Old Masters Oil Painting Techniques

In this video, Artists Chris Smith and Paul Thomas recreate a painting by an old master on a very large scale. This is a long video, over an hour, so grab your favorite beverage, sit back and enjoy this informative and interesting oil painting demonstration. You will learn a great deal about the old masters oil painting techniques in this demonstration. This is an excellent video and do hope you enjoy!

Oil Painting Tutorial – Learn to Paint Like Monet

About Connie Nelson

I have always liked to draw and paint. In elementary school I was known as the “school artist”. Drawing and painting was a blissful and ‘easy’ activity for me.

I was also inspired by my father, who was a sumi painter. Still, I did not see myself an artist until after taking a job as a registered nurse. The toll exacted by the job on my body and soul made me question my purpose in life.

One fateful day, while I was still working as a nurse, I stepped into an art teacher’s studio and took my very first formal art lesson, and I have never looked back. I soon quit my nursing job and began seriously pursuing painting through continuing art lessons, supplemented by various workshops.

I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest of the United States, surrounded by water and mountains. It’s an enchanting place to live out an artistic life.

The world is more colorful and interesting since I became an artist; every morning I wake up and wonder what to explore next. It is a wonderful way of life. What a blessing!

Please visit Connie’s Websites to learn more about her and to view her work:

Her Art Instruction Site:

http://www.explore-drawing-and-painting.com

Her Portfolio Site:

http://www.connienelsonart.com

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You Can Learn How to Paint Like Monet: His Techniques and Color Mixing Approach

Have you ever wondered how to paint like Monet or wanted to paint like he does?

When you see his works, like the huge water lily paintings in the Orangerie Museum in Paris, you know that he was truly a master colorist.

Those paintings made such an impression on me that to this day I’m still inspired to follow in his footsteps. I want to venture outdoors, see the natural world around me, and paint it the way that he did. It is an invigorating change from the studio painting approach I normally use.

Learning how to paint like Monet is easy. There are three aspects to keep in mind: how he mixed his colors, his technique of applying the paint, and his process for creating paintings.

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First–How to paint like Monet? Learn what’s on his color palette.

Monet started out as a tonalist. He later chose the impressionist approach because he wanted to study the effects of light on the objects around him.

Take a look at his choice of colors to get an idea of what he used for his landscape and still life paintings:

Lead white, chrome yellow, cadmium yellow, viridian green, emerald green, French ultramarine, cobalt blue, madder red, and vermilion.

An impressionist palette to begin with…

You will see some ivory black in his paintings before 1886, but he abandoned it for his later work and used more vibrant colors to mix his grays.

Be aware that lead white is toxic, so use titanium white as a safe alternative.

You can also replace chrome yellow with cadmium yellow light, and use alizarin crimson instead of madder red.

Whatever you do, make sure you have two intense yellows and reds, a vibrant blue, and a green. Once you are familiar with a limited palette, you can gradually add to it.

Many colors have been developed since Monet’s time. You should definitely experiment with them (it’s fun!) but only after you are proficient with a limited palette. You can start with as few as three colors plus white as a reduced palette.

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How to Paint like Monet- Use Broken Colors: Visual Color Mixing

To learn how to paint like Monet, you will need to adopt a technique called “visual mixing.”

Monet did this by, for example, putting a stroke of pure red right next to a stroke of pure yellow. Side by side, the two spots of color produce a rich and vibrant orange.

He also laid in large masses of vibrant color first. Then he would apply strokes of pure colors over them to enrich the original color masses.

As an example, see the chart below for mixing orange.

The first spot on the far left is orange color straight from the tube. The second is a juxtaposition of pure yellow and pure red side by side. The middle spot uses the same yellow laid on top of a wet spot of red.

The fourth is the result of yellow mixed into red using a wet into dry technique (scumbling—painting opaque or semi-opaque colors over dried darker colors). It is almost the same as the third, but more vibrant. The last patch on the far right is the result of directly mixing the red and yellow paint.

