8 Things I Wish I Knew as a Beginner Oil Painter

Over the past year, my oil painters have gone from looking like this to looking like this. But it wasn't all without

like this. But it wasn't all without problems. In today's video, I'm going to be revealing the eight essential things I think a beginner oil painter should know. Things that if I knew when I

know. Things that if I knew when I started out would have saved me a whole lot of time. Looking at videos out there of like beginner oil painting mistakes.

A lot of them I think are a bit too advanced. like they they kind of don't

advanced. like they they kind of don't cover the initial problems that you might run into about just not knowing anything about the medium that you're working with. And just to give you a

working with. And just to give you a taste of what we're going to cover, I'm going to be discussing the materials that I was painting on which massively hindered my ability, the real truth behind how long you need to wait before varnishing your paintings and what the

mysterious oily stuff that comes out of the paint tube is. So, I'm going to walk you through everything that I wish I knew sooner so you don't have to be absolutely clueless like I was.

Disclaimer. I have only been oil painting for one year now. However, I

feel like being pretty fresh on the block, I'm able to better resonate with the problems that began oil painters actually struggle with. I hate that compared to say someone who has been

painting for 20 years now and has really advanced. They probably can't remember

advanced. They probably can't remember what they initially struggled with. I

had a lot of questions when I first started, many of which were very difficult to get answers to. So

hopefully this video will end up answering one or two of your random oil painting questions. All right, starting

painting questions. All right, starting at the very beginning, you have just bought your paint tubes. You've never

used oil paints before. You pour them out on your palette and they don't look like other paints. There is this weird oily stuff coming out of the tubes. And

I remember the first time I poured my paints out and I'm looking at this stuff like, what is this? Is this normal? Have

I bought wrong paints? Let me explain.

This is just called oil separation. It's

basically where your oil and your pigment have just separated in the tube.

It can happen with any paints, but maybe it's because the paint tube has been sat on the shelf too long. But yeah, it's actually really normal. So, nothing to worry about. So, what I used to do is

worry about. So, what I used to do is I'd pour it out and then I'd actually dab the oil with a tissue. So, I'd

basically be getting rid of the oil in the oil paint, which seems counterintuitive. Uh, and it is. You

counterintuitive. Uh, and it is. You

shouldn't really do that. Your best bet is to close the tube again and give it a massage. I know it's a bit much. What

massage. I know it's a bit much. What

happened to Hi. Hello. But you're gonna give your paint tube a massage. The idea

is this is just going to help recombine the oil and the pigment. And if that doesn't work and you still have some oil separation, you can always pour out on your palette and just mix them back in with a palette knife. Okay. The second

thing that I wish I knew when I was first starting out is not to use mediums. Okay, this might be a hot take.

I don't know if every artist agrees with this, but my gosh, I just wish I didn't bother with any mediums. No linseed oil, no liquin, none of that. It just over

complicated things so much. And I have paintings from when I very first started oil painting that I actually really like, but they are so technically bad.

One of them is like 90% linseed oil and it's it's never going to dry. I I will I'll be long gone by the time that thing dries. Other paintings I am sure are

dries. Other paintings I am sure are going to crack at some point because it's a lot to learn at once. is a lot to learn to be able to figure out oil paints while you're trying to learn about fat over lean when you've never

had to worry about this stuff before.

So, I would say just use oil paints and maybe a bit of paint thinner. That is

that is all I use. I do not use any mediums still. I actually really like

mediums still. I actually really like oil paints as they are. They're a really great medium and I don't think you need to add much to it. I'm not saying that you can never add any mediums, but I'd

say definitely if you're first starting out, don't bother. ju just don't don't do it. But something that you absolutely

do it. But something that you absolutely should bother with is keeping up with trying to learn new skills. And I think I have the perfect place to do that thanks to today's sponsor, Skillshare.

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This next one, I cannot stress enough how much I regret doing this. But

throughout my whole first few months of oil painting, I was painting on this canvas paper stuff. No, don't use it.

Don't Don't even bother. My thinking

was, "Oh, this is like cheaper than using other stuff, and this will be a great thing to practice on." It's so bad. I cannot I cannot describe how bad

bad. I cannot I cannot describe how bad it is. I was prepping it so well. I

it is. I was prepping it so well. I

followed all the instructions and I just hated it. I hate I hated working on it.

hated it. I hate I hated working on it.

And then as soon as I worked on canvas, I was like, "Oh, it felt like painting with a different paint." That's how much your surface that you're working on can hinder you. And now I know that some

hinder you. And now I know that some artists that you know if you prime watercolor paper really good, it is great to work on with oil paints. I've

tried it. I don't like it. I really I can't get behind that. I really can't.

even if that thing is primed to perfection. So, you may be asking, what

perfection. So, you may be asking, what do I use instead? Gesso board. I I love this

instead? Gesso board. I I love this stuff. It's so good. It is thicker than

stuff. It's so good. It is thicker than paper because it is board, but you can stick it to your wall with Blu-Tack. You

can store a big stack of them and they take up hardly any room. You can frame them. You can do whatever you want with

them. You can do whatever you want with them. And they are amazing to work on.

them. And they are amazing to work on.

