Introduction To Oils
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Choosing the right grade helps manage your budget while learning palette control.
Student Grade
What is it? Real oil paint, but with less pigment and cheaper pigment substitutes (Hues).
Pros: Affordable. Perfect for learning to mix without fear of wasting money.
Cons: Colors can be slightly "chalky" or weaker in tinting strength.
Verdict: Start here. Brands like Gamblin 1980 or Winton are the industry gold standard for students.
Professional Grade
What is it? Maximum pigment load and pure oil. No fillers.
Pros: Incredible tinting strength (a tiny dot covers a huge area). Complex, historic pigments.
Cons: Expensive.
Advice: Upgrade to these slowly. Start with your white and yellows first.
Avoid the large box sets. You need a warm and a cool version of each primary to mix clean colors.
The Essentials:
Titanium White (Large Tube): Buy the 150ml tube. You will mix this into almost everything.
Cadmium Yellow Light (Hue): The "cool" yellow (like a lemon).
Cadmium Yellow Medium (Hue): The "warm" yellow (like a school bus).
Cadmium Red Light (Hue): The "warm" red (like a tomato).
Alizarin Crimson (Permanent): The "cool" red (like a distinct cherry). Ensure it says "Permanent."
Phthalo Blue (Green Shade): The "cool" blue. Warning: Extremely strong.
Ultramarine Blue: The "warm" blue. Essential for mixing darks.
Burnt Umber: A dark earth tone. Mix with ultramarine to create a rich chromatic black.
Note on "Hues": "Cadmium Hue" means it is a safe, synthetic replacement for the toxic heavy metal. For beginners, always buy hues. They are cheaper and non-toxic.
Detailed guide available in the "Brushes" section, but here is the summary.
Material: Natural hog bristle or stiff synthetic.
Why? Oil paint is heavy. Soft brushes (like watercolor sables) will collapse under the weight. You need a brush with "snap" to push the paint into the canvas.
The Cleaning Rule: You cannot wash these with water while painting. You must wipe them on a rag or dip them in oil/solvent to switch colors.
This is the most important technical rule in oil painting. Ignore it, and your painting will crack.
The Rule: Always paint fat over lean.
Bottom Layer: Thin paint with solvent. (Dries faster).
Top Layer: Pure paint or paint with added oil. (Dries slower).
Why? If a fast-drying layer is put on top of a slow-drying layer, the bottom will shrink as it dries and crack the top surface.
You cannot use water to thin oil paint. You need two specific liquids.
A. Solvent (The "lean")
What is it? Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS) like Gamsol.
Use: Thins the paint to make it runny and fast-drying. Use this for your first layer (the "underpainting").
Safety: Always keep the jar capped when not dipping.
B. Oil (The "fat")
What is it? Usually refined linseed oil, safflower oil or walnut oil.
Use: Makes the paint flow smoother and glossier. Use this for your final layers.
C. Solvent-Free Gel
Use: A non-toxic gel (like Gamblin Solvent-Free Gel) that makes paint flow better without the fumes of turpentine.
Oil rots canvas. You must ensure your surface is sealed.
A. Gessoed canvas panels
What are they? Canvas glued to boards and coated with acrylic primer (gesso).
Why use them: Rigid and cheap. Perfect for a heavy application of oil paint.
B. Stretched canvas
Ensure that your canvas is double or triple primed. If you see raw brown fabric, do not paint oil directly on it; it will eventually rot the fiber.
Walk into the store and grab these items to start painting today.
The paint (Student grade - Winton/1980 or similar):
Titanium White (Large tube)
Cadmium Yellow Light (Hue)
Cadmium Yellow Medium (Hue)
Cadmium Red Light (Hue)
Alizarin Crimson Permanent
Ultramarine Blue
Phthalo Blue
Burnt Umber
The Tools:
Brushes: Size 8 hog filbert, Size 6 hog bright, Size 2 synthetic round.
Surface: A pack of 9x12" canvas panels.
Solvent: Small bottle of Gamsol (Odorless mineral spirits).
Medium: Small bottle of refined linseed oil.
Palette: A wooden or glass palette (Oil eats through paper unless it is wax-coated).