About Dan:

Dan’s work spans a variety of genres, including novels, comics and film. He has worked for such clients as Disney, Universal Studios, Boeing Aircraft, Saatchi & Saatchi, Scholastic Books, Ace Books,The Greenwich Workshop, Penguin Books, Random House, Bantam Books, Tor books, UpperDeck, Wizards of the Coast, and Dark Horse Comics. Aside from freelance illustration, Dan also co-hosts a series of instructional demonstrations called ‘Art Out Loud’.

Dan has been the recipient of many awards. Most recently, he has received the 2007 Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist, and was the Chesley Award winner for Best Paperback Cover of 2007. His illustrations have graced the #1 spot on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Visit Dan’s Site: http://www.dandossantos.com/

Step by Step Oil Painting Tutorial: “Moon Followed”

Please Click Thumbnails For Larger Views

Artist Statement

“I paint the places I love to be. I paint the freshness of eternal nature, icy lucid streams, thunderous waterfalls, and soaring granite crests over silent lakes. I paint the descriptions of John Muir, the echoes of Ansel Adams, the American West of Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran. I paint luminosity filtering through the landscape, reaching to the foundation of a stream, bouncing off rocks, and illuminating the shadows.

Using oil and acrylic, painting realistically is merely my means to an end. I want the viewer to connect with the places I love to be. I hope the observer will want to walk right into my painting and maybe even drop a line in the water to catch a trout.

My published works include both “plein air” and studio paintings, which helps me translate the dynamic experience of the moment and communicate in a more personal way of what I am trying to say..”

- Donald Neff

Follow this link to learn more about Donald and to view more of his work.

Anatomy of a Commission

Oil Painting Demo

Although I don’t advertise the fact, I occasionally do commission work. I generally only accept work which is similar to what I normally paint, so if for some reason the commission agreement falls apart, I can sell the painting to another party.

In this instance, the commission came through one of my galleries, James Harold Gallery in Tahoe City, California. Commission terms were handled by the gallery, so I won’t go into that here. The collectors are a married couple from San Francisco, who had seen my work in the gallery. They liked my work of Lake Tahoe, but were avid Yosemite lovers (the husband is on the board of the Yosemite Fund) and wanted a fall scene of Yosemite Valley.

After sending various images back and forth in emails, plus a number of phone calls, we decided to do a composite of several scenes and colorations. The scene is fairly close to an actual place, but some of the colors and details were borrowed from elsewhere. One of the main concerns of the couple is that the painting complements, at least in color, another painting they have in the same room. The painting shown further below, I eventually learned is by Walter Bailey, a noted muralist and landscape painter of the early 1900’s and is somewhat of a tonalist quality. We also decided on a standard size of 30×40.

Below is a narrative of the development of the project. In some instances, I copied parts of the emails we traded as the process continued. Since the collectors initially worked with James Harold Gallery to arrange the commission, I did not actually met them in person until I hand delivered the painting. Although the collectors didn’t mind me using their names, I will use only her first name in the narrative.

I first did a small color study of the final scene. I chose 9×12 as it is the same aspect ration as the final 30×40 painting. Below is part of an email I sent with a jpg of the first small study which gives some though process of the composition–

Study #1

Dear Mary,

I have attached a jpg of the 9×12 study… First, let me walk through the painting a bit…

For the background, I put a little blue in the sky as you requested, splashed some light across Sentinel Rock, etc. I left the right side of the cliff face fairly undefined as this helps lead your eye away from here and towards the center of interest. I might add a touch of clinging snow to this area, but not much.…

Concerning the large black oaks, which is the primary center of interest. I actually painted them several times, with back light, direct light, with different shades of yellow and orange, and finally what you see. This seemed to look the best against Sentinel Rock. I also added more red than the original photos. I am not sure if you had specific fall colors in mind, but this seemed to work the best, at least to me. I also opened up the oaks a little so the bluish glow from the valley floor comes through. This really sets off the colors of the leaves. The bright colors of the oaks needed to be balanced with the rest of the painting, so I made one of the small bushes in the far right river bank more red, and muted the reddish tree in the middle ground.…

I added a little more interest to the stream bank, staggering it rather than just the straight line in the photos. One thing I want to change in the final painting is to lower the stream bank slightly, and open up the middle ground. This will allow me to make the oaks just a bit bigger.