The surface is great, nonabsorbent, and I just feel like my paintings look great on it. Like this is just a color study,

on it. Like this is just a color study, but I do all sorts on these. And they

come in loads of different sizes as well. Like this is a tiny one. You can

well. Like this is a tiny one. You can

get them like this big. Love. And this one is more of a

big. Love. And this one is more of a personal preference thing. And it's

pretty easy for me to say like I don't like working on paper because I've never been much of a sketchbook girly. I don't

really paint in sketchbooks. I just, you know, draw. So, if you are someone who

know, draw. So, if you are someone who really enjoys, you know, painting and sketchbooks, then there definitely are sketchbooks out there which are more tailored to oil painters. You just need

to try and find them. I suppose this is one of those things where you kind of have to discover it for yourself. Some

people like different surfaces to work on, but that is my opinion, so take it as you will. All right, the next thing I wish I knew about is varnishing. One

thing that I was concerned about when it came to oil paints is the fact that they take so long to dry. And everywhere I was looking online was saying that they take 6 months or more to dry before you

can even attempt varnishing them. And

I'm thinking, oh gosh, like who's going to wait that long for a commission?

Who's, you know, when I make a painting, I need to wait nearly a year before I can sell it. Like this is crazy. How how

are artists doing this? There is a way.

So there is a certain type of varnish called gamvar and the manufacturers of this varnish say that you can varnish your paintings within about a month or

whenever they are touch dry. So this

would be when they are just touch dry and not fully cured all the way through.

Some artists still remain adamant that you have to wait the full 6 months or more with any type of varnish, but I know a lot of artists who do use this, and they're selling their work, and

they're in galleries, so I will trust it. It says, "Gamar gloss is odless and

it. It says, "Gamar gloss is odless and can be applied when the thickest areas of your painting are dry and firm to the touch." I'm sure that there has been

touch." I'm sure that there has been research done into this and a lot of artists do use it, so I would say that that is a good bet. Of course, the more oil you use, the longer that you're going to need to wait before you can

varnish, but I just paint alap prima with just oil paint and paint thinner.

So, yeah, I can generally varnish mine after like 4 to 6 weeks. Leading on from talking about varnishing, I am going to talk a bit about health and safety because I feel like I went into oil

paints knowing pretty much nothing about the actual dangers. So, I would be happy as Larry painting my paintings in a room

with no windows open and I would sit in there for hours and then I'd come away like, "Oh my god, why do I have a headache?

What are you? An idiot sandwich." Yeah,

you need ventilation. The ideal setup would be a

ventilation. The ideal setup would be a window open plus a fan to make sure that the air is actually moving. Um, however,

you know, that's an ideal situation. Unfortunately, we don't all

situation. Unfortunately, we don't all have ideal settings. So, my sister lives in Norway and she does some oil painting as well. And in winter, it gets really,

as well. And in winter, it gets really, really cold, like minus 20 kind of cold.

And, you know, you might not want your windows open when it's like a blizzard outside. So, to try and combat that, you

outside. So, to try and combat that, you can get something like an air filter. I have one. Hold on.

So, this is my air purifier. I usually

have this on plus a window open. Um, and

I I think it I think it works. It's

really hard to tell with these things.

You just kind of have to hope and trust the company is legit and it does actually purify the air because it's like you can't tell the difference. You

don't know. But anyway, that's what I use. I'll probably link it down below in

use. I'll probably link it down below in case you want to get one. Also, not to scare you or anything, but paints like cadmiums. Cadmium. Yeah. Y cadmium red,

cadmiums. Cadmium. Yeah. Y cadmium red, cadmium yellow. Um, some artists just

cadmium yellow. Um, some artists just don't use them because cadmium does cause cancer. Um, I use mine because I

cause cancer. Um, I use mine because I already bought them and they're really expensive, so I'm going to keep using them, but then I'm might not buy them again. I haven't fully decided. I think

again. I haven't fully decided. I think

a lot of the risk when it comes to cadmium is like breathing in the dust of it, but obviously they're in paint form, so they're not you're not going to be able to breathe that in. However, if you

just want to be on the safe side and you want to try and do this as non-toxic as possible, maybe stay away from like heavy metal, cadmium, red colors, you know? All right, the next thing that I

know? All right, the next thing that I wish I knew about oil painting is to actually use more paint. So, I feel like when you first buy these paints, and you

know, the oil paints were expensive and I had been using acrylics before this.

