Oil Painting Tutorial For Beginners – Paint What You See!
Here is a wonderful 5 part oil painting video tutorial by Artist William Gelvin that teaches how to paint what you see. This is a long video series, but well worth it. You will need about an hour of free time to watch this series.
There are times when a beginner will paint what he thinks he knows about a particular subject and not what is right before his eyes.
Now, this is not to say that you should always paint what you see exactly. Sometimes it is more important to paint what you know, especially if your eyes are not trained to see color and value correctly, as in a portrait for instance.
In this oil painting lesson for beginners, William uses a subject that he has never painted before: a shiny gold watch.
Shiny metal objects are probably one of the most difficult things for beginners to paint. That is because a beginner is not observing the watch correctly. William teaches you how to observe the watch differently, to break it down into a bunch of small shapes, which makes painting it much easier. Learn more by watching the videos below. Enjoy!
Basic Oil Painting Materials For Beginners and Purchasing Tips
Deciding to practice the art of oil painting was a great one, but now you’re faced with what you need to buy in order to get started. Oil painting materials can be very expensive and a vast majority of materials to choose from. This materials list will carry you long into your early years of painting and is budget conscious.
Choosing a good easel can be difficult. But the most important characteristic is that it is STURDY! When I got started oil painting, I did not have the money to buy the kind of easel I needed. So I went to the local home fix it store and bought an 8 by 4 sheet of ¾ inch plywood for about $15.00. I put it up against a wall in my basement and put some support screws at the top of the board and into the ceiling joist and instant easel! The reason why it works so perfectly is that it’s big, so you can put up any size canvas, and it does not get much sturdier than that!
You also never had to adjust anything, because you put the canvas where you want it. This brings me to the next important note though. I staple gun my canvas to the easel flat and stretch them after the painting is done. That’s another reason why the sheet of plywood worked so well. I have used it for years and years and painted many paintings on it, so I have gotten my $15.00 out of it.
Oil Painting For Beginners – What you need to start Oil Painting
Here is a great little video from artist Andrew Whyte for all you beginner oil painters out there. In this video Andrew talks about the various tools and supplies that he uses and recommends for beginners. A big thanks to Andrew for making this video available. To learn more about Andrew and to see his artwork, click here to visit his website.
How to Get the Most Out of your Oil Painting
Learning how to become a good oil painter is a difficult undertaking. In fact, it is more than likely one of the most difficult painting mediums to master. Things like color mixing & theory, perspective, techniques and materials can really intimidate a beginner artist.
So how do you get the most out of your oil painting and become a more accomplished artist?
You must make it a point to learn the fundamentals of oil painting, practice often and have an enormous amount of patience.
You must start with the fundamentals of oil painting first. You cannot expect to produce Rembrandt quality paintings in the beginning. In fact, the first paintings you produce will probably be a lot worse than you may have anticipated. Frustration will more than likely come into the picture (pun intended). They key is to learn from your mistakes and do not let them defeat you.
“Secret Cove” – Step By Step Oil Painting Lesson By Mike Callahan
About Mike
Nationally recognized, award winning artist Mike Callahan is a fourth generation Nevada native who counts himself privileged to grow up in what he believes to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains near Reno, Nevada where he still lives today. While he has been painting since childhood, he has only been painting in earnest for about the last 5 or 6 years.
Says Mike, “The topography of this area is simply phenomenal; one can go from the high desert to mountainous alpine settings in less than an hour. It is this beautiful and varied landscape that ends up being the subject for a vast majority of my paintings.”
However, if you look through the paintings on Mike’s website, you will quickly see that the Sierra landscape isn’t the only subject Mike typically paints. He also enjoys painting Western themes as well as figurative and portraits.
Anatomy of a Commission – Oil Painting Demonstration By Donald Neff
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..”
Oil Painting Technique – Painting Drips and Drops – Part #2
How to paint water drops on a horizontal surface in four easy steps. By Karin Wells
This little 8″ x 10″ painting has a lot of water drops. I like to add fun (and fast) details to a dry painting surface at the end.
I posted the largest file allowed for this so you could see better detail if you click on the above picture.
Oil Painting For Beginners – Painting Drips and Drops By Karin Wells
I have a wonderful oil painting tutorial to share with you today by artist Karin Wells. Hopefully you remember Karin. I conducted an interview with her not long ago. If you did not have a chance to read that interview, I recommend you take some time to read it by clicking here and become better acquainted with Karin. She is a very talented artist and I am delighted to be featuring her work here again.
The following oil painting lesson will demonstrate Karin’s 
oil painting technique for creating water drips on a vertical surface. This is part 1 of a 2 part series. The second part, “How to paint water drops on a horizontal surface in four easy steps”, will be published next week.
Enjoy! Read more
Cedar Crossing – A Step-by-step Oil Painting Demonstration By Aaron Holland
About Aaron
My formal training has been in the “Boston School” tradition, at the Studio of Peter Bougie and Brian Lewis (an Atelier), in the lineage of Richard Lack. While there, I was trained in portraiture, figurative, and still life painting methods, as well as a thorough study of academic drawing approaches. I studied with Mr Bougie and Mr. Lewis every day for five days a week, approximently 7-8 hours a day, for three and a half years. Ironically, it was while I was there that I came to love the landscape.
Both of my teachers are ardent “Plein Air” ( outside, on location) landscape painters, and would often bring in their paintings for our appreciation. After much time spent in the studio their paintings were like a breath of fresh air, and the saturated colors of outdoor light seemed beyond comprehension. I was further impressed by the notion that the paintings were done without the aid of photographic references! It was their belief that, although sometimes necessary, it can often be counter-productive to the aims of a true artist.
I have been painting “on my own” since 1998, and have tried to maintain the same integrity and faithfulness towards landscape painting that I saw demonstrated there. Although there are some differences in how I see and paint the landscape, I think that is an important aspect to growing and developing as an artist. I have made an effort to dedicate several days each week to paint direct from nature. During these painting sessions I have been seeking to capture both the essence of a scene, and how it speaks to me on a personal level. Currently I am concentrating on smaller en plein air compositional studies with a focus on light and color, painted “en premiere coup” (or, in one sitting).
Step By Step Oil Painting Tutorial By Dan Schultz
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.
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