In response to my first study, the collectors emailed me back:

Dear Donald,

We like the study you did very much, but would like the colors adjusted to better match our other picture. We also thought that the study had a sense of winter, with the gray sky and the clouds and the touch of snow–and we would prefer a sunnier, fall perspective, before the first snow. We like the oaks, but were less attached to the smaller tree in the center which is now a mauve color, and probably not a good match with the palette of our other picture. We are happy to have you decide on the size of the pines–you have a much better eye than either of us! Let me know what you think.

They also sent me a photo of the other painting in the room, shown further below, which gave me a better idea of the color of the foliage they want.

Study #2

After seeing a jpg of the other painting in the room, I painted another study with the foliage more golden yellow to match. I also warmed up the cliffs in the background to match. I didn’t want to just paint over my first study as I thought it was a good salable painting in it’s own right.

Dear Mary,

I won’t walk through the painting again, but the first jpg seemed to have too much yellow, especially in the big trees. It seemed once I painted it large, the yellows would be overpowering. So, I thinned out the leaves a little and added a few more oranges & reds. These are actually a bunch of Black Oaks (or Cottonwoods??) and if I treat them more like individual trees with their own color it looks a little better. Also, the cliffs seemed too dark and blue for a fall scene, so I lighted and warmed them up considerably, and adjusted the rest of the painting accordingly.

I mailed the actual second study to the collectors and asked them to take a photo of it beside the painting in the room. Since cameras, monitors, lighting, etc. can vary widely, the only way to get an exact comparison is to have both in the same picture.

Painting by Walter Bailey with my study.

Here is my response to Mary:

Dear Mary,

Seeing the two paintings side by side is very revealing! The yellows in the Bailey painting are a little brighter than I thought, but seem fairly in line with my study. Yes, I can put more blue in the sky and gray/blue out the cliffs if you want. There was a method to my madness…

The cloudy skies represent a harbinger of winter, and I would suggest we might leave in just a few wisps to keep a little interest in that area. The very dark, very saturated blue in the Bailey painting I don’t think would work across the entire sky, but more something in between.

I originally had the cliffs grayer and bluer, but thought a little more purple would represent warmer fall colors better, but either is fine. In the final large painting, (attached it again for your convenience) they are actually grayer/bluer, but still have quite a bit of purple and I would like to leave just a touch of purple on Sentinel Rock, as that draws your eye back into the painting a little more. At any rate, if this sounds OK with you, I will proceed.

As you can see the yellows in the two paintings were similar, and the collectors were satisfied with this study.

I had already started blocking in and working on the large final canvas, but no changes needed to be made as I had not yet reached the stage where colors were an issue.

My palette here consists of Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Quinacridone Red, Cadmium Red Medium, Sap Green, Transparent Iron Oxide, Cadmium Orange, Yellow Ochre, and Cadmium Yellow Medium. I occasionally use other colors, but this is my primary palette.

I usually pre-mix a combination of Ultramarine Blue and Quinacridone Red to form a purple. This is usually the only use of Ultramarine I use in a painting. For most of the blue tones during the painting process, I usually stick with Cobalt Blue. I also mix Cobalt Blue and Cadmium Red Deep to get a rich gray.

My brushes are a #12 Bright for about 90% of the painting. I did occasionally use other brushes such as #12 filbert to do the sky and part of the cliffs. I used the round in order to get a little softer edge in places.

Starting the final large canvas, I first drew in the basic composition. Since I had a fairly complete study to go by, I didn’t need a lot of detail in the drawing. I did however detail Sentintenal Rock in the background. The profile had to be correct as it is a recognizable landmark in Yosemite Valley.

Dear Mary,

Thought you might like to get periodic updates on the progress of the painting. The attached jpg is my initial sketch-in. It doesn’t look like much, just a general indication of major masses. Since I have a study to work from, many details can be left out of the sketch. The one important item though, is the profile of Sentinel Rock. Since it is a recognizable landmark, I have to get it’s profile just right or the painting won’t work. I hope to get the background cliffs done by the beginning of next week as I will be in Tahoe much of that week.

