David De Groot asked:


Finding the perfect gift for your friend or loved one this holiday season doesn’t have to be frustrating. There are many items you can give that your loved one will delight in for a lifetime. One thoughtful gift idea is to have a stunning oil painting produced from one of your loved one’s favorite photos.

The photo used to create the painting can be one of a grandparent, child, close family friend, pet, your loved one’s home, or even an important event such as a wedding or anniversary. If there’s a particular photo your loved one holds dear to their heart, a painting of that photo will be even more meaningful.

Choose an Ideal Photo for a Beautiful Finish

The type of photo you select for your portrait gift will determine the beauty and quality of the painting. You can choose a photo that will complement your loved one’s home. You might even use a photo that’s already hanging on their wall!

If you’re planning to give a wall portrait, make sure the colors and patterns in the photo harmonize with your loved one’s room decor where you think they might hang the portrait. Then, your painting can be a natural addition to the room without your loved one having to redecorate or rearrange things. For tabletop portraits, you can also choose a photo that blends well with your loved one’s home.

Portrait Size and Quality

The photo should be clear and unblemished if possible, and preferably taken by a professional photographer for best quality. When creating a wall portrait, consider where they might hang the portrait and find out the measurements of that particular wall space. Choose a size that could fit in several different areas of the home so your loved one will be able to hang it where desired.

Oil Portraits Come from the Heart

A beautifully painted portrait on canvas conveys a message to your loved one that you truly care about their happiness and fulfillment this holiday season. They’ll be thrilled that you made a special effort to recreate their most valued memory on canvas.

Giving a painted oil portrait is a great way to add a personal touch to your holiday gift. It’s a gift that will be treasured for years to come.

Ralph Serpe asked:


One of the more frequently asked questions from beginners in oil painting is: How do I get Started? To get started in oil painting is relatively easy. There are some basic supplies that you will need and some basic guidelines to follow. This article will discuss how beginners can get started with oil painting. This article will not teach you how to become a good painter however. In fact, no one can make you a good painter. You can only be taught certain things and it is up to you to take what you have learned and apply it.

Many beginners who are new to the oil painting medium, generally have the same questions. So let’s cover those questions now so that you can begin your painting journey right away.

Oil Painting Supplies

The first thing you will need to do is purchase a few supplies. You need not spend a ton of money on expensive oil painting supplies. Start with the basics as you are only a beginner right now. The goal at this point is to get used to working with your support, brushes, paints and other materials. So expensive supplies will be wasted during this stage.

Supports

You are going to need a support to paint on. There are a number of different supports that can handle oil paint, but for now, start with canvas. Many beginners often ask if a canvas needs any special coating or priming for oil paint. The short answer is yes, but you need not worry about that either. Any local art supply store or online art supply store will have canvases that are already primed and ready to be used.

Oil Paint

Next, you are going to need paint. You do not need an expensive brand of paint. That would again be a waste for beginners. There are less expensive, good quality paints on the market that will work beautifully for your painting needs. Here are a few oil paint brands to test out: WINSOR & NEWTON Winton Oil Colours, GRUMBACHER Academy Oils and DALER-ROWNEY Georgian Oil Colours.

For those of you who may be concerned about the potential hazards associated with oil paints, have no fear. Introducing water miscible oil paints! These paints are fantastic. They can be thinned with water as opposed to using dangerous solvents like turpentine. Here are two brands to try out if you are interested: GRUMBACHER Max Water Miscible Oil Colors and WINSOR & NEWTON Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colours.

Oil Painting Brushes

Having good quality brushes is important. While a good quality brush will not make you a better painter, a cheap brush will only wind up frustrating you. When you use cheap brushes you will see why. Cheap brushes have a tendency to shed hairs that get stuck in the oil paint, which is extremely annoying. Good quality brushes should have stiff hairs and snap back into place when you run your fingers through them. They should be well crafted and sturdy.

You do not need that many brushes for oil painting. I personally only use two types of oil painting brushes: flats and filberts of various sizes. I do have a few rounds and a fan brush on hand, but I almost never use them. I would also recommend that you use hogs hair brushes as opposed to the softer synthetic hair brushes. The synthetic brushes are just too flimsy to handle the oil painting medium in my opinion.

Cleaning your brushes is important, so don’t be careless in this area, especially if you are working with high quality brushes. Many artists recommend turpentine for cleaning brushes, but I simply cannot bring myself to use this stuff. I use a much safer brush cleaning product called “The Masters” Brush Cleaner and Preserver.

I clean my brushes right after a painting session with this product and it works wonderfully. It may take some time to really get your brushes clean, but it is worth the effort. If the brush cleaner does not remove all of the paint, then I use a bit of odorless mineral spirits. I find this a much better alternative to turpentine.

Oil Painting Mediums

What about mediums? Do you need to mix the oil paint with anything or can you use it straight out of the tube? This is another common question amongst beginners. The answer? You do not need mediums to paint with. They are not a requirement, but I find them to be quite helpful.

Most oil paints that I have worked with are simply too stiff right out of the tube for my particular style of painting. Mediums will help dilute the oil paint and make the paint flow better, which means you will be using less paint. Using less paint, means you will save money.

There are many different kinds of mediums that are used for different reasons, like speeding up the drying time of paint, improving gloss, etc. Do not be overly concerned with mediums right now.

I like to start my painting using thinned down acrylic paint. I first tone my entire canvas with a neutral color. I then draw in my composition using different values of the same color. I let this initial drawing dry over night. I then apply the oil paint using the fat over lean oil painting method.

