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, many white paints 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.
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.
I want to add to this and say that if you don’t mind a little toxicity, then Gamsol is a good option to have in your kit. Its basically a paint thinner, so if you want to “buff out” any little scratch or mistake once your paint is dry, its good to have. Its also good for a thin sketch at the beginning. I do not personally use this at all—even though it is odorless and will not hurt you like turpentine will, it is highly toxic if ingested. With little kids around, I decided to just do away with anything toxic. But if you wanted to have another option in the toolbox, I would add this one in.
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. So just trust me and stick to those. 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!!