Painting Tips

Top Ten Beginner Mistakes

Even if you’ve been drawing/painting/sculpting your whole life, at some point, we were ALL beginners. We’ve all been frustrated with the creative process and sometimes it’s unclear why or what’s happening that’s causing the frustration. Here’s a list of what we think are the ...Read More

Tips: Loose Canvas

While your acrylic gesso or oil ground should tighten up your canvas, various factors such as humidity can cause your canvas to loosen a bit. If you’re experiencing this, you may want to try some of these tips. Spray the backside with water. Using ...Read More

Glazing In Oil Paints

One of the most popular techniques in oil painting is glazing. This is a multiple step process in which you will paint the entire painting first in neutral colors to get your tonal values down, then later when it’s dry, you’ll glaze over the ...Read More

Alla Prima Painting

This is a great technique to learn so you can finish a painting in just one sitting. It also allows for better blending and softer edges, which will give your painting a more realistic feel. As discussed below, you’ll want to pre-mix the colors ...Read More

Tips For Painting On A Budget

Art supplies can be expensive. Let’s talk about some creative ways of to reduce your painting costs. Torrit Grey Every Spring, Gamblin Artists Colors cleans out their air filters and recycles the pigments into a paint they call “Torrit Grey”. Gamblin sends out tubes ...Read More

Appendix C: Varnishes

FOR OIL PAINTINGS Varnishes can be added during the course of painting or after it is completely dry in approximately six months time. See our lesson on Varnishing Your Work for more about how to protect your painting after it’s completely dry. Some artists ...Read More

Appendix B: Drying Oils, Alkyds, and Driers

Drying oils can be mixed with solvents to make your medium more lean in the beginning stages of your painting process. As you continue painting, you’ll reduce the amount of solvent and increase the amount of oil to produce more “fatty” layers.  Each type ...Read More
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