Oil painting help ... ?

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Question:

I have never done an oil painted before, but a friend is giving me money for this piece!.I don't really know much about oil painting!. I have good brushes, a rag, and gloves - but all the other materials just cost too much!Could you please tell me how to start, what I need to dip the oil paint in/with, if I really do need turpentine or linseed oil - and if I can go without them and use my thin rag or cloth to fix belmishes

Sorry if I sound really amateur and slow/stupid, but this is really new for me, and I usually work with watercolours and acrylics!. But if I really do need the turpentine, what is a cheap substitute that I can get from the household!?

PLEASE HELP ME!! I don't want to be broke because of this project, and I'm not even getting paid that much for the painting :p :( heh

AND!.!.!. how long does a piece usually take to dry!?

Thanks very muchWww@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

You can squeeze your oil paint straight from the tube onto your support if you want to!. Just like Vincent Van Gogh!. that's what I suggest you do!.

Now, your choice of items as enumerated are not expensive, but since you do not know anything about them, I would suggest you leave them alone for this project!. But you will have a lot of oil paint left over!. I suggest you look up calcite sun oil on the web and get a copy of the book on preparing extra fine linseed oil to blend with your oil paints to give you great and flexible control!. (Address: velapress@aol!.com)

I presume you would have to be creating a piece of modern art!. Hold your brushes by the end of the handle in your fist, bristles uppermost!. Now, note how flexible the brush is when held in that position!.

No, your are not writing with a pen, you are applying a flexible
layer of paint in a painterly style!. Whatever might at first seem amateurish (to you) will become much appreciated by the critics!.

Enjoy your artistic experience!. Drying times for oil paints used this way would be, say, ten days!. Less if a siccative is used!. "Drying " in this case is not a matter of heat application but chemical reaction!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

you really don't need to use any linseed oil with the paint unless the paint is really thick!. oil paint takes a long time to dry but if you make mistakes is real easy to fix unlike with watercolors!. cleaning your brushes is tricky with oil paint though and i have found that paint thinner works pretty well!. also you could use vegetable oil and soap to get out the paint if you don't have paint thinner!. good luck!Www@QuestionHome@Com

no sure bout the materials but i know oils can take a long time to dry properlyWww@QuestionHome@Com

could you ask your friend if they minded a acrylic painting instead

xxx viciWww@QuestionHome@Com

You will need turpentine to clean your brushes, linseed oil is an option and you use it to make the paint a bit thinner for things like fine details!.

You're able to get some cheap canvas's, some deals are two smaller ones that come together for about $10 or less, try Hobby Lobby, or if that's still too much you can opt for canvas board, which has several in a pack and costs even less!.

Oils take around a week to dry before you can add more layers!. and I believe two full weeks for it to be completely dry, but drying times vary on the type of oils and how thick it was applied!.

As for your getting paid, the payment SHOULD be enough to cover the materials if anything, be sure to make that clear, you shouldn't do a project your getting paid for and end up loosing money in the end, doesn't sound right huh!? Then consider how much time will be put into the painting itself, that adds on, you need to be firm about price!.

When it comes to getting started a simple canvas or canvas board should do!. You won't need to use the rag on the piece itself, it'll only spread the pain and make it worse, use the rag to wipe off excess paint off your brush after you clean it with turpentine!. In general, work from back to front in the composition!. ex!. paint the sky, then the clouds, mountain, hills in front, then tress, and so on, being sure to let the layers dry!.

I'm not sure doing an oil painting for one of your first commissions especially if you've never oil painted before is the best idea though!. Would you hire someone to fix the plumbing in your house if they've never even touched a pipe in their life!? But overall good luck on the piece, you can e-mail me if you have anymore questions regarding the subject!.=)

LaurenWww@QuestionHome@Com