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PhilipBohlmann —
How to Oil Paint - Layering
Published: 2008-08-20 19:23:40 +0000 UTC; Views: 54752; Favourites: 915; Downloads: 1102
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Description
The piece I use in this tutorial isn't even done yet, but I've been dying to get this up for the last 2 days. It's a pretty simple beginner tutorial on layering oil paints. There are many different styles of painting, this tutorial outlines the style I end up using the most.I hope this is well received, I would love to make more tutorials. Maybe one day I'll even buy a nice HD camera and make some youtube video tutorials.
Anyway, let me know if you like it. Spread the word!
Look for the finished piece in the next few weeks.
-Philip
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Comments: 105
Oh yeah. I dread it but wanna try none-the-less. Only reason why I haven't yet is because of the cost >.<
xD Glad I've found one person who likes 'em plenty.
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Realising that I 
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Thank you so much for both.
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Hi! Thank you for writing this tutorial. 
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That depends on many factors, the brand of paint, the thickness of the layers, what kind of medium you use, the color or paint (more specifically the ingredients), climate etc. I use a medium called liquin in my paints. Liquin will thin paints slightly and it also acts a a drying agent so the more liquin you use in proportion to paint, the faster the layers will dry. My paint layers are pretty thin, just thick enough to be opaque. The rendering layers when I use less liquin can take anywhere from overnight to a week to be dry enough to paint over. The underpainting layers when I use lots of liquin will usually be at least tacky in a day or two. However, when you are done with your painting, if you want to put a clear coat of varnish over top, you should let the painting dry for at least a few months so the varnish doesn't reactivate the paints and scrub them off.
-Philip
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Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
-Philip
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Well worth the visit! I have some antique oil paints which I may bring out for some fun after reading this. Great work.
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Please do. I'd also love to see what you come up with when you're done.
-Philip
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The last time I used oils it was for my A-Level exam and I painted with my hands! Can only be better than that!
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The last time I oil painted with my hands my skin started falling off... :/ Those things are toxic!
-Philip
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lol I know, I don't have very pretty hands so I wasn't too worried but it can't have been good for them. Thankfully it was a phase and I soon grew out of it. These days the messiest I get is with my antique Rotering pen which leaks ink everywhere.
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Oh my
I just want to say, like a lot of other people before me, thank you for this tutorial
The reason why I think this tutorial is the best regarding oil painting is because it's incredibly informative
You express yourself very clearly, and you also added visual examples which is a blessing!
You have no idea how much I needed to read this tutorial
I used to be comfortable with oil paints back in the day; it was my favourite medium, first to chalk and acryllic. That changed, though, when during one piece I noticed a mistake in lighting so I tried to fix that by being stupid and using a lot turp to "fix" my mistake
But after seeing this tutorial, I think I'll be brave and try to get back into the swing. So thank you for helping me get back on my two feet
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Wow thanks 
I would say to really hone the underpainting. I find that the underpainting is a really care free stage since it's going to be covered up eventually. It's also nice to know that when you move onto the rendering layers, all of the lighting and shading decisions have been made.
-Philip
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Thank you yet again!
This is going to be really helpful in university now
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No problem, it's my pleasure.
-Philip
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Awesome, i gonna have actually start on a oilpaint class this monday and have it this year, so, I gonna fav it and see if it helps my grades
Cool, I hope you like your class. Let me know if there is anything you'd like to see.
-Philip
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Thanks, I'm glad it helps.
-Philip
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Thank you, this is wonderful! I've been wanting to try oils for a long time now, but they've always seemed sooo complicated. We never touched the stuff in high school. I'm sure it's something I would be good at, but I simply *hate* painting blind. Please make more!
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I certainly will make more, however I'm going to be living in Antarctica for the next 8 months so it might take me a while to get around to it. I checked out your gallery. You have some really nice stuff, I'm sure you would be great with oils.
-Philip
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Haha, I understand. No pressure. Why are you in Antarctica?
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Believe it or not I managed to get a free ticket. All I had to do was agree to wait tables the whole time I'm down there...
-Philip
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Whaaaat? That's crazy! So you just...wait tables in Antarctica? ... possibly the coolest thing I've ever heard.
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Yeah! 
-Philip
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Ah. Now I know exactly where I went wrong that one time I tried oils.
Is there any way to fix problems like layers not diluted enough or even cracked paint? Or is it better to toss the whole thing out and start again?
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Well don't toss it. If it's a work in progress it's still worth finishing, but I don't know of any way to repair the work you've already done besides painting over it. Really the best thing to do is to layer from the get to.
-Philip
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*Nods.* Okay. Thank you so much for answering my question, and also for posting the tutorial. It's very helpful.
Congratulations on the DailyDeviation! It was well-earned on your part.
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This was so helpful! I'll try it right now ^^
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Awesome! Let me know how it goes.
-Philip
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Thank you so much for this! Congratulations on the DD, it was deserved.
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Thank you! I'm blown away.
-Philip
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Welcome. Enjoy the moment
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thanks, it is a simple tutorial but it works. Nothing to scare the young-ins.
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I've never tried oil painting? What do you use for the first layer? Gesso? And what do you dilute the paint with?
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I prime the board with a flat white latex interior primer, it's the exact same as gesso for all intents and purposes. You can get it at any hardware store.
I apply it with a small foam roller in thin layers. Putting it on in layers will even out the thickness of the primer when you're all done with it. The roller also gives it a little texture.
The imprimatura is just dilute oil paint. I think the pigment I used on that particular one was "raw sienna."
There are a lot of different things you can use to dilute the oil paint, I use "Liquin." It's made by Winsor and Newton, you can get it at any art supply store. You generally don't want to use thinners to dilute the paint. Thinners are really for cleaning brushes and pallets, they do so by breaking down the structure of the paint. If you use thinners to dilute your paint you are essentially ruining the paint. Liquin is a "medium," it has an ugly brownish-peach color when it's wet but it dries clear and it won't degrade the quality of the paint. It also speeds up the drying time of the oil.
Hope this is helpful.
-Philip
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I really liked that, it gave me a much better idea of how to paint even though I've never used oils. I now have a better idea of what I'd be getting into were I to pursue oil painting.
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Thanks for the comment. That layering technique is really useful for acrylics too. You can also approach drawing the same way; start with a quick rough drawing and make rounds of subtle refinements until you have a finished product.
-Philip
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This was very informative and your work is truly stunning, I'm going to fav this for future reference.
I don't paint an awful lot but this really gives me the urge to have a bash when I get time.
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