How to Buy Oil Paints for Canvas Painting

Posted by Anonymous , 9/4/2007 Tags:BuyOilPaintsCanvasPainting
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How to Buy Oil Paints for Canvas Painting

Introduction

Buying oil paint is much like buying a car - you get what you pay for. Generally, the more expensive the paint, the better quality it is.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Steps

1

Step One

Select a palette of colors you'll use. This will vary depending on what you'll be painting - a landscape, a figure/portrait and so on.
2

Step Two

Include on your list a good range for a beginner: cadmium yellow medium, cerulean blue, ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, cadmium red medium, burnt umber, lamp black and white.
3

Step Three

Decide which of the two different types of oil paint you'll get: ones made with pure pigment and binder or ones made with artificial pigment and binder. Artificial paints are good for beginning painters and for people who don't need to have their work last permanently.
4

Step Four

Select pure pigment paints for college-level artwork and professional fine art. These paints will hold their colors when mixed with other colors and don't fade.
5

Step Five

Buy oil paints online or at art and craft stores. Look for the pure colors behind the counter or locked behind glass.
6

Step Six

Purchase turpentine to clean your brushes and thin your paint.

Tips & Warnings

  • Artificial paints will generally be labeled "hue," as in "cobalt blue hue." These paints cost less than those made with pure pigment and range from $6 to $15. Artificial colors tend to fade over time (a long time - years, even - but they still fade) and don't keep their color in mixing. Often they get "muddy."
  • Pure pigment paints are made with pigments ground from minerals and plants. They're generally much more expensive than artificial colors because of this. An example of a pure color is one that's called cadmium red or cobalt blue. They'll cost between $20 and $150.

Overall Things You'll Need

  • Linseed Oils
  • Easels
  • Clean Rags
  • Palette Knives
  • Palette Trays
  • Turpentine
  • Smocks
  • Artist's Canvases
  • Artist Palettes
  • Oil Paint Set
  • Oil Paintbrushes
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