Normally, I would block in much of the painting prior to working in detail. However, in this instance since I had a fairly detailed study to work with, I basically painted the canvas top down.

The sky and cliffs are painted primarily with my pre-mixed gray and purple with touches of other colors such as Cobalt Blue in the sky. I used primarily a #12 filbert bristle in order to keep the edges soft.

I sent a new jpg to the collectors, and received this response:

Dear Donald,

Overall we really love the painting. There is one adjustment we would like to suggest to see what you think. As you will see from the photos (and it’s even stronger in daylight), your painting’s mountains have a purplish cast and the sky is fairly white. These are the elements that most differ from the Bailey painting. And we our best memories of Yosemite tends toward gray granite and bright blue skies–which I think might line up better with the Bailey. Do you think those adjustments would work?

I now begin the painting in earnest. I agreed with Mary’s assesment that the cliffs were a little too warm or purple. I used mainly some Cobalt Blue, white, and some gray to cool them down and lighten them up.

The cliffs are now basically complete and I start blocking in the foliage and stream bank. With the foliage, I block in the rear darker, working my way forward in lighter colors. I use a variety of colors from Transparent Red Oxide to Cadmium Yellows. Highlight areas are left for last.

I will do the stream and reflections last as they need to accurately reflect the landscape.

Continuing to work on the foliage, I paint the background evergreens, the large oaks and continue on the stream bank. I keep using brighter Cadmiums such as Orange and Yellow in more purer colors as I layer in the foliage.

Dear Mary,

Here is another update. Much of the middle ground foliage and stream bank is in, maybe about 2/3 done. When the painting got large, the grassy stream bank looked too monotonous, so have added even more interest with a little erosion, more rocks, etc. Am still on track to finish the bulk of the work this week. Once this is done, I usually put it away over a period of several weeks and look at it occasionally with a fresh eye every few days to make adjustments.

After putting in most of the stream, I was starting to become dissatisfied with parts, especially the stream reflections.

Dear Mary,

Just an update. I have painted in the Merced, fleshed out more of the river bank, and put more definition in the left and right banks. Frankly, I am not happy with the results, but here it is anyway. I painted and scraped parts of the Merced multiple times and it is still not right…the small jpg may look OK, but it is a mess, and the Merced deserves better. I may scrub much of it entirely tomorrow with a fresh look. The rocks on the left stream bank are not right…there is no balance.

I did scrub much of the stream and redo it. It had become too thick and muddy with paint. I generally paint water fairly thin without a lot of paint. This gives it a more liquid look as contrasted with the surrounding ground, which is put on more thickly.

I also scraped out the far left evergreen…

Dear Mary,

Attached is another jpg of where I am at now. Since I last emailed, I scraped and redid the water. Although it still needs more work, it looks much better now, but you may not be able to tell a lot of difference just from the jpg. I also changed the rocks, and the river bank needed something more, so added a redbud to break it up. I also modified the large foreground rocks, and may change them more once I get further along. I also painted out the evergreen on the far left. As I had it, it made the painting look a little claustrophobic. I need something there to bring your eye back into the painting, so might either paint another evergreen with less foliage, or maybe a dead tree or leafless tree.

The evergreen on the left is painted back in with a little less foliage, and the stream is improved.

Dear Mary,

Attached is another jpg. At this point, all the elements are in and I consider the painting basically ‘complete’. However, as I mentioned before, I let it sit for awhile and make adjustments over a period of several weeks with an occasional fresh look.

Although not readily apparent in the jpg, minor adjustments are made all over the painting. After emailing the latest jpg to the collectors, I received this response.

Dear Donald,

I think it’s gorgeous. I have only two things to suggest: (1) The four boulders in a row in the lower left corner (starting at the new tree and reaching into the river) are rather uniform in shape, I might like some differentiation. (2) I also think the sky still looks a little grey–I do love the bright blue mid day sky in Yosemite. What do you think?

This was the response I was looking for. They liked the work overall, but also took enough time to go over it in detail to offer suggestions.

After a few more adjustments and adopting their suggestions, here is a little larger image of the final painting.

Since the collectors live in San Francisco, which is a little over an hours drive, I delivered it personally, which was the first time we met face to face.

