Realist Oil Painting Techniques Secrets for Serious Beginners & Beyond

1. Introduction: Hello, my friend. My name is Veronica Vendors, and I'm a Russian American artist. I work into mediums, wilking and colored pencil. And today I'm going to share my oil painting techniques. They're based on classical type of learning. In this glass, you've along how to use the basic oil painting techniques in this glass. You know how to being in black and white in full color, how to glaze color and how to greet textures. As an artist, I've been painting for many years and these fundamental oil being seen techniques that I've learned over the years, um here is understand that you need to gain from life to get better and better. And this day is going toe. Show you the process and you need to go back and rely on this process, creating several pictures off your own into your own still life setting on the life and enjoying the process. Enjoy 2. Set up, drawing & image transferal: Hello. Thanks for tuning in. This is my still like set up. I'm using a directional light source to illuminate my still life. I will be painting on just a board and the size is 12 by 16. I cut my sketch paper about the same size as my just aboard Van Emma. I pained. I'm facing my still life. So I'm facing straight and then begin sketch. I normally start this the largest shape and then I'm making circle. And then I please other elements right next to my biggest shape to make it look right. It's important to give it a direction. So you can see I have the directional lives place over here, and then I just mark where it's supposed to. And then I would week straight lines like this following the directional line. It gives me in the right position off the show. I can still refine this where I see it's perfect. Okay. And then the last thing that I'm doing, I'm just placing the shadow, the base, But I need to fix shapes. I'm using HB graphite pencil and I needed eraser so it doesn't leave in your residue when you start racing And it doesn't tear up your paper if you doing. If you find Roy, I always grow up through the shapes. Make sure they connect. I Cooper the direction off every part off the object, like in the starfish. Every leg has its own unique direction. When I draw symmetrical shapes, I use my folding method tick nuke, meaning that I draw the entire base. And then I fold it right in the center and area the roar the second part of the ways. So both sides of the ways match perfectly. To transfer my images, I use transfer paper and the HB graphite pencil. I put my transfer paper over the panel and then I begin transferring the image. I often use masking tape and have object to keep my drawing in place while I'm doing the transferrable. 3. Underpainting: under painting can be done. In many ways. I'm showing one of the most popular ways off completing the under painting. First I begin painting in warm brown. You know, brands differ, but you basically beak warm brown, such a Z brown sienna. I begin painting by focusing on the dark's or the shadows. The idea is to establish a warm undertone for, um, my painting. I also keep it quite transparent, and I vary the thickness off my pain, depending on the area where I'm painting. If I see that some areas need to be darker, I use ah, thicker paint. And let's say, if I pane glass, I tried to keep it transparent. At this step. I never use, um, linseed oil because I follow fat overly and a roll. That means that there is no medium used in the first layers. And then as you keep building up your painting, you ah, start aging linseed oil to your pain. So to dilute this pain, I use a little bit off gams. Oh, that makes the paint look more transparent, and the fluid 4. Grisaille part 1: I premix a string off dollars, going from purest black, too. The purest white. It's greets a range of bones that I'm going to use in my painting. First time mix. Ah, ever black was just a little bit of brown toe to warm it up, and then I keep adding a touch off white to create a different shape. That's how I end up viz. Arrange off bones black and white. Under painting is the old masters technique. Black and white on the painting establishes correct value scale, and the once this on. The painting is totally dry. You can layer colors on top of black and white painting, and so I'm often asked, why bother a painting in black and white if you could just skip it and being than full color immediately, it iss possible. It's, ah, another type off painting. But when you're just begin learning to see values as opposed to colors and to develop shapes correctly, this is the method. The union too long. Also, it depends on the technique, but a lot of times of on the glazing. It's much easier to make a complete under Kaenzig in one color and then begin glaze top of that. I'm gonna show you this technique in the end of this video, so I apply, pained by fulling, the shadows and the darks. First, if it gets to Harry, I use my paper towel toe wipe off some of the pain to keep it more transparent and light. I begin a layering different shades off grey, depending on the values that I see in my steel life. For instance, the bottom part off the base is very dark, and that's my reasoning for using much darker grey ping as opposed to the side of the base , which is much lighter. And so I'm using lighter, mixed off Grey Ping. When I apply great paint over this brownish layer, it has brownish undertone, and so this gray paint looks very blue ish or even greenish, depending on the life. It's all an illusion that I keep feeling in the ways and, um, when I switch to in March darker or much lighter pain. I tried to soften the edge because glass is soft, it's elusive. Reflections change as we move looking at the glass, and that's why edges must be very nice and soft to create that