Oil painting basics explained part one
While I was making my Three Weekend Portrait Painting masterclass, I realized that many people have a bit of a hard time transitioning from watercolors or acrylics to oil painting because no one has ever explained to them the basics of oil painting.
So I am going to make a series of posts about this topic.
And even if you are an experienced oil painter, you may find something helpful. So here we go.
First, we will start with Canvas:
Why choose canvas?
Reason number one: Oil paints is a dense and heavy material so cotton and linen are ideal surfaces to hold an oil painting.
Reason number 2: Canvas is a much lighter material than wood board. It’s easy to transport. And has the same longevity.
How do artists choose canvas?
The answer is, depends on your budget and your experience.
The two canvas materials are cotton and Linen.
I love the cotton canvas. It’s affordable and easy to paint on. Linen canvas is smoother than cotton but it’s also more expensive, great for painting detailed portraits.
You can buy canvas rolls and stretch bars to stretch your canvas. But I advise you to buy a pre-stretched canvas to save time. And they are not much more expensive.
A good canvas will be tightly wrapped around the bars. Beware a loosely stretched canvas.
A good tip: If you have a loose canvas, you can spray the back with a water mist bottle and let it dry in the sun.
Most store-bought canvas already has been primed. But I suggest you do your priming anyway. I have made a post about why you need to do so and how to prime your canvas in the last week’s blog. You can access it here: https://yingmclane.com/the-best-way-to-gesso-the-canvas/
The frame of the canvas is important, especially for larger pieces. If your canvas is 24”x36” or larger, you will want to get a canvas with a horizontal bar going across the middle of the canvas. Better yet, a crossbar in the back as support.
If you are a beginner who just learning to paint with oil, I suggest you get canvas boards, canvas pads, or stretched canvas in small sizes and sold in bulks in art stores.
Because you will need to do a lot of practice painting and those are very reasonably priced choices.
Hope this post is helpful. Let me know if you have any questions!