I also brought my paints along in case they wanted any minor color adjustments. They liked it as delivered so no further changes were made. Here is a photo of them holding the painting in front of the wall it will hang. The original agreement was to deliver it unframed. They seemed very pleased and I hope they still are!

About Dan

Dan Schultz was born in New Mexico in 1975 and soon began to take an interest in art. He enjoyed art classes through his primary and high school years, and studied commercial art at Pensacola Christian College in Florida. He received his degree with a focus on illustration and graphic design, but he never felt driven to pursue either as a career. After college, he continued to sharpen his drawing and painting skills by attending Cottonwood Artists’ School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and it was there that he realized for the first time his desire for a career in fine art.

He chooses to work in a classical style because he deeply connects with traditional works which aptly express reality. “Art should bring about a respect for life and God’s creation around us,” he says. “I want to do my best to faithfully render what is beautiful to me and hopefully others will find that beauty reflected in my work.”

Please do take a moment to visit Dan’s Website by following the link below. Much of the artwork on his website (beside what is in his current galleries) is available for purchase directly from his studio. I know Dan worked real hard on this oil painting tutorial. I am sure he would appreciate your visit. If you have time, why not drop him a line as well.

Follow this link to visit Dan’s Website.

Sign Up For Dan’s Email Newsletter

Every month or so, Dan sends out announcements about new artwork, upcoming shows and other news. If you would like to receive these announcements please take a moment to sign up for his newsletter by following the link below:

Please click here to reach Dan’s Newsletter Sign Up Form

Demonstration of High-Key Painting Method – “Into the Light”

For this studio painting I used Claessens double oil primed linen canvas, #15 (my usual painting surface), mounted on 1/2″ Gator Board. This painting, as with most of my larger paintings, was completed using a photograph as my reference (shown below).

Step 1: Preparing the Photo

I first crop my photo so that it will be the same proportion as my canvas. This way I can more easily place all the elements correctly when painting the scene. While considering this photo as a painting source, I decided that it would be interesting to do the painting in a higher key than the photo. Painting in a higher key simply means that all the dark and middle-range values in the painting are lightened, while all the colors become more saturated. All the values still have to relate to each other properly, but the range of values to work with becomes more narrow. The darkest darks in the painting become mid-tone values, while the lightest lights remain about the same value as usual.

Step 2: Drawing

I then do a fairly detailed drawing on my canvas. In this case, I use vine charcoal and make sure to take as much time as necessary since my drawing will provide me with the direction I will follow for the rest of the painting. As I draw, I take careful measurements using my reference photo to make sure everything ends up the right size and in the right place. Once I’m satisfied with this step, I spray the canvas with fixative so that I won’t lose my drawing (paint thinner quickly erases charcoal).

Step 3: Toning the Canvas

My next step is to apply a wash of color to the canvas. I like to use a color and value that is similar to some area of the scene — in this case, the foreground.

Step 4: Color Mixing

Now that I am ready to start painting, I use a palette knife to mix up large piles of the colors that I will need to block-in the main areas. (My palette colors are listed below, starting from the bottom left on my palette and working upwards and to the right.)

Titanium White

Cadmium Lemon

Cadmium Yellow

Cadmium Yellow Deep

Yellow Ochre

Cadmium Red

Terra Rosa

Alizarin Crimson

Transparent Oxide Red

Viridian

Cobalt Blue

Ultramarine Blue

Ivory Black

Step 5: Block-In

Using the large piles of paint that I mixed, I start to block-in all the main colors in the scene, focusing on the big shapes.

Step 6: Continued Block-In

I continue to cover the canvas with the approximate values and colors of each shape. Throughout this process, I do a lot of squinting at my photo and at my painting to compare the value relationships between shapes. Even though I’m painting in a higher key, all the values and colors still need to relate properly to each other. I also like to begin to develop my focal area (the figure and her face) since that area will be the most important part of the painting.

Step 7: Details

Once all the major shapes are established, I return to the figure and begin to refine the big shapes and add smaller shapes (details). I also start adding details to the background.