You can see that the second, the fourth and the fifth spots are more vibrant and interesting. The colors are not only mixed but seem to vibrate.

Monet mixed his colors using either a wet into wet technique or scumbling (wet color spots on dried layers). Monet would mix a series of secondary colors on the palette, and placed them side by side or, dabbed them all over keeping the color spots separate.

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How to paint like Monet’s- the process.

Although he painted outdoors, Monet did not finish paintings in one session. In fact, many of the canvases were so large he had to hire an assistant to haul them in and out. He said that he brought many canvases outdoors and worked on each one for a short time at the same time of day over several days.

You can imagine how he had very little time to work on a painting each day before the “moment” was gone and he moved on to the next. This approach allowed the paintings to dry a day or two between sessions, which makes scumbling easier.

So if you want to learn how to paint like Monet, keep in mind that you don’t have to finish everything in one session.

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A Demo of how to paint like Monet

To demonstrate all of this, why don’t we take a painting of Monet’s, the “Haystack in Winter,” and recreate it?

“Haystack in Winter” is a charming, simple, and unmistakably Monet painting because of both the subject matter and the brushstrokes. No complicated drawing is needed, which makes it perfect for this demo.

First, I draw the large shapes with a brush, and then cover the large masses to create an underpainting on the white canvas. (I am partial to toning canvases for oil painting, but this is the exception).

I use slightly diluted paint (diluted with some water since I use water soluble oil paints). I use a blue tone for the mountain in the background, and a warm green and yellow in the foreground and on the haystack. I mix some white into the sky to match the value in Monet’s original painting. I then let the layer dry completely.

Once the first layer is dried, I begin to scumble colors all over. Starting from the top, I scumble pale yellow into the lower sky. I mix a pale grayed green into the lower part of the mountain. I  scumble blue into the cast shadow of the haystack. I mix a brown using orange, yellow, and burnt sienna with a bit of blue for the hay stack and the village on the right. I also dab the same warm brown in the foreground.

In the next step, I dry brush the white colors into the ground. I tone the white down with a tiny amount of yellow or blue. I do not want to use the starchy white paint directly from the tube,  because it attracts too much attention. Even when Monet was painting the most vibrant colors, he was still very deliberate in maintaining harmony of color and value.

Here is a close up of the broken color dabs that I used. Notice that I let the underpainting show through. The white paints are thick impasto passages.

I then modify the sky and the mountain by adding more dabs of grayed green and yellow. I continue to scumble white paints over the ground. I keep the dabs separate as much as possible.

I continue using the same scumbling technique to dab more colors onto the canvas. I keep the overall value relationships correct by squinting. Every time I find that I have misjudged the value of a color, I modify it. Even if the colors are interesting and vibrant, they still need to be tied together to make a united whole.

I begin to zero in on small masses and details. I mix some grayed red color for the trees on the middle left.

Almost done….I see in Monet’s original painting that the haystack’s shadow has violet colors on top. I could have added that color immediately, but I am afraid that it might make the shadow look muddy and heavy. So I wait until the whole painting is dry and then I scumble that color over it for an airy and light effect.

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The original haystack painting’s size is 25¾ x 36 3/8 inches (65.4  x 92.3 cm). Monet painted it outdoors. The demo I did is only 6×8 inches.

I could have painted this scene in one session, but with Monet’s broken color technique, I have to wait for each layer to dry until it is tacky or semi-dry so that the colors I scumble or dry brush  over will not disturb the layer underneath.

As a plein aire painter, I know that it is out of question to create a painting the size of Monet’s outdoors in one session.

It’s nice to know that I do not have to make a painting ‘right’ on the first day; I can rework it over many days until it’s finished.

If you want to learn how to paint like Monet, it is best to copy his paintings. That will give you a better understanding of how the process works. It will make you appreciate the optical effects achieved through his techniques and his respect for faithfully catching the natural effects of light.

