Foundations of Oil Painting
You can learn how to create realistic
oil paintings in just 2 months.
How It Works:
Get Your Lesson Plan
Watch short concept videos and download PDF notes with clear step-by-step instructions.
Paint-A-Long
Work alongside the video demos, just like you're in a class! Rewind, pause, and rewatch whenever you want.
Celebrate Your Progress!
Each lesson builds on the previous, so you systematically gain the skills to create your own compositions.
Foundations of Oil Painting Course Outline:
Lesson 1 - Warm & Cool
Using only two colors plus white, begin to learn to control the paint and the value of mixtures.
Lesson 2 - High Chroma
Explore how color changes around a form on a simple red, orange, or yellow object.
Lesson 3 - Low Chroma
Choose to paint a portrait or a pear using a complementary color set to create neutrals.
Lesson 4 - Grisaille
Create a sepia or gray underpainting in preparation for glazing in Lesson 6.
Lesson 5 - Atmosphere
Learn how colors change with distance through the study of a landscape or still life.
Lesson 6 - Glazing
Use this traditional technique with transparent color and scumbling to add color to a grisaille.
Lesson 7 - Composition
Create an original design using compositional concepts to guide your decisions.
Lesson 8 - Nuance
Learn what can bring a little 'something else' to your paintings through light and edge control.
Also Included:
Technical Information
Super nerdy explanations about how paint cures, following the fat-over-lean rule, the differences between solvents and mediums, and more!
Materials Information
Explanations and recommendations about paints, colors, mediums brushes, and painting surfaces. PLUS how to clean brushes and palettes!
Bonus Demonstrations
Additional demos are periodically added which complement the curriculum, often showing additional ways to apply lesson concepts.
Go From Zero to Creating Your Own Paintings in 8 Lessons
Foundations of Oil Painting is ideal for someone who wants to start oil painting, for those who want to learn some new techniques, or for those with oil painting experience who need more information on the proper way to use their materials.
Techniques and methods covered in this class include:
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Direct/alla prima painting
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Indirect painting/layering
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Understanding different types of underpainting
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Glazing and scumbling
What Materials Do I Need?
Download a convenient PDF list of all the materials needed to get started on your oil painting journey.
Download the Materials List