Step 8: Refining

I’m still adding details in this step, while trying to keep any area from becoming overworked. I want to keep my shapes simple, yet make sure that they contain enough information to look finished and deliberate. As I work on the background, I try to make the shapes simpler than the shapes in the figure so that the background doesn’t compete for visual dominance with the figure. I want the figure to be the dominant part of the painting. I’m also thinking about variety of textures in this step to keep each area interesting. I’m adding larger, thicker strokes of paint in the background to further differentiate it from the smaller strokes in the figure.

Step 9: Final Refinements

Now that the painting is nearing completion, I once again check it for accuracy by looking at it in a mirror. I realize that the face of the figure needs a little more work, so I return to that area to make final adjustments there. Then I work on the foreground grasses, making sure to keep them quite simple so that they don’t compete with my focal area (the figure). My last step includes checking for any area of the painting that stands out as distracting from my focal point, or any other area that seems incorrect. Once I’ve done that, I’m finished!

About Dan

Dan Schultz was born in New Mexico in 1975 and soon began to take an interest in art. He enjoyed art classes through his primary and high school years, and studied commercial art at Pensacola Christian College in Florida. He received his degree with a focus on illustration and graphic design, but he never felt driven to pursue either as a career. After college, he continued to sharpen his drawing and painting skills by attending Cottonwood Artists’ School in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and it was there that he realized for the first time his desire for a career in fine art.

He chooses to work in a classical style because he deeply connects with traditional works which aptly express reality. “Art should bring about a respect for life and God’s creation around us,” he says. “I want to do my best to faithfully render what is beautiful to me and hopefully others will find that beauty reflected in my work.”

Please do take a moment to visit Dan’s Website by following the link below. Much of the artwork on his website (beside what is in his current galleries) is available for purchase directly from his studio. I know Dan worked real hard on this oil painting tutorial. I am sure he would appreciate your visit. If you have time, why not drop him a line as well.

Follow this link to visit Dan’s Website.

Sign Up For Dan’s Email Newsletter

Every month or so, Dan sends out announcements about new artwork, upcoming shows and other news. If you would like to receive these announcements please take a moment to sign up for his newsletter by following the link below:

Please click here to reach Dan’s Newsletter Sign Up Form

West Wind – An Oil Painting Demonstration by Dan Schultz

For this studio painting I used Claessens double oil primed linen canvas, #15 (my usual painting surface). This painting, as with most of my larger paintings, was completed using a photograph as my reference. (My wife, Sarah, is the lovely lady in the photo. Somehow I doubt she would have been very excited to pose in the middle of a field long enough for me to do the painting from life.)

Step 1:

When doing a painting of this size (or larger), I am most comfortable starting with a fairly detailed drawing of my composition. In this case, I use vine charcoal directly on the canvas. I make sure to take as much time as necessary on this step since it will provide me with the direction I will follow for the rest of the painting. As I draw, I take careful measurements using my reference photo to make sure everything ends up the right size and in the right place. (On a side note, I carefully measure when painting smaller sizes too. I just don’t necessarily do a charcoal drawing first.) I always double-check my drawing by looking at it in a mirror. Somehow seeing the image in reverse makes it easier to see my mistakes.

Step 2:

Now that I am ready to paint, I take a few moments to think about how I will proceed. When doing smaller paintings, I will often work on the whole painting at once. But, because this painting is a little larger, I decide to start in one area and work outwards. This way I have the freedom to stop if I need to, and when I return it won’t matter if the paint has started to dry because I (hopefully) won’t have to work on areas that I’ve already painted. (I always prefer to work wet-into-wet so I can easily handle my edges without having to repaint over dry paint.) Of course, this requires some planning as I begin, but it’s also a fun way to work because I can see the painting begin to take shape fairly quickly. So now all I have to do is decide where to start! I’ve found that the easiest way for me to establish my value range for a painting is to start in an area with strong, dark values and some good contrast. For this painting, some of my darkest values are in the focal point (Sarah), so it makes sense for me to start there.

Step 3:

I do a lot of squinting at my photo and at my painting to compare the value relationships between shapes. If I get the relationships right, I will be able to continue through the painting without having to go back to change any of the values.

Step 4:

As I continue, I also pay attention the edges between shapes so that they won’t all end up looking the same. In order to lead the viewer’s eye to the focal point, I make sure to keep my sharpest edges there, while softening other surrounding edges in comparison. One of the keys to good edges is variety.

