the same paint twice so mix your paints in large batches and preserve between painting sessions so that you always have enough of the right color.
      • Use a color wheel to help you find colors to mix. The color wheel shows primary, secondary, and tertiary colors and how to make them.
      • Pure hues are colors that have not been mixed with either white or black. You can mix the primary colors to create the secondary colors.
      • To create a tint, add white to your paint. This will lighten it and make a more pastel color.
      • To make a shade, add black to any paint color.
      • To make a tone, add white to a shade (any color with black added). Tones are the most widely used, as they represent most of the everyday colors we see.
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      2
      Begin painting. You can choose whatever painting technique you like, whether that be painting entire sections to completion or putting layers of paint over the entire canvas. When oil painting, though, use the thin-to-thick method in which you paint with thin paint before using thick paint.
      • Try painting basic subjects. All figures are made up out of a few basic shapes: the cube, cone, cylinder, and ring. Paint these in the form of real subjects, such as a box or orange, or paint a flat form of each.
      • To thin your paint, use a blending medium (linseed oil or terpentine) mixed with your paint. Don’t use too much to start, but gradually add more until you get the consistency you want.
      • It takes three days for a layer of paint to dry enough to add a second layer to the top, so be patient while you wait for your paint to dry.
   3. 3
      Try different techniques. There are dozens of ways to perfect your painting, but learning them all as a beginner can be overwhelming. instead, focus on picking up some of these techniques one at a time.
      • Try blending your paints. This is the process by which you slowly fade two or more different colors (think of a sunset). To do this, add layers of paint so that they are directly adjacent to each other on the canvas. Then, use flat brush to smooth the paints together, working with the direction of the blend.
      • Try creating a glaze. This is when you use a solution of 1/3 linseed oil,1/3 terpentine, and 1/3 varnish to create a transparent color. You can use this mixed with any paint color to create a see-through hue over dried paint.^[3]
      • Use stippling to create small dots. Use a natural bristle brush (dry often works best), and tap it vertically against your canvas. You can build up these dots to create a more opaque figure.
      • Try using a palette knife to paint. This technique is great for landscapes and creating movement on your canvas. Scoop up a bit of paint on the bottom edge of the knife, and sweep it across the canvas to create thick layers of paint.
   1. 1
      Correct any mistakes. You have about three days (while the oil paint is wet on the canvas) when you can alter any mistakes or remove them completely with a damp rag. Before you decide the painting is complete, take a step back and look at your painting in its totality to see if any changes are needed.
   2. 2
      Save unused paint. If you have a lot of paint left on your palette that was not used, save it for your next painting. Scoop it into small containers or into piles on your palette and cover with saran wrap.
   3. 3
      Clean your paint brushes. Oil paint will ruin your brushes if it is allowed to dry, so clean your brushes immediately after use. Use turpentine and an old rag to wipe away as much of the paint as you can then rinse them under warm water with a little washing up liquid. You can brush the bristles against the palm of your hand to make sure all the paint has been removed. Put the clean brushes, bristle-end up, in a jar or cup to dry. Make sure that the brushes get adequate air circulation until they dry: Put your brushes them in an open area-- on a shelf or desk, for example, not in a closed cabinet or drawer.
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      4
      Wait. For oil paint to dry completely, it may take up to 3 months, even longer if your painting has many thick layers of paint. Put your painting where it won’t be disturbed or damaged and allow it to air dry for the necessary time.
   5. 5
      Add a coat of varnish. When your painting has dried completely, add a coat of varnish to protect it and preserve the color. When the protective varnish has dried, you’re done! Hang your beautiful creation for all to see!

   
   

   
   

   Painting Grapes:

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   Grape Oil Paintings: