Classical Oil Painting 101: Learning the Basics

Use pencil, ruler, and compass to mark the canvas center, diagonals, and divide a circle into thirds, then spray fix to seal the guide before painting.

Learn to prep materials for a classical oil painting using the rub out technique with raw umber, including palette setup, oil choice, brushes, paper towels, and cotton t shirt rag.

Dip only the brush tip into the oil, loading evenly on the palette. Cover the canvas with a larger brush, finish with a vertical or horizontal stroke, then wipe out.

Master the rub out technique by outlining light areas, overlapping strokes with a rag, and rotating the canvas to manage transitions and collisions of light and dark that reveal form.

Master value gradations with a white-to-raw-umber palette on a Munsell-based scale, creating five distinct values. Keep piles organized and use brights for precise edges.

Master oil painting values by loading brushes correctly, managing mid-tones, whites, and darks, and refining edges and transitions through careful, section-by-section practice.

Explore how a monochromatic grayscale base using raw umber and white maps value and form, then layer color to control tone, warmth or coolness, and luminosity.

Set up a classical palette with white, yellow ochre, vermilion or cad red light, and ivory black to mix values; learn color relationships like red+yellow=orange, blue+yellow=green, red+blue=purple.

Mix red into light pink and pure red, then add black for darks, building even mid tones and transitions; pull paint from the pallet and use oil and softer brushes.

Mix a neutral orange by balancing a stronger red with yellow ochre, suitable for Caucasian skin. Darken with red and black, then brighten with white for peachy light shadows.

Learn to mix yellow ochre into an opaque base, lighten with white to a golden hue, darken with red and black, and glaze later, while cleaning the palette with oil.

Mix yellow and black to create an earthy, mid-value green. Lighten with white and darken with pure black to explore color temperature and gradation for portrait tones.

Learn how blue hues in classical oil painting were achieved by glazing blue on black and white when lapis pigment was scarce, with raw umber shaping bluish and value control.

Blue and red make purple; mix black and red to form a purple, then add white to lighten toward violet for opaque base. Use contrast to create drama; glazing follows.

Begin with a dry red, test glaze oil on the palette, and apply an even glaze across the canvas, keeping white separate to avoid muddying.

Demonstrates oil glazing to build orange via a double glaze, using Chinese orange or Indian yellow with lizard and crimson. Glazes darks with red oxide and brightens toward yellow.

Learn to use Indian yellow as a double glaze over transparent brown oxide to achieve vivid yellows, with a lighter glaze first and careful brushwork.

Glaze with phthalo green over an opaque base, noting beads up if oil is excessive. Wipe excess, then use white to refine the transition and keep the glaze bright.

Combine ultramarine and phthalo blue to craft a bright glaze, showing blue shifting from violet to green; refine transitions and collisions, and lift color with white glaze.

Choose a glazing approach using ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson or Egyptian violet to explore transparent colors, then finish with a mixed black glaze and white refinements.

Learn to mix a neutral black with ultramarine, alizarin crimson, transparent red oxide, and a touch of phthalo green, test on white, and apply darks first to preserve edges.

Celebrate your achievement as you apply the skills learned to many painting types, with the next project an old master copy that reinforces every lesson.