GETTING STARTED WITH OIL PAINTS: AN IN DEPTH GUIDE TO THE ESSENTIALS

One of the greatest joys that I get out of being a professional artist, is sharing all of the wisdom and magic that I have gathered along my journey with creative souls that are looking to grow within their craft. I am constantly receiving messages asking about my creative process, my preferred materials, and just how the heck I am able to capture realism in my oil paintings with only a brush in hand.  I was desperately seeking a platform where I could answer all of these questions and translate my eleven years of experience into exciting, engaging and easy to follow tutorials for artists of absolutely all skill levels.  When I was approached to start teaching on Skillshare, it all finally fell into place.

This is the first of what will be many fundamental tutorial videos on the incredible magic of oil painting.  I so often hear excuse after excuse from souls that are scared to dive into this medium, and I am thrilled that I get to dispel so many of the myths around it.  I am going to take the time to walk you through my entire studio - paints, solvents, mediums, brushes, canvas, lighting - so that when my next tutorial is posted, you will be ready to follow along and be completely set up for success. 

So whether you have never picked up a paintbrush or you are seasoned painter with skills abound, this video will break things right down to the basics so that we all start on the exact same page. I am so incredibly excited to help you grow on your creative journey and to show you all of the tips, tricks, and magic that we can use to translate that souls of yours onto canvas...

Material List For The Upcoming Tutorial 'Deepquiet Stillness'...

Paints:

Titanium White *

Indigo *

Prussian Blue 

Payne's Grey*

Charcoal Grey

Olive Green*

Prussian Green

Green Earth

Golden Green

Sap Green*

Vandyke Brown *

Raw Umber

Burnt Umber*

Green Umber

Brown Madder

Indian Yellow

* These colours are really essential to the tutorial, while the ones that do not have a star beside them are less essential but great to have on hand.

Gamsol or your favourite Mineral Spirits

Liquin Light Gel Medium (or walnut oil if you do not want a quicker dry time)

Paintbrushes:

Proart Large Handle Brushes (find whatever you can, but try to have at least one of these):

3" x 1

2" x 2 or more

1" x 2

A selection of various sizes of white taklon (or your preference) brushes in both filbert and flat varieties.

Canvas:

20" x 24" Stretched Canvas

or

36"x 40" Stretched Canvas (or whatever dimensions you can find within this general range)

A few canvases of any size to practice on

A Painting Palette

1 or 2 Palette Knives

Shop Towels (a stronger type of paper towel that do not have any lint) or Clean Rags

An open mind, happy heart, and the ability to really let loose and have some fun.

• AN INTRODUCTION: SELF TAUGHT VS. CLASSICALLY TRAINED...
• FINDING YOUR PERFECT SPACE...
• THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF BRUSHES...
• DIVING INTO PAINTS...
• CANVAS BASICS...
• MARVELOUS MEDIUMS...
• MINERAL SPIRITS & CLEANING BRUSHES...
• STARTING FRESH WITH A CANVAS...
• PALETTE KNIVES...
• PAINTING SURFACES...
• CREATING THE PERFECT LIGHT FOR YOUR SPACE...
• PERFECT POSTURE...
• EXCELLENT EASELS...
• THE BIG REVEAL OF MY NEXT TUTORIAL: 'DEEPQUIET STILLNESS'
• MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED FOR 'DEEPQUIET STILLNESS'...
• A FUN LITTLE HOMEWORK PROJECT...