OIL PAINTING 1 - Process From Start to Finish

This is the first chronicle of my oil painting process from start to finish. Includes a demo of how to paint the underpainting and highlights. As well as dialogue on the direct vs indirect method of painting and more.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• how
• to
• demo
• lesson
• tips
• technique
• underpainting
• highlights
• oil
• paint
• painting
• don
• stewart
• artist
• chronicle
• artistchronicle

[artistchronicle]

Integrity and Monica, thanks for the positive comments!

[artistchronicle]

I must confess, wheelman, that I'm not creative with names either. It's something I need to work on, for sure. Signing is personal for every artist. Some artists don't sign the front of their paintings at all. I guess the thinking is that it will detract from the most important thing - the painting. At the other extreme, I recently saw a bold signature that was about an inch high on what couldn't have been much bigger than 20x30 inches. I like to keep it subtle, so sign pretty small and light.

[artistchronicle]

Thanks, akasha!

[artistchronicle]

Thanks for your comments peachy and workshop! And, wheel, I personally don't like using Ivory, Mars or any other blacks from the tube because they contain carbon and so dry flat and tend to dull a painting when mixed with colors. Instead, I'll mix complimentary colors. Good color combinations for black are Dioxazine Purple with Thalo Green, or Alyzarin Crimson with Viridian Green. Gamblin sells, "Chromatic Black," which has no carbon. I think that's what I used for this painting's background.

[artistchronicle]

Mr - blending wet-in-wet. I will sometimes mix up a 50/50 combination of the two colors on my palette, too. So, on the canvas I'll put down one color, the second color, and the 50/50 mixture in between those two. Then blend all three wet-in-wet with strokes that are in a direction perpendicular to the three colors. Sort of like cross-hatching with the paint, if that makes sense. If I need a really smooth transition I sometimes use a sable fan brush for the blending.

[artistchronicle]

Hmm, that's right, Warlock, I never DID get back to you guys on that, did I? :)

[asdfkie]

damn i gotta stop watching painting videos when working out.

[Thenarufan1]

wow u realllyyyy nailed the colors :O !!! :D

[MonicaKn17]

I liked the egg.

[IntegrityCake]

I started watching your video because I needed help becoming familiar with oil painting - I kept watching because you are very informative AND hilarious! Can't wait to see more videos, and thanks for putting them out here :)

[wheelmanstan]

I'll never understand why such creativity is used to create a great painting but hardly ever used in naming it, lol I see it in a lot of online competitions I have entered kinda lame. But in your case, I think it makes sense. Since an egg with oranges is not NORMAL. Lol good job but I hope your other paintings have more attractive names.

Oh yeah, no one ever talks about where to sign a painting, I mean sometimes it makes or breaks a paintings composition if done carelessly, am I right?

[larauc]

Wow! I've never understood the interest in still life as a subject, but I liked the irony you added to it and you're obviously a great painter. And it was a really useful video, especially for someone who normally just slops the paint on and then gets frustrated when things get messy. Don't know if I have the patience to mend my ways though.