illusion. I also use a very nice, clean and soft brush to soften the edges. Um, along the way, I careful observed the abstract shapes that I see in the vase, and I tried to simplify them and focus on the don't off every shape, painting it. As I begin painting the starfish once again, I focus on the shadows first and mark those shadows with the same paint. And I makes graze thinking off my bones off values that I see in the shadow part off the starfish One. - As you can see, I'm not sloppy, and I'm using quite the small brush to feel in the shadows carefully. Once I get to a lighter part off the seashell, I clean up my brush and charge it with lighter collar and begin painting there. As you can see, I begin creating volume painting and black and white. Um, the more precise I get, the more volume the starfish is going tohave. Basically, I rely on my practice and observation skills to makes the correct value for every section off the starfish. Now I begin feeling in the background at the same time as I, uh, keep painting everything else values in the background affect what I see in the foreground . It also effects the edges. Um, that's why I keep painting everything at the same time I rotate my panel. Ah, a lot to apply paint using the correct type of stroke. Placing the strokes in the right direction is very important to create volume. I want my background toe have a different kind of stroke. Um, not to confuse it. This the objects themselves when I mean the shadow on the wall behind the vase. I attempt to make the edge much softer than I'm going toe have in the vase itself. That's how I'm trying to create the difference between the shadow and the object itself. When you pee in the the shadows or, you know, the cast shadows that you see under the objects, they need to have a much softer edge. Um, as opposed to the object itself. A lot of times it's just much easier to paint and took play to place the right stroke and make the edge nice. And even by a rotating the panel. And once again, if your aim to become by other a painting, realistically, you shouldn't be a sloppy. You should really try copying everything that she is. C by observing values and applying, you know, keeping your drawing perfect and applying strokes in the right direction to capture volume off every object. As I keep painting the part of the base, I'm thinking about symmetry, and I'm trying to be as perfect as possible. Painting the dream off the Blue Jays. - I also begin failing and smaller shapes found years in a larger shape, and I blend the edges of the transitions between those values. Always remember toe. Continue painting on dry surface. That means that every layer that you put it needs to dry out completely. It's important for several reasons. One of them is archival because, um, Europeans in could crack over time if you don't follow this role. And other thing is when you use glazing to commute, it's so very important to have ah, dry layer. So when you start glazing color on top of that, the previously is not going to move. I keep painting smaller abstract, the shapes found within the vase using my small brush, and when I want to blend the edge, I use a different kind, you know, different brush, which is clean and soft 5. Grisaille part2: details & textures: Okay, I'm getting Teoh the next layer of grease I painting. I'm gonna focus on painting textures and details. I begin painting parts off Savy brand the branches the you see here I'm using ah, smaller on brush. But today I find that looks crude. I think a small lineup brush does a much better job painting such details. I don't mean every single brunch. I just focus on major branches and lay out because I'm gonna repaint that at a later stage . I just want tohave them as a guide. And also, I want to have that a reflection in the vase, - I begin painting small highlights and the reflections in the vase. And, um, I tried to capture the correct A shape off every reflection. Since this is my second great on the painting, I have all my shadows being established in my previous layer. And now I focus on the lightest areas. So the logic is to establish the shadows first in. And now I look at my highlights or the lightest areas, and then I would be finding a range of tones in found in between those two poles off light and dark. So here you see me painting the lightest areas in the starfish, and I'm using particular strokes to describe texture off the starfish. I give looking at the rotation off every a lag in the starfish because it changes direction off my strokes. Um, I want to describe, um, the texture on every leg, and it differs slightly and also ever lack has a different lighting. That's what I'm thinking about. As I keep painting. I keep layering texture right next to the previously a plight being it because it's much easier to mix the right value by tiling the paint, meaning that I start in one area and I can t continue painting right next to that area. For instance, I started with the lightest pain, and then the leg turns into the shadow, and that tells me that I need to mix a darker pain to describe that. I look at the center of the starfish and studied carefully to understand the pattern, and I tried to copy all those lines that I see right in the middle of the starfish. As you can see, it already gets Ah, quite the detailed and this kind of painting could be a finished product at this point, if I just wanted to finish it. Painting and black and white, you know, In the 19th century, artist did. Ah, very refined black and white painting Teoh glaze colors on top of that. Now I begin refining all the shapes that I see inside the base. Also, I'm constantly thinking about the nurse off the days, and I keep carving my shapes even more than I think that I need to create volume. - I keep touching