So, buying these tubes of oil paints, I probably spent like 100 quid. I did buy higherend ones. I didn't mean to. I just

higherend ones. I didn't mean to. I just

went to a shop and bought them. Um, but

yeah, that that was a definitely a shock to the system. So much so that I would pour out hardly any paint. I didn't want to waste anything. And because I poured out hardly any paint, I would use hardly

any paint. So, I'm painting with this

any paint. So, I'm painting with this stuff and I'm thinking, "This doesn't look like an oil painting. This looks

like an acrylic painting." And I could not for the life of me understand why.

I'm thinking I'm using oils, but you know why why are they going down like acrylics? And it's because I wasn't

acrylics? And it's because I wasn't using enough paint to get this lovely effect of oil paints to basically just make the most of this medium. It's best

to actually use more paint. To get these buttery smooth brush strokes that you see, you know, the likes of Sergeant using, you need to be using more paint.

This really got hammered home for me when I actually researched Sergeant and did a video on learning to paint like him and someone had quoted that it looked like he poured out enough paints

for like 12 paintings. That's how much he used. So, I feel like for the sake of

he used. So, I feel like for the sake of just improving and learning how to paint, you might need to use a bit more paint, which yes, it's going to be more expensive in the long run, but so worth it when you're making better paintings.

So, yeah, just something to think about.

Okay, the next thing that I wish I knew is how much your brushes affect the way your paint goes down, which sounds really like, well, duh. But just bear

with me, okay? I was using a lot of paint brushes like this. Please focus

there. I was using a lot of brushes like this with this really short top bit.

So, there's actually not much bristles going on here, which is fine to use. I

still use this brush. Um, but if you were to use something maybe a bit longer like this coma, these bristles, they bend a lot more. So, when it comes to actually

more. So, when it comes to actually laying down more paint or like doing highlights and stuff, sometimes I would use a brush, you know, that's short

bristle like this, and I'd actually end up scraping away some of my paint underneath. And I'm thinking, no, I

underneath. And I'm thinking, no, I don't want that. I want to actually just keep layering on more paint, which is where brushes like this come in because I feel like with

this, you can layer paint much better.

You'll also get a really cool shape because I don't know if you can see, but the bristles, the reason why this is a coma is because the bristles, they go thinner

towards the end. There's less of them, so you can get a really nice brush stroke looking shape. If you're enjoying tips like these, then I have plenty more of this over on my Patreon. I feel like

it's so difficult to go into detail in these short videos. But I have endless painting demonstrations and tutorials over there. So, for just the price of

over there. So, for just the price of basically a coffee every month, you can get access to all of my exclusive videos. In my most recent painting

videos. In my most recent painting demonstration, I actually used a brush that I had let completely dry out, and I thought it was hopeless and one that was for the trash or just needed cleaning.

but instead I actually decided to use this brush that I had totally written off and it ended up leaving the coolest texture on my painting. So there's this and much more over on my Patreon. The

link will be in the description. All

right, so the final thing that I wish I knew is about palettes. So I feel like a lot of beginners they go to these tear off palettes because you don't want to fully commit to like a glass palette yet

or you know something like that and you think these tear off palettes are much cheaper. Well, a lot of them they're not

cheaper. Well, a lot of them they're not great for oils. And that's not to say you're not going to get some good ones.

I have had some good ones, but I will show you one that I got recently. It looks fine, right? It looks

recently. It looks fine, right? It looks

like a great palette. But when I actually poured out my paint onto them, I noticed that this palette started absorbing the oil out of my oil paint.

And I'm trying to mix on this palette and I'm thinking, gosh, these are drying awfully fast, like much faster than usual. It's because there was no oil

usual. It's because there was no oil left in these paints to keep them wet and they were drying out like acrylics.

And this palette, it doesn't say anywhere on it not suitable for oils. It

just said it's an allrounder use with any paint. Clearly not cuz it's crap.

any paint. Clearly not cuz it's crap.

Save your money. Don't buy these tear off palettes. If you still want a

off palettes. If you still want a disposable palette, then you can use baking paper. I just buy a roll of

baking paper. I just buy a roll of baking paper for like 1 pound50 at the shop and then I attach it with some tape to a piece of cardboard. Any piece of cardboard. I've got tons lying around

cardboard. I've got tons lying around the studio and that is my palette. I've

used that for a year now my whole time that I've been painting and that is all I use. I haven't bought a fancy palette

I use. I haven't bought a fancy palette yet. I am thinking about getting a glass

yet. I am thinking about getting a glass palette just to finally go ahead and do that, but I'm I'm really lazy and I've just been using this and this is this has served me well. And that is it. They

are the main things which I was confused about or I just really wanted answers to. So, I hope this has been helpful. If

to. So, I hope this has been helpful. If

you're interested in learning how to oil paint or you want to see how long it might take you, I actually documented my first 30 days of oil painting and it's right here on YouTube. You basically

just get to see me messing up and making improvements in real time. So, if you are curious about learning how to oil paint, I would give that video a watch next.