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A Few Basic Steps To Help You Get Started With Oil Painting

Most people who are artistic in nature at some point in time have probably thought about using oil painting to express their talents and create beautiful paintings. Fortunately, learning how to do create these paintings is very possible by taking several basic steps. Doing so is really just a matter of becoming proficient with certain oil painting techniques.

Before you begin with oil painting, be sure that you are working in a well ventilated area. You want to be in an open area where air can circulate without obstruction, and where you have the ability to move freely.

Next, check to make sure your easel is at a height where you're comfortable. You should be able to paint without bending over or standing on your tip toes to reach the medium. The proper way to hold the brush is to grasp the part where the ferrule ends.

Also, place a cloth, plastic bag, or a tarp on the floor where you are painting. The table and floor should be covered properly if you are using a table easel.

After all that is done, you are ready to get started on your painting, once of course you are dressed appropriately. Get all of your paints set up, which involves having a single solvent in one container and another with two parts of solvent with at least a single part oil.

Enough space should be available for your brushes, palette, solvent, palette knife, rags, and paint tubes. The amount of oil paints you want to buy is completely up to you. However, two or three colors should suffice when starting, so avoid putting all of your paint in the palette initially.

Now it's time to actually begin oil painting. When your session is over, clean your brushes and give some time for your work to dry, which might be as long as two days.

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