Step 5:

As I work on Sarah’s white coat in the picture, I keep in mind that photographs have a tendency to incorrectly portray color information, especially in extremely light and dark areas. As a result, I must think about the sunlight from the day I took the photo and remember the effect its color temperature had on the entire scene. (This is where all of that continued practice painting from life pays off too, because I have information in my mind from experiences painting in these very conditions.) Since I remember that the color temperature of direct sunlight is warm, I make sure to add warm colors to all the areas of the coat that are in the direct light. As a result, the shadows are relatively cooler when compared to the light areas.

Step 6:

Sarah is now mostly finished (along with the most critical part of the painting.) The farther along I get in the painting, the more comparisons are taking place. Every shape I paint has to be correct in drawing accuracy, value, color, and edges when compared to what I have already painted. This is why it is so important for me to be accurate as I begin. If I get to this point and notice that one of those main components is incorrect, I will either have a lot of repainting to do, or it will be time to decide to just start over. (And yes, unfortunately this has happened.)

Step 7:

Fortunately, I don’t see any glaring errors at this point, so I am free to start working on the background. The challenge of a background filled with trees is to keep from adding too much detail and distracting from the focal point. Yet another benefit of starting with the focal point is that now I can compare the rest of my painting with it and make sure that it still predominates. So I try to discern the major shapes in the trees and only put in what is necessary to give the impression of many trees and branches.

Step 8:

As I block in more of the background trees and foreground grasses, I keep the paint fairly thin. This allows me to apply thicker paint on top when I get into more detail, and I can also let some of this initial wash show through in the finished painting. Again, this gives me some variety of texture which is pleasing in the same way as variety in my edgework (which I mentioned in Step 4).

Step 9:

Now that I have the background all blocked in, the time has come to start working on the foreground trees. As I mentioned when I was ready to begin painting back in Step 2, I took a few moments to think about how to proceed. One of the things I took note of was that my darkest values in the scene were actually in these foreground trees. Therefore, I had to hold back a bit on how dark I made the shadows in Sarah’s skirt so that when the time came to paint the foreground trees, they would be the darkest elements. This helps increase the illusion of depth in the painting since it “pushes” Sarah farther into the background because the darkest values on her aren’t quite as dark as the foreground trees which should appear closest to the viewer. I also had to remember that my camera saw the shadows on Sarah’s skirt and the value of the foreground trees to be about the same, which gave me another reason to be careful about how dark I made the shadows on Sarah’s skirt.

Step 10:

I start adding details to the trees and grasses, taking care that they don’t become too interesting in comparison with Sarah. After all, she’s most important!

Step 11:

It looks like the whole right side of the painting is pretty much finished now. Painting the values correctly in the grasses at the bottom is somewhat tricky. I have to squint and make more comparisons between the grasses and other values in the painting so that the shadows and lights on the grasses will be correct. Just like painting the trees and branches, I try to look at the big shapes in the grasses so I don’t get them too detailed.

Step 12:

Almost finished now! All that’s left is to finish the trees on the left in both the foreground and background. So all I have to do is treat them the same way I’ve treated the other trees in the painting.

West Wind • Oil on Linen • 16″ x 28″

Step 13:

I always look at the painting in the mirror one last time to make sure nothing is incorrect or distracting from my focal point. Often an edge that is too sharp or a distracting brush stroke needs to be softened. Once those are corrected to my satisfaction, the painting is finished!

Oil paint is one of the most versatile and adaptable painting mediums in existence today. There are many techniques and effects possible with oil paint. Oil paint can be applied in thin transparent glazes or washes, or the paint can be mixed to a thick buttery consistency and applied using a painting knife. There really appears to be no end to the wonderful ways you can create art with this amazing painting medium. This article will talk about some of the many oil painting techniques you can utilize in your next painting.

Dry brush

The dry brush technique involves using a small amount of oil paint straight from the tube. It is then brushed thinly onto your support with a bristle brush. This technique works particularly well with a rough surface. The raised parts of your surface pick up the paint, while the dips or valleys in your support do not. This creates a broken color effect where the color of your canvas shows through.