The revolutionary water soluble oil paints

Oil Painting Video Lesson – The Spring House

Enjoy this three part oil painting lesson:

Part 1

Beginning a new oil painting of a Spring House in rural Pa. Here i am blocking in the sky and foreground underpainting:

Part 2

Underpainting the backround elements of “The Springhouse” oil painting.

Part 3

Unfortunately i had to skip videoing several sessions as i was in between cameras at thte time. So we’re here at the final session ;detailing in the foreground. Thanks for watching!!

Oil Painting Tips – Different Methods For Starting an Oil Painting

Oil paint is an exciting medium to work with. One will never become bored while painting with oil paints. There are a variety of materials and other mediums at your fingertips and when you combine these materials and mediums with the versatility of oil paints, you have a variety of interesting ways to begin an oil painting. There are certain drawing and painting mediums that are compatible with oil paints and when utilized, will make your painting experience more interesting and enjoyable.

CHARCOAL

Charcoal works beautifully as a preliminary step to oil painting. There are three main forms of charcoal used most often by artist’s and they are compressed, willow and vine charcoal. Willow and Vine charcoal tend to be more highly favored for preliminary drawings as they leave a lighter mark and are easier to erase. Compressed charcoal, because it leaves a much darker line, is more difficult to remove and not as widely used to start an oil painting. Some helpful tools to use for working with charcoal are kneaded erasers, stiff bristle brushes, blenders and tortillions. Whatever type of charcoal drawing you create, make certain not to go overboard with your application. Charcoal is very forgiving with oil paints, but too much, and it can effect the paint in adverse ways.

PAINTING ON A TONED GROUND

Depending on the type of final picture you are working towards, sometimes the white of the canvas can be too bright or have too much contrast which makes starting a painting rather difficult. Using a uniform toned ground on your support, will make it much easier to judge the values in your painting. You are welcome to use any color you like to tone your canvas. Some of the more popular tones are warm reds, yellow and browns.

Toning your canvas is pretty straight forward and will not require that much time. Here is an example using one of my favorite tones. First create a thin wash using Yellow Ochre and Burn Umber. Apply the wash to your support generously. Use a large bristle brush to spread and cover the support entirely. Allow the wash to dry for a couple of minutes and then wipe off the excess with a cloth. You don’t have to use oils to tone your canvas. You can tone your canvas with any of the water mediums described below.

ACRYLIC PAINT

Acrylic paint is an excellent choice for starting an oil painting and one of my favorites. One of the most attractive features of acrylic paint is its fast drying time. This property of acrylic paint makes blocking in your underpainting very easy. Ideas can be worked out quickly on your canvas and instead of waiting days for your underpainting to dry, you are ready to paint in mere minutes. This really does depend on the type of acrylic paint you are using and how thickly you apply it. Not only is the fast drying time attractive, but as in other water based mediums, there is no need to thin the paint with dangerous substances like turpentine.

WATER SOLUBLE PENCILS

Water soluble pencils provide an excellent way to begin an oil painting mainly because of their versatility. The beauty of this medium is that when dry, it acts like a normal colored pencil, but when water is added, it magically mimics the properties of water color. This enables the artist to both draw detailed lines as well as create colorful washes.

WATER SOLUBLE OIL PAINT

Many artists are not that familiar with this last medium as its a relative newcomer to the world of painting. Enter, water soluble oil paint. With normal oil paints, a traditional method for starting a painting is by diluting the oil paint with turpentine to apply washes. The problem with turpentine is its a very dangerous substance. Many artists develop allergic reactions to this substance and are unable to use it. The beauty of water soluble oil paints is that no turpentine or other harmful substances are needed. They can be thinned with plain old water. Water soluble oil paints behave just like normal oil paints and your brushes can be cleaned with soap and water, again, avoiding the need to use harsh chemicals.

