| Every human on the planet has an artist within just | | | | Keep a good supply of Qtips tips ready for cleaning |
| waiting to be released. Every time you doodle with | | | | up errors. Dampen the Qtips tip with mineral spirit |
| a pencil, or spread paint on a wall or redecorate a | | | | and wipe off the error. If you have to much mineral |
| room, you are encouraging the artist within. It | | | | spirit on the Qtip you can make the problem worse. |
| doesn’t matter how old you are or what talent | | | | Use a dry Qtip to finish up the correction. After a |
| you think you have or don’t have: each of us | | | | painting is finished you will want to give it a light coat |
| expresses our artistic flair in thousands of different | | | | of Krylon Kamar spray varnish. This protects the |
| ways each day of our life. Sometimes it is as simple | | | | painting from yellowing. |
| as re-arranging tools in a garage, or getting a new | | | | Art Supplies For The Beginner |
| paint job on an old car. The point is we each | | | | The primary ongoing cost of supplies is of course |
| express our creative self in many ways; and one | | | | paint and brushes. You will find a wide variety of |
| way is oil painting. The challenge for the novice is to | | | | costs, however the adage “you get what you |
| know where to start. Doesn’t learning how to | | | | pay for” does not always apply when it comes |
| paint require a major money investment for art | | | | to art supplies, this is especially true for brushes. |
| education and supplies? | | | | Brushes are so varied that there is no simple way to |
| You might ask yourself just how do you go about | | | | say one product is bad and another is good. You |
| teaching Art? It is like saying you are going to | | | | can pay 15 dollars for a brush and it still may fail. |
| teach creativity (Oxymoron). You are already | | | | Paints are easier to judge and come in two major |
| creative, so about all you can achieve from a formal | | | | categories: student level and professional level. |
| art education is a handful of techniques and a | | | | Unless you are already skilled, have a patronage |
| credential proclaiming your expertise (or at the very | | | | foaming at the mouth to purchase your latest |
| least that you attended a school). Learning oil | | | | creation, there is no reason to use professional |
| painting happens on the canvas by doing and what | | | | paint. Grumbacher makes and excellent student |
| you need to learn in the way of techniques can be | | | | grade paint called Academy. Winton oils are also an |
| found free on the net or in a library. What you | | | | excellent choice for the beginner. The prices range |
| need to be cautious of on the net is getting involved | | | | from 5 to 12 dollars a tube and if purchased on line |
| with Artist forums. You might pick up a few | | | | you can find some really great prices. You can get |
| techniques but mostly you will be picked apart for | | | | twice the amount of paint for the same price you |
| even daring to think that you can just pick up a paint | | | | would pay at your local art and craft store. |
| brush and paint. What you need to understand is | | | | Paints |
| that most of what you will learn on these forums is | | | | The basic colors you need to get started should |
| how to spend money on expensive brushes, paints | | | | include the following: |
| and canvas which is not necessary in order to | | | | Titanium white (Do not use the fast dry type.) |
| produce a quality oil painting. The most amount of | | | | Prussian Blue |
| money involved in oil painting is made by selling art | | | | Cadmium Red |
| supplies to the naive oil painting novice. | | | | Viridian Green |
| A painting can be done in a variety of mediums, | | | | Light Green |
| including oil, acrylics or water color. Acrylic is really a | | | | Cadmium Yellow |
| modern alternative to oils and has its own unique | | | | Yellow Ochre |
| properties. It dries much quicker than oil paint and is | | | | Burnt Sienna |
| water soluble. This makes cleaning up much easier | | | | Burnt Umber |
| but it also means that it is less forgiving if you want | | | | Raw Umber |
| to make changes (Oil based paint is slightly more | | | | Payne's Grey |
| expensive than acrylic paint). My personal | | | | Black |
| preference is to use oil but either medium will allow | | | | ______________________________ |
| you to produce a quality painting. Both oil and acrylic | | | | *Note: You will use white more than any other |
| are typically painted on a canvas surface, but both | | | | color. Therefore you need to purchase the largest |
| can be used on painting boards such as compressed | | | | tube of white you can find. |
| hard board or hardwood plywood. Both canvas and | | | | One problem you will encounter with the tubes of |
| board should be primed with Gesso prior to applying | | | | paint is that a residue of the tube material (metal) will |
| paint. There is some controversy as to the use of | | | | discolor some of the paint, especially the white. It |