Painting On A Toned Ground

The white of a canvas can sometimes be too bright or have too much contrast which makes starting a painting a bit difficult. When you cover your support with a uniform toned ground, it makes it much easier to judge the values in your painting. You can use any color you like to tone your ground really, but the more popular approach is to use warm tones of red, yellows and browns, which provide a wonderful richness to the finished work.

Here is an example of how to paint on a toned ground using Burnt Umber and Yellow Ochre. First you create the wash by mixing the Burnt Umber and Yellow Ochre together with a paint thinner ( use turpentine, or if you are like me, and are allergic to turpentine, use a water soluble oil paint). Apply the mixture generously to your support and completely cover it with a large bristle brush. Let this mixture stand for a couple of minutes and then wipe off the excess wash with a cloth.

Alla Prima Painting

Alla Prima painting , also known as “direct painting”, is a technique of oil painting where the work is usually finished in just one sitting. You are probably familiar with the artist Bob Ross, who made this painting method quite popular on his TV Show. I am sure like me, you watched Bob paint in amazement as he completed a beautiful painting in under 30 mintues.

The paint is applied wet onto wet directly onto the canvas usually with no under painting or sketches. It might be a good idea in the beginning to lay down a sketch with some thinned down oil paint. This way you will have a general idea where your colors will be placed. You must be careful using this technique as your painting can become quite muddy if you do not apply the colors correctly on your canvas. It takes practice, so don’t be discouraged if your first, second or even third painting does not come out the way you anticipated. Keep practicing and let your imagination run wild. As Bob used to say, “It’s Your World”.

Working With Painting Knives

If you have never worked with painting knives, then it is highly recommended that you give them a try. This type of painting method is very different from traditional brush painting and when you lay down your first stroke of paint with a painting knife, you will immediately see why. Painting with a knife can be best described as spreading butter on a piece of bread and you should keep your painting at a butter or cream like consistency when using painting knives.

Do not use palette knives to paint with, as they are constructed differently than painting knives. Painting knives have more flexibility to them and come in a variety of different shapes and sizes. You can manipulate paint in a variety of different ways with a knife, just by changing your hand position on the handle.

You can hold your hand down low on the handle to smear the paint over your support. Move your hand up to the top of the handle and you can use your finger to gently push the blade into the paint to create small dabs of color. You can also turn your knife blade on its side for scraping away paint or for creating hard lines.

Glazing

If you never produced a painting using the glazing technique, then you should definitely give this a try as well. Your painting will have a different appearance then if you were to complete a painting using traditional color mixing techniques. Glazing tends to give colors more luminescence.

The colors are not mixed together first before applying, rather, they are mixed optically using single transparent layers of color. For instance, if you wanted to create the color green using glazes, you would not mix yellow and blue together on your palette first. You would first apply a thin glaze of blue, wait until it dries, then apply a thin glaze of yellow, which would then create your green.

Each layer must be completely dry before applying subsequent layers. Usually, the first step in using the glazing technique is to create a monochromatic (different values of the same color) underpainting of the subject. Using only one color will help you to focus on form and tone first, rather than being too preoccupied with color at this stage. Wait until your under painting is dry to begin applying your first layer of color. This technique is tricky and does require practice, but it is not as difficult as some may lead you to believe.

Oil Painting Technique Videos From YouTube

Oil Painting Technique -- How to Paint Clouds

Alla Prima Brushstroke Exercise by Larry Seiler

Oil Painting Technique -- Glazing

Oil Painting Technique -- Toning Your Canvas

Oil Painting DVD’s

If you aren’t a big fan of learning from books, then I highly recommend you check out the following oil painting dvd’s from Creative Catalyst Productions. Creative Catalyst produces some of the highest quality DVD’s in the world and well worth every penny. I recommend Creative Catalyst throughout my website and in my newsletters and stand by them 100 %. Click the links below to see the pricing & ordering details for each video, including free previews.

Oil -- Master Class with Richard Robinson

Quick Studies in Oil by Craig Nelson

Sunlight on Oak Creek by Martha Saudek

Palette Knife Landscape with Water-Soluble Oils & Mixed Media by Sean Dye

Recommended Books Teaching Oil Painting Techniques