up different parts of the days, making some ages darker, painting softly to create the difference between the values. - He you see me painting the texture off the table I used up and down on even stroke. Just keep watching how I tried toe imitate this texture. Also, I soften some of the edges, and I keep changing the value slightly to grieve. Create uneven stripes that resemble this picture way. I add strong highlights, and in the reflections inside of the base, I darkened the areas around the highlights toe make them pop even more, - and I start painting the reflected starfish in the base. As you can see, the values are darker than the starfish. That's how I create contrast because the base is a lot darker than the starfish. But the reflection itself. ISS, slightly lighter than the general don't off the blue ways she and they keep refining the values Iran, the branches inside of the base. - Now the vase looks much darker, and it also has a range of tones, and it has many beautiful reflections, and that's still black and white. It's not even call it yet. I refined the shadow behind the base, this inveigh focusing on values. So if I see that something is starker like the dream, I add some color there. 6. Glazing & painting in full color: now we're getting to painting and full color and glazing fun to glaze colors means to use very transparent oil pain. There's lots off medium you can use linseed oil. He I'm just using a variation, you know, a different medium to achieve the same result. To apply this technique, you must have your painting dry completely before you could start glazing. Otherwise, you'll be moving this black and white paint and mixing it into the color layer. Glazing can be done in several layers. It doesn't have to be done in just one layer as but remember as you keep glazing a particular area, it gets darker and darker. This every you glaze, so you have to plan ahead and think how a light or dark you want tohave your objects being painted. I makes ah variation off blue paint for different parts of the base, depending on its light and transparency from and I'm super careful painting in color close to the edge. It needs to fill it in completely, but it really shouldn't touch the background. Um, and this is what I'm doing here. If I get my being somewhere I don't want tohave, I use my color shaper to lift it out. I glazed the paint in the shadow area as well. And as you can see, it darkens everything substantially. That's why I'm saying you have to try it out and plan ahead. You know, you have to let you have to paint in black and white somewhat lighter because you know that when you start glazing colors, it's gonna look much darker in the end from I glaze the colors in the table the same way, and I lived out extra paint using my paper towel. You've got to use blue paper thous to lift out the paint because you know, chief paper thous could leave a lot off stuff on your panel. A. So you can see. I keep glazing the paint very thinly because I I'm going to let a dry and use the second layer toe build up the color. So if you ask why not just the painting faker in one layer, as opposed to glazing paint in several layers and thence is very simple. You create this illusion and that that's that we see in beautiful paintings by glazing colors in progression thanks , I feel in the light. The areas in the shadow by mixing a peak pain Whenever you add white, it becomes so, Paige anyways, And, um, that's how I'm feeling in those light turquoise reflections that we see in the background. I use my under painting as a guy toe paint over to paint over it, painting the branches once again. But I tried to be more precise and make lines and even and the soft and, uh, career all at the same time. From once the pain settles, I'm just a little bit. I use clean, soft brush and ah, a very light touch. So soften the edges. - I add the second layer, um, glazing the colors and basically repeating the process painting the vase. And once again, the previous layer must be try to do that once I'm done glazing, and I think it looks transparent and the color is reach. Sometimes the highlights get, um, Merica. And basically I reestablished the highlights on top of my previously applied ah highlights and and I just make them brighter where I see I lost them. - Thanks . - A switch to painting the starfish and what I need to do is I need toe color it and I repeat my black and white process. Ah, but I add a little bit off color. It's It's not just about every painting. Everything. Basically, what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to refine it even more toe, find even more detail my understanding off lighting and texture. So it's not about just simple repainting or going toe going through the same steps. It's more about the refining and finding subtle differences in texture and light. As you can see, I keep a rotating mind barrage, UH, to make strokes in the right direction, painting a picture on every a lag of the starfish and them. Unlike in everything else, Starfish has are sharper edges because it's life, and, uh, it has a lot off texture, and so it looks much sharper in comparison to everything else. If you look at the reflection on the starfish, it's a lot softer, and that's what creates the illusion. You paint the objects in sharper focus, but keep other age is very nice and soft and not as bright in comparison to your focal point. - Don't forget toe VAYRYNEN Shia painting. In half a year after the painting is done, it takes a lot longer for oil peeing to settle, even if it's dry to the touch. Use professional spray varnish to varnish everything. It's going to bring out the colors even more and make it nice and leave them and the beautiful. And he is the final painting. It's done. This step completes this demonstration.