| Gesso (the modern form is an acrylic base) under | | | | has a silver gray appearance. I have not yet found a |
| oil. However, the controversy surrounds the | | | | good solution, but what you can do is keep a clean |
| possibility that oil may (this is not absolute) | | | | cloth available, dampened with mineral spirits, to wipe |
| delaminate from the Gesso after 20 or 30 years. | | | | the end of the tube. The residue comes directly |
| This may be an important issue for the professional | | | | from the material that is used to make the tube (a |
| artist who is selling her or his work for thousands of | | | | sort of soft metal). |
| dollars. Should you be concerned about this issue? | | | | Brushes |
| Your creation is also susceptible to fire, do you want | | | | This is a tough issue because the brush size really |
| to spray it with a fire retardant? The whole issue is | | | | depend on the size of the painting. However, since |
| a non issue for most of us ordinary folks. Leave | | | | your first painting is likely to be on a Wal Mart 14 x |
| that worry to the egotist artist. | | | | 18 pre-primed canvas any brush over one inch wide |
| Pre-primed canvas is readily available from any Wall | | | | is overkill. The real issue is the hardness of bristle. |
| Mart store and does not need to be covered with | | | | Natural bristle is very hard and not all that useful, |
| Gesso (the primer has an acrylic base). Start with 14 | | | | unless you are planning to paint your house. |
| x 18 canvas, anything bigger is going to be too | | | | Synthetic bristles are just fine for starting and you |
| intimidating. After a few paintings go up in size to 16 | | | | can usually purchase them for under 6 dollars each. |
| x 20, then 20 x 24 and when you are feeling really | | | | The following picture is my arsenal of brushes (the |
| confident try 24 x 30. These larger canvases and | | | | quarter is useful for judging relative size). Smokes |
| boards take a lot of paint so to keep cost down | | | | and ash tray are optional. |
| make sure you plan your painting on actual size | | | | |
| paper. You can use news print paper, but I have | | | | Except for the fan brushes these are all relatively |
| found that poster board makes a better planning | | | | soft bristle. Don’t hesitate to use a water color |
| surface.The best art box for containing your paint | | | | brush if that will get you the result you want. All |
| and brushes is the rubber maid boxes that have lids | | | | too often the new artist thinks they have to use |
| which overlap the edge. These are great for | | | | proscribed tools and procedures. This is Art: there |
| keeping out rain and are really inexpensive. If you | | | | are no rules! If painting with the end of your index |
| find yourself purchasing a fancy wooden art box you | | | | finger does the job, then use it. Notice that the |
| have just thrown money down the toilet. A very | | | | palate knife is metal and not plastic. You will find |
| good pallet is glass but difficult to use outside. A | | | | that the plastic ones are impossible to clean |
| thin bamboo cutting board makes an excellent pallet | | | | properly. And you will need a metal paint scraper to |
| and is really inexpensive. | | | | keep your palate clean. |
| There is an odd ball sort of problem that I have run | | | | You have to become obsessive about cleaning the |
| into with the paint tubes. You will notice this | | | | brushes. The best cleaner and thinner is odorless |
| problem with White, but it exists for all the colors. | | | | mineral spirits. You can purchase nearly a quart of it |
| When you unscrew the cap on the tube, over time a | | | | at Wal Mart for under 7 dollars. Notice that little |
| grey residue begins to form around the end of the | | | | glass jar behind the paints? That is what I use to |
| tube and can distort the color. I have not yet found | | | | hold the mineral spirits while I paint. This has to be |
| a good solution, but what you can do is keep a clean | | | | cleaned often, because the residue that builds up in |
| cloth available, dampened with mineral spirits, to wipe | | | | the jar will eventually stick to your brush and discolor |
| the end of the tube. The residue comes directly | | | | the next paint you use. Many artists use linseed or |
| from the material that is used to make the tube (a | | | | walnut oil to thin the paint. I prefer using mineral |
| sort of soft metal). It is not necessary to use thick | | | | spirits for thinning paint as well as cleaning brushes. |
| coats of paint. In fact you are going to get a much | | | | If you do purchase linseed oil do not use it on the |
| cleaner painting if you stick to thin application of the | | | | color blue, it will yellow the paint. Avoid turpentine, it |
| paint. It may be necessary to wait for applications | | | | is hard to use and the odor in a closed room will |
| to dry, but in the end the painting will look much | | | | cause injury to your lungs. |
| better when seen up close. | | | | |