Oil Painting Supplies Guide For Beginners

Oil painting brushes come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes and this can sometimes overwhelm a beginner. This article will provide you with an overview of the various oil painting brushes available and help you decide what kind of brushes you should invest in.

BRUSH TEXTURES

Oil painting brushes come in two different textures basically, and they are classified as hard and soft. Hard brushes are generally referred to as "bristle brushes" and they are quite resilient. Hard brushes are made from hog's hair and they are strong and stiff. They will hold a good amount of paint and can handle the oil painting medium quite well. I personally prefer working with bristle brushes exclusively as I tend to paint rather rough and direct.

Soft oil painting brushes are made from softer hairs that come from animals like sable, squirrel, or mongoose. Softer brushes will generally give your painting a softer smoother appearance and are more often used for finishing or detailed work. Sable brushes are the most expensive usually but there are synthetic brushes made of nylon that are very good substitutes for sable. They are more resilient and cheaper than sable.

BRUSH SHAPES

There are five shapes to brushes that are generally used and each is meant to have its own function. I prefer to paint with flats, brights and fliberts of various sizes, and only occasionally make use of the other shapes. This is my preference and you will certainly develop your own the longer you paint with oils.

Flats

Flat oil painting brushes have a wide square end with medium to long hairs. Flat brushes generally have a lot of spring to them and can hold a lot of paint. You can use these brushes for broad sweeping strokes or you can turn the brush on its edge to create fine lines. Flat brushes are great for earlier stages of a painting when you are blocking in large areas.

Brights

Bright oil painting brushes are similar in shape to flat brushes but the hairs are shorter. They are best used for making shorter controlled strokes. They do not hold nearly as much paint as a flat brush.

Filberts

The filbert is also similar to the flat brush only the edge of the brush comes to a rounded shape. The hairs of the filbert are medium to long in length. This rounded shape will give you more control then a bright. The filbert is great for blending and figurative work.

Rounds

A round oil painting brush has a round or pointed tip. They hold a nice amount of paint and are great for making thin or thick lines. Use this brush for dabbing on dots or blotches of color. Round brushes are also good for washes, fills and detailed work. They are not suited for creating hard straight edges.

Fans

The fan oil painting brush is a flat fan shaped brush. The fan brush is a specialized brush. It is either used very often by the artist or not at all. It really depends on your style of painting. This brush is not suited for holding paint. It is used more often for blending colors and you should keep this brush clean and dry if you plan to do a lot of blending during a session. The brush will begin to lose its effectiveness when it becomes filled with paint. You may want to keep a few extras on hand.

BRUSH SIZE

Oil painting brushes come in a variety of sizes indicated by numbers as in 1,2,4,6,8,10; size 1 being the smallest and 10 the largest in this example.

BRUSH MANUFACTURERS

Oil painting brushes are made by a number of different manufacturers. A few of the more popular brands are Winsor & Newton, Silver Brush and Robert Simmons. Some artists prefer one brand over another. Other artists like to have an assortment of different brands available. The only way you will know what you like best is by working with the brushes yourself.

CARING FOR YOUR BRUSHES

No matter what brush you buy, whether they are top of the line expensive brushes, or cheaper ones, you will definitely get more life out of them if you care for them properly. There seems to be a difference of opinion when it comes to brush care, especially when it comes to drying your brushes. I personally have two products on hand for cleaning and conditioning my brushes: Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver and Mona Lisa Pink Brush Soap. I have found that the Masters Brush Cleaner works great on brushes that are deeply stained and hardened with paint, that I would have otherwise thrown out. I use the Mona Lisa Pink Brush Soap to clean my brushes right after a painting session. These cleaners will also help condition your brushes.

After washing my brushes with either of these cleaners, I then attach a clothes pin to the handle of the brush and rest the clothes pin on the edge of a counter or table so that the brush is hanging with the bristles pointing toward the floor. Gravity then pulls the moisture from the brush so that it does not collect in the ferrule, which can damage a brush over time.

