If you are new to oil painting, or want to start, these are some recommendations for supplies and resources...
- oval wooden palette (10 or 12 inch)
- offset painting knife (I use these just to clean my palette)
- Silicoil brush cleaning set + Silicoil
- Linseed oil
- Turpenoid or mineral spirits
- 2 oz. Glass jar + lid (I just collect these from empties I accumulate from the kitchen, you'll want one for the linseed oil, and one for the turpenoid or mineral spirits, just make sure the opening is large enough for your brushed to fit)
- Paint brushes:
Wash - 1,” 3/4,” and 1/2”
Flat shader 10
Flat 20
Bright 12, 6
Angular shader 5/8,” 1/2,” and 3/8”
- Oil painting paper pad (these are great to have on hand to play with colors, color mixing and brush strokes without "wasting" an expensive canvas)
- Economy cotton canvas panels (again, another inexpensive product to practice on without buying stretched canvas)
- Oil paints (I am not loyal to any brand, and have both student grade paints and really expensive brands in my arsenal)
Payne’s gray
Titanium white
Lemon yellow
French Ultramarine
Pthalo blue
Alizarin Crimson
(If you are just starting and don't want to buy ALL of these, you can limit yourself to the above paints)
Pthalo blue
Cadmium yellow
Cobalt
Yellow ochre
Sap green
Raw umber
Transparent red oxide
Naples yellow
- Blue shop towels
I have ONE book that I keep on my taboret, and that is The Oil Painter's Pocket Palette it is invaluable when trying to figure out what colors you need to mix to find the "right" combination.
This is a great "oil painting for beginners" tutorial...plus a demo by the artist painting an eye for those of you who want to venture into portrait painting: Oil Painting for Beginners
Here is another good link, with oil painting rules and techniques: 7 oil painting tips
To clean your brushes while you are painting (this is where the blue shop towels come in handy, or in my case, the shirt that I'm wearing!), use a towel or rag to get off as much of the paint as you can, dip it GENTLY in your turpenoid or mineral spirits (you don't want to be swirling your brush around or hitting the bottom of that jar), and wipe it off again on your rag. If you do this correctly, your turp/mineral spirits container should stay clean and clear, with all of the pigment being left on the rag. I usually work with multiple brushes in a session, and will have one for dark colors, one for lights, maybe a yellow, and then a dry brush for blending work. Ideally, you should only have to clean your brushes COMPLETELY of all pigment at the end of your session.
I also highly recommend you start a paint "key." This will help you choose what colors you need, and there can be a lot of variation between paint brands, so it can help if you need just the right yellow (if you bought an oil paint pad, this is a great use of one of those pages).