Learning How to Oil Paint : Quick Studies to Sharpen Your Oil/Acrylic Painting SkillsWhen you learn how to oil paint or paint with acrylics, there are many great reasons for doing quick studies. In fact, the quick studies should be an integral part of learning how to oil paint. If you are used to doing oil painting or acrylics at a slow pace, then quick studies might push your painting skills to a higher level.
The great American painter John Singer Sargent was known for doing many quick studies in order to practice his brush strokes prior to working on the final painting. The benefits of using quick studies as you learn to oil paint
As you learn to oil paint with the quick study approach, you can work in the studio or outdoors. Life studies are always the best, but a good photograph will work, too. Limit your painting to 60 minutes or less. I started doing quick paintings using 6”x8” (15cm x 20cm) panels. Now that I am becoming more efficient with my time and my brushstrokes are more confident, I have moved on to 9”x12” (23cm x 30cm) or 11”x14” (28cm x 35cm) surfaces. The larger surfaces allow you to use bigger brushes and really allow you to improve the boldness of your strokes. Paint with a limited paletteThe right number of color tubes to use for your palette is subjective. I suggest three colors plus white palette, or you can use a dual primary colors plus white option (with two colors from each primary color family). If you already have a palette that you are familiar with, stick to that. If you want to add a new color, test it first to see how it mixes with the other colors you use. This will minimize the time you waste second-guessing color mixtures while using this quick study approach. Learning how to oil paint rapidly is not just sloshing paints mindlessly all over the canvas and hoping some magic will come out of it. You still need to know how to see and think. There is a certain methodology to follow, but it allows a lot of room for individual creativity. To master how to oil paint and benefit from the long brush mileage, I highly recommend you first learn from Craig Nelson. He teaches at Academy of Art University in San Francisco and is known as a very good teacher. Take a quick peek at the video below. Thanks to the technology, you can now absorb the essence of alla prima painting and learn how to oil paint using his methods here. If you do, you will become a better painter. In the video you will see close up views of how the brushes are maneuvered to create various textures and effects. He also shows you the colors he mixes. This video contains two demonstrations which tackle two different challenging subjects. In the first one, he paints a figure from a photograph. The second demonstration shows how to paint a flower from a still life. In this video, you will learn how to simplify the shapes you see, mix the colors, and control your brushes. In short, you will learn everything you need to know about how to oil paint efficiently. It is a must-have for every learning oil/acrylic painter, and a perfect complement as you use quick studies to improve your skills. Remember: paint smarter, not harder! Learn what alla prima painting is  |
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