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SILVER BRUSH Oil Painting Brush Set

Complete your oil studio with this set of 11 brushes including one each of Series 1627 3/4 in. Chisel Fitch, Series 7100 Renaissance 4, Series 1100 round 0 and 1, Series 1101 flat 6 and 8, Series 1102 bright 2 and 3, Series 1103 filbert 4 and 6, and Series 1104 fan 2.


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An oil painting support is any surface that oil paint can be applied to. There are a variety of different surfaces that artists use to paint on. Everything from certain woods, canvas, and even metals can serve as supports for oil paint. This article will introduce you to those various supports and hopefully help you decide which support is best for your style of oil painting.

LINEN

Linen is made from the fibers of the flax plant. The plants are harvested and then left to soak in water until the outside of the plant rots away leaving the fibers underneath. The fibers are then processed into yarns or threads which are then woven into canvas. The fibers of the flax plant are long and quite strong and make for a very interesting and durable painting support. Paintings executed on this surface have withstood the test of time. It is for this reason that linen canvas is a favorite amongst professional oil painters. Unfortunately linen canvas is rather expensive and may not be the best option for beginners. If you are interested in learning more about linen canvas, check your local art store or go online and do a search. There are a variety of different linen canvases available, from rolled canvas to pre-stretched. It comes primed for acrylic and oils, or you can get it unprimed as well.

COTTON

Cotton canvas is the most popular support for beginner oil painters. It is a relatively strong material and much cheaper than linen. It has a very even and mechanical weave. There is a big debate going on in the art world over which is the better painting support, linen or canvas? What support will last longer? This is really a matter of personal opinion and taste. I know many artists, including myself, who use cotton canvas exclusively. Other artists swear by linen. If the surface is sized correctly, then your painting will be well protected from rot and will last a long time. So when deciding between linen or cotton, I feel your decision should be based on how you enjoy working with the material itself and not whether or not it will be around in three hundred years. If you are really concerned about the durability of cotton, then purchase a heavy grade cotton canvas and try stretching it yourself. Cotton canvas is available in rolls or pre-stretched, primed or unprimed.

CANVAS PADS

For those artists who may be on a tight budget but still want a descent quality surface to paint on, then canvas pads are a good choice. Canvas pads come in a variety of different sizes and are great for beginners who are just starting out. Canvas pads are great for practice or doing studies. Make certain you get a heavy weight canvas pad suitable to hold oil paint.

MASONITE OR HARDBOARD

Masonite is another popular oil painting support for artists. Masonite is actually a trademarked name for a synthetic hardboard made from wood particles. Hardboard is inexpensive and rigid. If you plan to use large hardboards, it is recommended that you reinforce them with a frame, as they can bow or bend. You can purchase plain hardboards or other varieties like canvas boards, which are hardboards covered with a ready to paint canvas material.

WOOD PANELS

The earliest known oil paintings were created on wood panels made of oak or poplar. The wood was covered with a uniform ground made of animal skin glue and chalk. The ground was then polished smooth to create a surface suitable for oil paint.

Pure hard wood panels are not the most popular ground for oil painters today. They are costly and rather difficult to lug around. A good alternative that oil painters use is plywood. There is good quality plywood available made of birch, poplar or mahogany that is suitable for oil paints if prepared correctly. Do not paint on soft woods such as pine because they contain more resins and do not resist moisture very well.

The above are the more popular oil painting supports in use today. There are others that artists use when they are feeling adventurous. Metals like copper and aluminum are sometimes used as a painting support. Obviously metals are quite heavy, so paintings on this type of support are usually on the smaller side. There are also other fabrics used in oil painting like jute, which is a strong natural fiber with a rough texture.

Your choice of oil painting support really depends on your style of painting. Experiment with the variety of painting supports available and have fun. You will eventually find one that works best for you.

FREDRIX Red Label Stretched Cotton Canvas




Red Label pre-stretched canvases are made with medium weight, medium texture cotton duck. They are acrylic titanium primed, acid free acrylic gesso double primed, and they provide the perfect support for both oils and acrylics.

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Red Label Stretched Cotton Canvases up to 8 in. x 8 in. are stapled on sides. Sizes 8 in. x 10 in. and larger are stapled on the back.

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