oil painting resource list
Oil painting suffers a complicated reputation. Even art schools traditionally place the oil classes as more “advanced” than acrylic, and I have met many artists who have been professionally trained in acrylic but still find oil intimidating.
The truth is that oil is very simple. It is just pigment, naturally derived from good old planet earth, and linseed oil. You can purchase tubes of oil paint, in which the pigment is already mixed with some oil (this is the most common form) or you can buy dry pigment and mix it with oil yourself. OR you can grind up pigment that you find in the wild, aka dirt, clay or rocks and mix that with oil. Very simple, indeed.
Another misconception is that oil paint is toxic and should not be done in an unventilated room or around children. That was the old way. Today, there are many non-toxic options available for cleaning up your oils, and as a mom I have many reasons I prefer oil. For one thing, if I get set up to paint then get called away for an hour or a day, I can come back and still have my palette ready to go. Acrylic dries so quickly, I cannot tell you how much paint I have thrown way after getting distracted with my kids and having it dry before I came back to it.
To be clear, some oil paint does have naturally occurring toxic material in it. For example, some contain lead, and cobalt and cadmium are known toxins and carcinogens. However, working with oil paint does not have to be toxic and you can easily avoid those pigments if you need to (I choose to use them carefully, keep them off my skin and away from my children!)
What you actually need to begin oil painting is very simple:
Paint I use Williamsburg oil paints. There are several high-end brands out there making really high-quality (meaning- highly pigmented, with fewer-or-no fillers) paint, and after trying most of them I really prefer Williamsburg. Windsor and Newton has several levels of quality if you’d like to start with something else expensive, but I encourage you to experiment. Remember that you will be adding oil to the paint so it will go farther than you expect from looking at the tube size. Other great options are Michael Harding, Old Holland, and for a basic less expensive option, Gamblin.
Palette Colors: These shades will be everything you need to create all the landscapes, seascapes, figurative and portrait work you could desire. If you see another color you love, add it in…there is no shame in not mixing ALL of your colors.
Titanium White
Titan buff
Hansa Yellow Light or Lemon Yellow (any cool yellow)
Indian Yellow
Yellow Ochre
Raw Sienna
Burnt umber
Pyrolle Orange or Cadmium Orange
Raw Umber
Cadmium Red Light (a warm red…I also have non toxic subs listed in course material)
Alizarin Crimson
Quinacridone Magenta
Dioxazine purple
Ultramarine Blue
Cerulean or Phthalo Blue
Phthalo Blue Green Shade
Permanent Green Light
Cadmium Green (again I have many suggestions for non-toxic alts)
Sap Green
Viridian Green
Payne’s Gray
Green Gold (ok this one is not required but I cannot live without it)
Oil and other mediums There are SO MANY options for mediums to add to your paint, when I first started I fell way down several rabbit holes. I obsessively tried so many different ones. It was messy and time-consuming, and frankly, pointless. All you really need is linseed oil. Safflower and walnut are two other good options, but to be honest I’ve never been able to tell a difference, and I usually notice little differences like that. Even once you narrow it down to deciding you will just add oil, there is every type of oil imaginable. I am someone easily distracted by options (oh look, shiny things!!) so I’ve learned to be strict with myself. I finally said enough is enough, and I decided to just use linseed oil. I can tell you I’ve tried everything and I just don’t really see a reason to branch out. Again, do your own experimenting, I always encourage that, but don’t say I didn’t warn you ;) This is the linseed oil I usually purchase. There is a wonderful sampler kit by Gamblin if you’d like to try a variety of mediums out for yourself. Or for a non-toxic version—and one that acrylic artists love because it really makes the oil similar in viscosity to acrylic paint—is Galkyd. I personally do not really use a paint thinner. Turpentine is what was traditionally used, and this is primarily what gave oil paint its toxic reputation. If you’d really like to use a paint thinner, I recommend Gamsol which the manufacturer claims in non-toxic to breathe. Of course we cannot know for sure, and it is clear and odorless so I’d be careful with small children around (it is absolutely still toxic to ingest!) I do have a small bottle of this stored in my studio because it is handy when you make a mistake—it can help buff out a scratch other other mistake—but otherwise I don’t bring it out.
Brushes On my “watercolor Resource List” I went on a lengthy tangent about animal mistreatment in the making of animal-hair brushes. So I’ll save you guys from the rant here and just say that synthetic brushes are equal to if not better than their animal hair counterparts. I personally love the “bright” shape which comes in all sizes and is just flat across. But I would recommend trying a less-expensive variety pack for yourself to see what you like personally. These are some of my favorite, the Aspen series by Princeton.
Canvas or wood or paper I love painting on canvas; some artists feel the same about wood. And paper is a more portable variety that is easy for some people. The sky is the limit. Most canvases will come with gesso already on them (see below regarding gesso) so that saves you a step. You can buy a paper that is made specifically for oil paint, and these will need no extra gesso prep. The one I linked is all ready to go. It is obviously a space-saver but I don’t personally love it because it requires an extra step when it comes to framing. You do not want to frame oil behind glass, so in order to frame the oil painting on paper and have it look good, you would need to mount it on a wood block, and then frame the wood block. Basically, I’m linking all of these options but I highly recommend beginning on canvas as it is just the simplest option. And I love it :)
Gesso and sandpaper if painting on wood *disregard this section if you are choosing canvas* If you are working on wood, you will need to gesso the surface before painting on it with oil. The gesso seals the surface so that it will not absorb the oil. As I mentioned above, most canvases come with gesso already on them, so they are ready to go. Paper made specifically for oil painting is also ready to paint on. Any gesso brand will do the trick, and in a pinch several coats of acrylic paint will work as well. On wood panels you will also need to sand the surface after applying the gesso. Here is a basic gesso option, and an electric sander. Remember that you don’t actually need either of these things, and you can just paint on canvas to keep it simple at first—but I do encourage everyone to try all ways of painting!! You just may discover a new favorite :)
Brush cleaner I use a completely natural brush and hand soap called Masters Brush Cleanser. They also make a hand soap bar. I’ve also used this on clothing and other items to get the oil paint off. Finally, I keep all natural turpenoid on hand to soak the brushes that I inevitably leave too long with paint on them. This is not turpentine, it is non-toxic—but also not necessary as long as you are more responsible with your brush cleaning than I am.
Palette paper While a reusable palette is nice, photogenic, and environmentally friendly, oil is difficult to clean off the palette when its in a half-dry state. Which is the only state its in when you’re ready to clean the palette and start fresh. So, while I try to be as earth-friendly as possible, I do use disposable palettes. They are all great, I will link the one I use here.
Feel free to message me with any questions before you head to the art store!!