Re: Dying to paint in oil ! HELP ! 475 by Claudia on 04/22/01 at 5:34 PM
Re: Dying to paint in oil ! HELP !

In Reply to: Dying to paint in oil ! HELP ! posted by tish on 01/17/01 at 10:45 PM:

: I have never attended an art class in my life, so I am self-taught, been doing well selling commissioned work, but I have only worked with acrylics. I do pets, celebrities, and family portraits. I'm learning that if I try oil I will see a big difference. I am scared to death because oil is a whole new animal. I did try a beach scene today with oil for myself and I thought it came out pretty good(had to get use to cleaning my brush constantly and the blending is a little tricky)My question is-- Doing a portrait of a person, how do I blend skin tones to get them right without gettin muddy? Do I clean the brush before I apply each shade? And how do you prevent unwanted blending e.g. doing eyelashes above the skin area, (getting the lash color mixed with skin color underneath?) Please some Advice from any of you Pros out there. Would really appreciate it. Thankyou

I am mostly self taught, the same as you, but I started with oils and moved to acrylics when
I developed a sensitivity to turpentine. I always found acrylics difficult and I'm looking
forward to getting back into oils with water-mixable oils.

Some pointers on brush useage in oils - since the paint drys much more slowly, it's easier
to get unwanted mixing, so use one brush for each color. To go from light to dark I usually
cover much of the area with the lightest color, then pick up a little bit of the next color on
a fresh brush. Starting at the darker edge blend toward the lighter, mixing the two in the
middle. This usually gives a pretty good gradation. Repeat as necessary.

For eyelashes and eyebrows, get the 3D modeling of the face right first, then as pretty
much the last thing at the end of the painting session (so your face tones are not totally
wet) brush in the lashes and brows with one stroke of the brush. Wipe the brush off and reload
with paint before making your next stroke. It works best for me not to go back over the lashes.
This way they look like they are on top of the rest of the face. If you let the face dry without
putting in the lashes, you can do the lashes and brows as a separate step. In that case I
put down the lash line and then use a dry brush or my finger to remove a little paint from
the outer edge of the lash line which gives more of a 3D look.

Hope this is helpful.


Follow Ups:

Re: Dying to paint in oil ! HELP ! a painter   Posted at: 03/03/03 (0)

Post a Followup 236,475"> Claudia"> claudiavaughan_mac.comRe: Dying to paint in oil ! HELP !_04/22/01 at 5:34 PM"> "Re: Dying to paint in oil ! HELP !"
I have never attended an art class in my life, so I am self-taught, been doing well selling commissioned work, but I have only worked with acrylics. I do pets, celebrities, and family portraits. I'm learning that if I try oil I will see a big difference. I am scared to death because oil is a whole new animal. I did try a beach scene today with oil for myself and I thought it came out pretty good(had to get use to cleaning my brush constantly and the blending is a little tricky)My question is-- Doing a portrait of a person, how do I blend skin tones to get them right without gettin muddy? Do I clean the brush before I apply each shade? And how do you prevent unwanted blending e.g. doing eyelashes above the skin area, (getting the lash color mixed with skin color underneath?) Please some Advice from any of you Pros out there. Would really appreciate it. Thankyou : I am mostly self taught, the same as you, but I started with oils and moved to acrylics when : I developed a sensitivity to turpentine. I always found acrylics difficult and I'm looking : forward to getting back into oils with water-mixable oils. : Some pointers on brush useage in oils - since the paint drys much more slowly, it's easier : to get unwanted mixing, so use one brush for each color. To go from light to dark I usually : cover much of the area with the lightest color, then pick up a little bit of the next color on : a fresh brush. Starting at the darker edge blend toward the lighter, mixing the two in the : middle. This usually gives a pretty good gradation. Repeat as necessary. : For eyelashes and eyebrows, get the 3D modeling of the face right first, then as pretty : much the last thing at the end of the painting session (so your face tones are not totally : wet) brush in the lashes and brows with one stroke of the brush. Wipe the brush off and reload : with paint before making your next stroke. It works best for me not to go back over the lashes. : This way they look like they are on top of the rest of the face. If you let the face dry without : putting in the lashes, you can do the lashes and brows as a separate step. In that case I : put down the lash line and then use a dry brush or my finger to remove a little paint from : the outer edge of the lash line which gives more of a 3D look. : Hope this is helpful.

 
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