The Really Useful Oil Painting Class
Class | This program is completed
Each artist’s brush stroke is as individual as his or her own signature. These signature techniques are developed through experimentation and individual preference. The qualities of good drawing, exciting value ranges, interesting composition, appropriate color and unifying edge development combine to make paintings successful. This class will help you to learn and appreciate those essential painting elements and stir the creative process. www.billlundquist.com
- CLOTHING: Wear clothing that is appropriate for oil painting. It can be dirty work.
- HERE ARE THE COLORS I USE:
- Reds: Cadmium Red Light, Grumbacher Red (also known as Napthol Red) and Alizarin Crimson
- Blues: Cobalt Blue Light and Ultramarine Blue Deep
- Yellows: Cadmium Lemon, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Cadmium Yellow deep and Yellow Ochre Light
- Others: Indigo, Viridian (green), Sap Green , Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Transparent Oxide Red (or Burnt Sienna) and Terra Rosa
- White: Large tubes of Titanium White. I recommend Alkyd Titanium White because it speeds drying when mixed with other colors. (if you can find it)
- The student may have other preferences and that’s fine. The important thing is to have reds, yellows, blues, black and white. The earth colors are handy to have because you use a lot of them, but they can be easily mixed. Those would be greens, browns, and umbers. .
- *Oils are a challenging medium so don’t make it even more so by buying student grade paints. The poor quality can be very discouraging. Insist on PROFESSIONAL GRADE paints for the best results. The art store will assume you want student grade paints if you tell them you are a student. They are cheaper to purchase and the assumption is that you want to save money. It is a false economy to buy student grade paints.
- A good trowel-shaped Italian painting knife is also recommended.
- BRUSHES: I recommend that you have a minimum of seven brushes. Choose three sable brushes from sizes #1 to #6 for small work and three hogs hair bristle brushes from sizes #6 to #10 for the larger passages. If you choose to work on a larger canvas then you will need one or two larger brushes sizes 12 and up. You should also have a script brush (also called a liner or rigger) for fine work, drawing and signatures. You may also have your own favorite brushes and should feel free to use them. There are no magic formulas about which brush to use. Now, having said that, I should point out that brushes are made in a variety of shapes to serve different purposes. Fortunately, they are standardized among the different manufacturers.
- ROUND: Used for painting both broad areas and fine details
- FLAT: Used for painting broad areas and sometimes, with its chisel edge, sharp lines. Also called “long flat”.
- BRIGHT: Similar to flat, but with shorter hairs. Fairly stiff. Also called “short flat”.
- FILBERT: Like a flat, but with rounded corners. Can produce strokes without edges.
- MEDIUMS: Liquin, copal painting medium or your favorite.
- PALETTES: Again, your choice. There are a wide variety of hand-held, disposable and tray type palettes Warning – the disposable paper palettes sound like a good idea but can be a real mess.
- THINNERS: Turpenoid or oderless mineral spirits. No turpentine.
- PAINTING SURFACES: Pre-stretched and pre-primed canvas is recommended in sizes 8” x 10” or 11”x 14”. You might start with one of each. Other surfaces can include canvas board, primed hardboard or even primed wood. I often paint on birch plywood primed with gesso.
- OTHER STUFF:
- Drawing materials. Pencils, charcoal pencils or vine charcoal (HB and 2B). Sketchbooks with low tooth paper 11” x 14”.
- Apron. Bring your own or they are available for purchase at the school.
- Rubber surgical gloves if you want to keep your hands reasonably clean and protected from toxic agents present in oil painting materials.
- Brush cleaning jar or can.
- Paper towels. Personally, I like the blue shop towels from Costco or Home Depot. They are more like soft rags.
- Two metal cups or paper cups for medium and thinner.
Bill Lundquist
Bill Lundquist works in oil, pen and ink, pastel and watercolor. His formal art education began at Arizona State University and he continued his art studies at Scottsdale Artists’ School with noted Arizona artists Jay Datus and Don Ruffin. His work is in private and corporate collections throughout the world. For more information on Bill, please visit his website at www.billlundquistart.com.