What do you need to buy to start oil painting, my top 12 tips ?

By Jim Barrie Contemporary Artist

I remember starting out with oil painting, it was difficult enough learning to paint but knowing what to buy, what not to buy and where to buy it from was very much a trial and error approach that could have been a lot easier if someone had written this article when I started out.

Keeping it simple you will need to buy a canvas stretched over some wooden supports, you can buy canvas on to boards but trust me not nice to paint on.

You can paint on plywood, cardboard or paper and just about anything but suggest you keep it simple as everything has to be prepared first and cardboard and paper are not going to last long and not at all fun to paint on.

Advise with canvas purchase is start small and cheap and buy a packet of 6 or 10, canvas’s can be cheap as chips or very expensive, the more you buy the cheaper they are.

 

 

2. Paint Brushes

Buy some paint brushes, trick is do not go crazy and buy hundreds nor buy cheap rubbish. Brands I personally use a lot are Daler Rowney, Da Vinci, Rosemary and Co look for a starter set to get you going.

Why do I favour these brands, basically they last well, clean well and make good marks on the canvas.

Some might have heard of Bob Ross, his brush clearer is excellent but brushes are over priced and do not last well.

 

 

 

3. Palette Knives

Do you need any pallet knifes, I would say at some point buy some but if starting out not required. RGM is a decent brand when you decide to start using them and actually pretty cheap.

 

 

 

 

4. Oil Paints

You need to buy some oil paints. Basically you get what you pay for the more expensive the brighter the paint. Cheap student paints are ok if you are on a very tight budget but would suggest you by better quality. Winsor and Newton or if on a tighter budget Pebeo are good enough brand without going crazy on price. Pebeo is a bit oilier than the Winsor and Newton, so if a bit runny let some of the oil run off when first opened.

If you want high end Rembrandt has excellent colour strength, goes further and brighter. There are other brands that are better but price is over the top.

Start simple you will need a white and some cooler primary colours and some warmer primary colours, you can mix most colours with these colours.

Titanium White

Lemon Yellow

Cadmium Yellow

Cerulean Blue

Ultramarine Blue

Light Red

Cadmium Red

Once your hooked on painting you can always buy more colours, Magenta & Phthalo Turquoise or Prussian Blue are good ones to add.

You can buy oil paints that you can clean with water, plus side less toxic, down side expensive and does not move the same as oil paint so will be tricky if you ever decide to use a pallet knife to create texture.

5. Brush cleaner

Buying a brush cleaner, for me I prefer Bob Ross’s brush cleaner, pricey as about £36 for a 5 litre tin, but no odour and actually cleans the brushes and lasts for ages. Bob Ross’s Brush Beater rack is good inside a mop bucket but do not rate Bobs cleaning bucket and screen, I have an aluminium bucket and screen that is better, which I got on Amazon, however not listed very often so hard to get.

I found the environmentally friendly low odour cleaners, were not that great at cleaning the brushes, the turpentine high odour brands clean the brushes but stink the house out and some people struggle with the fumes. *No doubt there are some great brush cleaners available so like everything in life try it and decide what is best for you.

You can buy some fancy soap cleaners such as The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver, actually quite good but have found washing up liquid and pears soap is almost as good if you are trying to get a very stubborn colour out your brushes.

 

6. Easel

Do you need an Easel?I would say you do, you could paint flat on a kitchen table but is going to be very tricky.

Another one of those you get what you pay for, cheap will get you going but will break around the 3 to 6 months time frame, something in the £100 to £200 range will last a lot longer, however you can spend thousands on a easel, the two I have were both under £200, but I did buy some cheap ones in the beginning, the flimsy timber one broke and the metal one snapped.

 

 

 

7. Artist Palette

What should you mix your paints on? Personally I use a sheet of perspex that I clean with a pallet knife and the cheapest baby wipes I can buy, check out ebay, when it get’s a bit messy buy another one. Note to self, if I cleaned up quicker it would not get messy.

Could use glass but is easier to break, if on a budget waxed proof paper or paper plates also work. You can buy an artist pallet but personally I thought they were a waste of money and bit small for my liking unless you spend quite a bit of money.

 

8. Mediums

Should you buy any mediums?

Liquin Original is good for getting a nice smooth line but not absolutely essential, linseed oil is handy to thin out any overly firm old paint, Sansador is a better way to thin a paint, if you use your turps or turps substitute you will see the brightness of the colour drop off. Recommendation is learn to paint first then start experimenting with mediums, buy small sizes and if useful to you buy in the larger aluminium tins as cheaper.

 

 

 

9. Primer

Preparing the canvas is recommended will make it easier to paint on. Options are Bob Ross liquid white, personally not a fan as if you apply too much your paintings will crack, Guesso Primer is a option but find it rather messy and can get lumpy. My personal choice is Cranfield White Acrylic Primer “Can be tricky to source“, ideally two coats and make sure dry between coats and you wash your brush out with water between coats as are water based. Instructions are on the side of the tin.

 

 

10. Colour Wheel

Buy or print out a colour wheel and do a bit of research on what it is actually telling you. If you pick a colour then colours to either sides will look good together and colour opposite the colour you choose will make a good colour for painting a shadow.

 

 

 

11. Old Clothes

Painting can get messy so old clothes is a must.

As you can see I have a my painting jeans on display:)

 

 

 

 

 

12. Floor Protection

Buy something to cover your floor is a good plan, can be linoleum, cardboard and old carpet or a dust sheet even an old blanket would do.

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Art is very much about experimenting and opinions, the above is advise I have learnt through trial and error and spending more money than I should have.

Have fun painting.

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