painting in oils – Katie Jeanne Wood

WIP
oil portrait painting

Sorry it’s taken me so long to write this post. I promised it weeks ago, but I stalled out on editing it. I had originally planned on doing some oil painting, so I’d have better photos to upload..maybe even a video of me painting in oils, but then I went on a painting hiatus. These are the only recent photos I have to share. It will have to do or I’ll never get this posted. Anyway, here you are..

One thing that can be confusing about oil painting are all the different mediums, mineral spirits, and brush cleaners that are on the market. It can be quite overwhelming, especially if you’re new to oil painting. I’ve spent years researching and trying to figure it out, and I wasted money buying products that sit on my shelf, unused. I’ve learned the easiest thing to do when painting in oils is keep it simple.

oil palette I mixed for this painting

My main go-to to thin the oil paints is Gamblin Gamsol mineral spirits. I keep it in that little pot on my palette. Gamsol is clear and the same consistency as water. I dip the tip of my brush in it, and mix a tiny bit of it into the paint as I go along. The mineral spirits makes oil paint easier to work with, and it’s odorless. No icky fumes, which is important to me.

You can read more about Gamblin Gamsol here.

WIP
oil portrait painting

Generally speaking, I don’t use mediums anymore. Sometimes, I have to rush a painting, and need it to dry faster, but even then I’m hesitant. Maybe I’m picky, but I haven’t found any mediums that I like. I’ve tried a lot of different brands, but meh.

For the most part, the mediums smell horrible/toxic, and give me a blinding migraine. I thought for the longest time that the oil paints were causing the headaches, but turns out it was the mediums I was using. Once I stopped using medium, the migraines disappeared. Oil paints have very little odor, and I can use oils year round without a problem.

Brush cleaning was another thing that boggled my mind about oil painting. I thought you had to use turpentine or some smelly harsh chemical when I first start using oils. That’s not at all true. You can use the odorless mineral spirits I mentioned above to clean your brushes, but because I use it to thin my paint, I don’t clean my brushes with it. I want to keep the spirits as clean as possible. I also like to have control over how much of the mineral spirits is on my brush, otherwise the paint might get too thin. I always keep the fat over lean rule in mind with oils.

Plus, using mineral spirits for brush cleaning can get expensive. I’ve found a couple alternatives that are cheaper.

ordinary bar soap got the black oil paint off my brush

For a long while, I used Master’s oil soap to clean my brushes. Then, I ran out, and started making my own brush cleaner a few years ago. I haven’t bought any brush cleaner since then.

I’m running low on olive oil right now, so I decided to try something new. I cut a bar of bath soap in half, and I’m using the same little container that Master’s oil soap comes in. Turns out, bar soap works just as good, and for far less money than Master’s. Last I checked, Master’s soap was a little over $8. You can buy a multi-pack of any bath soap for that, and it will last for years.

WIP
oil portrait painting

I clean my oil brushes the same as I do when I’m painting with acrylics. I wipe the brush first on a paper towel to get most of the paint off. <–sometimes that all that’s needed, and I keep on painting. If I have to get the brush cleaner..like, if I’m switching from a dark to light color, I wet the brush in my jar of water, soap, water, soap..back and forth until the brush is clean. I do a final rinse in a clean jar of water I keep on my table.

If you have liquid dish soap or Murphy’s oil soap, both are fine for cleaning oil brushes too. The reason I mix olive oil in with the liquid soap is to keep my brushes soft, but it’s not necessary. If I didn’t have this bar soap on hand, I would have used dish soap in the pot instead.

Hope this helps if you’re new to oil painting. If you have any questions you can contact me.