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Question: OH NO! What should I do !.!.!. !? :P!?
I have never done an oil painting artwork thing 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 the blemishes
Sorry if I sound really amateur and slow/stupid, but this is really new for me because 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 much :)Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Although it is possible to apply oil paint onto a primed surface without using anything to dilute it most users prefer to dilute the paint in the early stages with Turpentine!.White spirit,or turpentine substitute can be used instead but I prefer ordinary turpentine from any DIY store,it works best and smells best,the proper stuff from art shops is very expensive and not really necessary!.Linseed oil can be added in small amounts to the turpentine that you use for diluting the paint but only up to a 50/50 mixture!.Keep your turps/oil mix in a separate container to the turps or white spirit for cleaning up!.Do not throw your cleaning liquid away as the muck will drop to the bottom of your container and the clear,usually orangey, liquid can be reused for cleaning up!.Oil diluted with turps dries in up to a couple of days,depending on thickness,really thick paint can skin over but may take weeks,or even months to dry out fully!.Your canvas,or whatever can be primed with household emulsion paint,or a wood primer,some is oil based,others acrylic based,it doesn't matter which!.If your work takes several dys and you needto leave it a bit,here's what we did at art college!.Use an old plate to as a pallette,don't be mean with the paint you put out,it will not dry if you put it under water for a few days,pour the water off when you want to use the pallette again!.There are many good books on Oil painting,you can often pick them up in Charity shops,not all are brilliant but most cover the basics!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
you can start your piece with acrylics and after using oil colours !.It was the way of many artists of the past,they started to paint with tempera and finished with oil and, after dried, a varnish!.
Don't use too much turpentine,you can use a medium with linseed oil,(3 parts)turpentine(1 part)and if you want, varnish(1 part) to mix the colours!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
turpentine is necessary for washing the paint off the brushes (it wont come off in just water), i'm afraid i dont no of an alternative, however, there is bound to be one! It does take a long time to dry, i'd say at least 10 hours, particularly if you paint quite thickly!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
go to your local collage and sign up for a course then you will learn all you need to knowWww@QuestionHome@Com
Your biggest outlay will be the oil paints, you can get fast drying paints which can take up to a week, or normal which can take upto 6 weeks!.
you need linseed oil to thin your paint so you can work with it and white spirit is cheaper then turps for washing and cleaning your brushes!. Rags are good for blemishes etc and quick cleaning but use a brush or palette knife for scraping back!.
Oils work in a similar way to acrylics but will not be as bright!. They take longer to dry so working straight onto the canvas is an option, so is working using the wet on wet technique!. Work in layers and it will not split when drying!.
You are very brave doing this for commission for the first time!. Good luck!.Www@QuestionHome@Com