Lighting

This is a very important part of oil painting. Without proper lighting, you will not be able to accurately see your colors. The best kind of lighting is natural sunlight, so if you have the opportunity to paint in a well lit room or outdoors, that would be ideal. Of course not everyone is blessed with this type of situation, so the next best thing is to use lighting that mimics natural sunlight.

This type of lighting is referred to as “full spectrum lighting”. There are number of different full spectrum lighting products available. Just do a search on google for “full spectrum lighting” and you will find a number of websites on the topic.

Safety

Oil painting for beginners can be hazardous if you are not careful, so it is important to take the necessary precautions. Make sure you work in an area that has good ventilation and airflow. Wear disposable latex gloves while painting. Read all manufacturer warning labels carefully.

Some Final Words

As you sit down to start your first painting, remember that you are just a beginner. Your main goal right now is to have fun and get used to working with your oil painting materials. Do not be overly judgmental about your own work. If you do so, you will only wind up getting frustrated. Your first, second, third or even tenth painting may not turn out the way you wanted it to. This is completely normal so do not get discouraged. Oil painting is a difficult medium to master. It takes perseverance so hang in there. I wish you all the best! God Bless.

Ralph Serpe asked:


Oil painting is a wonderful medium all on its own, but there are modifiers that you can add to the oil paint that can change its behavior. This article will give you an overview of some of the more popular oil painting mediums available to today’s oil painters. The use of oil painting mediums is really a matter of taste and not a requirement. Many artists do not use any mediums at all other then a bit of oil to make the paint more workable, as some paints are quite thick straight from the tube. Other artists swear by certain mediums. It should also be noted that artists differ on opinion when it comes to the effectiveness and quality of oil painting mediums, so you should experiment on your own and form your own opinion. Make sure before using any oil painting medium that you read all warning labels and always work in a well ventilated area. It is also recommended that you work with gloves to protect your skin.

LINSEED OIL

Linseed oil is made from the seed of the flax plant. During its early history, linseed oil had a different role then it has today. Originally it was used as a final varnish for paintings that were created using the egg tempera medium. Linseed oil is used as binder in today’s oil paints. Linseed oil dries thoroughly and forms a strong paint film. Because linseed oil dries slowly, the paint remains in a workable state, enabling the artist to continue working on the painting for some time. When linseed oil ages, it does tend to yellow unfortunately. Many painters avoid using linseed oil with lighter colors like whites and yellows. Below are a few varieties of linseed oils that are available to today’s oil painters.

COLD PRESSED LINSEED OIL

Cold pressed linseed oil is made by extracting the oils from the raw flaxseed. The oil is extracted by using pressure and not heat, thereby creating a linseed oil in its purist form. Cold pressed linseed oil can be used as a binder in oil paints, but can also be used as a medium to thin oil paints, heighten gloss and transparency, and reduce the visibility of brush strokes. Many painters and manufacturers alike feel cold pressed linseed oil is superior in quality to other linseed oils because there is no refinement made to the oil. Cold pressed linseed oil results in a low yield, so this oil does carry a heftier price tag.

STEAM PRESSED OR REFINED LINSEED OIL

When the flaxseed is steam heated and then pressed it yields more oil, thereby making refined linseed oil a more affordable medium for artists and for use as a binder in oil paints. The process of steam heating the flax seeds produces more waste, so this waste has to be removed through a refinement process. The oil is treated with an acid which removes the waste materials. The acid is then neutralized with an alkali solution. Refined linseed oil can be used to thin oil paint and increase brilliance and transparency.

SUN THICKENED LINSEED OIL

Sun thickened linseed oil is a thick bodied medium that is produced using the heat of the sun. An equal amount of both linseed oil and water are mixed together in a container and left in sunlight for several weeks or longer. The water and linseed oil eventually separate resulting in a thicker oil with a honey like consistency. Sun thickened linseed oil is not used as a binder in oil paints but as an independent medium that improves flow and increases gloss. Sun thickened linseed oil has less of a tendency to yellow and speeds drying.

STAND OIL

Stand oil is also a thick bodied medium like sun thickened linseed oil. Linseed oil is heated at a high steady temperature, in an air tight container, which results in a very thick honey like consistency. Stand oil is useful as a glazing medium when mixed with turpentine and damar varnish. Stand oil helps improve the flow and has good resistance to yellowing. Stand oil is a slow drying medium that produces a strong enamel like paint film.

POPPY SEED OIL

Because linseed oil has a tendency to yellow as it ages, other oils have come onto the market. Amongst these oils are poppy seed and safflower oil. Poppy seed oil is extracted from the seeds of the opium poppy. Poppy seed oil is a pale slower drying oil and is less likely to yellow when compared with linseed oil. It is often used with whites, blues and pale colors.

SAFFLOWER OIL

Safflower oil is similar to poppy seed oil in that they both are suitable for whites and light colors. It has less of a tendency to yellow when compared to linseed oil.

WALNUT OIL

Walnut oil is a pale oil that helps make paint more fluid and has good drying power. It has less of a tendency to yellow when compared with linseed oil. Walnut oil has to be stored properly or it can spoil.

LIQUIN

Liquin is a popular oil painting medium. Many artists swear by it and it is definitely worth a try if you have never worked with it before. Liquin improves the flow of oil and alkyd colors and helps in subtle blending and fine detail. It speeds drying and serves as a good medium for glazing.

I hope this article has served as a good overview on oil painting mediums. Remember that working with oil painting mediums is not a requirement. If you are feeling adventurous then choose one medium at a time, experiment and have fun. Happy Painting!