Oil Painting Tips – How To Keep Your Colors Pure

One of the biggest hurdles for beginner oil painters is learning how to keep colors pure. How many times have you started an oil painting only to quit from frustration because things just didn’t look right. Your colors were muddy or they just lacked brilliance. This is a very common problem for artists just starting out with oil paints. Hopefully the oil painting tips in this article will help relieve some of your frustration and enable you to finally enjoy painting.

BE CLEAN AND ORGANIZED

I know for some of us, it can be very difficult to maintain a clean and organized painting environment. Sometimes we can get very caught up in our work and things can get sloppy. The last thing you want is to become a sloppy painter as your work will suffer. Break the habit early and try your hardest to develop clean and organized painting habits.

Your Palette

First, you should get into the habit of laying out your colors the same way every time you paint. This is just good practice and keeps the painting process flowing nicely. Arrange your colors along the edges of your palette leaving a lot of room in the center for mixing.

Don’t be afraid to squeeze out a good amount of paint, especially your whites. You will be more productive if you aren’t continuously stopping to squeeze out more paint.

Make certain to include all of the colors you think you will need to complete that session of painting. Again, this will make you more productive.

When adding paint to the palette, I have found that squeezing the paint out in long lines, as opposed to puddles, keeps my colors cleaner. When you have puddles of paint, they tend to get soiled by other colors when mixing. With a long line of paint, you can just take paint from the end as needed and not dirty the rest. Keep some rags or paper towels handy for wiping your palette knife clean.

It’s a good idea to continuously wipe your palette clean during the painting process. There is nothing more frustrating then trying to remove dried up oil paint. Keep some alcohol handy so that you can keep the mixing area of your palette clean.

If you don’t want to fuss around with a regular palette, why not try a disposable one? They are basically paper with a plastic coating that prevents the paper from absorbing the oil. The beauty of the disposable palette, is that you can simply throw it in the trash when you are done. Using a disposable palette will definitely help keep your colors clean as you will be starting with a clean surface every time you start a new painting session.

When mixing your colors, use your palette knife and not your brush. A palette knife can be wiped completely clean so there is no chance of your colors becoming contaminated. Your brush is made for painting and not mixing and you can shorten the life span of your brush if you are continually mixing with it.

Brushes

I like to have a handful of clean brushes near by when I am painting. This way, I do not need to stop and clean my brushes when I am working with a different color and there is less risk of the wrong colors getting into the mix.

SATURATION OR BRILLIANCE OF COLOR

When a color is squeezed straight from the tube, it is said to be high in saturation or brilliance. This is because it hasn’t been mixed with any other colors. The more colors you mix together, the duller they will become. It has been said that one should not mix more than three colors together and this a very good rule to follow. If you mix more than three colors together you are kind of defeating the purpose.

Why is this so? Let’s say that you are going to mix a brown. You decide to use red, yellow and blue to create your brown. You then decide to mix in a bit of orange. As you know, red mixed with yellow will create orange. So there is no need to add the additional color.

No one ever said it is a sin to use color straight from the tube. If you are painting something that calls for brighter color, why not use paint straight from the tube without mixing. Sometimes we get so accustomed to mixing color, that we neglect the pure color that is right in front of us. When using pure color though, try not to over do it. Too many bright colors can create havoc in a painting. Try and add bright colors against a duller surrounding so that your bright colors really stand out.

LIGHTEN OR DARKEN WITH COLOR

What is it that most of us do when we want to change the value of a color? To lighten a color, we usually add white and to darken a color we use black. You should always look for the opportunity to use color to change the value instead of black and white. Adding white or black to color will diminish its brilliance, unless that is the effect you are shooting for. A great example of this is using Yellow Ochre. If you want to brighten and lighten this color, instead of adding white, try adding a little Cadmium Yellow Light.

I hope this article has given you a little more insight into keeping your colors pure. Remember to practice oil painting as often as possible and never give up, no matter how frustrated you get!

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