# Practicing with different paint mediums.



## Albino-Kitsune (Aug 31, 2008)

So my grandmother bought me a starter set of oil paints and I'm actually really interested in giving them a try, but I'm completely lost on what I should practice on and, even, what would be something simple to start with just to get a shading technique down without wasting half or more of these tiny tubes.

I know this much, oil paints are messy messy messy and to clean a brush used with oil painting can be hell. D:

Aside from the oil paints, I'm also with some acrylics that I haven't used since a college course and I've never used them for something for myself. I have really wanted to begin using acrylics though as I wanted to start towards using acrylics to hand-paint wooden jewerly boxes.

I own a few different brushes, nothing exquisite though. Just bargain packs of brushes you can get at places like Dick Blick's. But they're definately good enough to practice with.

What would be a good material to practice on with oil and acrylic? Canvas board? Bristol paper? If I want to practice with a wood so I'll get used to the grain for once I start to do custom boxes, what would be a good cheap wood? Balsa wood?

... okayIloveyoubuh-bye.


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## M. LeRenard (Aug 31, 2008)

> I know this much, oil paints are messy messy messy and to clean a brush used with oil painting can be hell. D:


I know back when I was in art class (hyuk hyuk.. no seriously, it was actually an art-based study hall) in high school, we'd always use turpentine to clean the oil off the brushes.  You'd want to make sure at least all of the windows are open if you do it this way, though.


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## Bankin (Aug 31, 2008)

You MUST clean your brushes in turpentine. There is such thing as odorless turpentine, but I'm not an oil painter. Its also important to use separate brushes for oil, acrylic and watercolour, an acrylic paintbrush can be used for oil painting, but you cant use it for acrylic painting again. Final point for oil painting; prime your surface! Oil paint is nasty stuff, it'll eat through paper, canvas and wood given a chance, most canvases come pre-primed, but you'll need to coat the paper or box yourself.

With the advances in synthetic polymer (acrylic paint) technology, acrylic is looking more and more like oil every year, so unless you're dead keen on your boxes lasting till the end of time, you could do without oil paints.

haha! I think I've scared you enough now! ^^'


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## Hanazawa (Aug 31, 2008)

do not use oil on paper.
do.
not.

a small pre-stretched canvas is probably the best thing to try oil on. canvas boards can be okay, but real canvas is best.

acrylic can be done on a variety of surfaces, but papers aren't the best if you want to do any kind of blending. again I would recommend canvas or canvasboard.


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## Albino-Kitsune (Aug 31, 2008)

Hanazawa said:


> do not use oil on paper.
> do.
> not.
> 
> ...



I see... ^^;
Well, I should have mentioned I've never had any experience with paints outside an acrylic piece on canvas board I did one year for my Grandmother for Christmas. 

Isn't canvas generally expensive? We have a very, very small arts and crafts store here in Cumberland, MD. But for anything that's for the more-than-just-a-hobby artist, we have to buy from internet or catalogs. x-x;; (I hate living in a one-horse town.)

I know the small shop has some canvas board though, as well as pre-stretched and pre-primed canvas on wooden frames. 



Bankin said:


> You MUST clean your brushes in turpentine. There is such thing as odorless turpentine, but I'm not an oil painter. Its also important to use separate brushes for oil, acrylic and watercolour, an acrylic paintbrush can be used for oil painting, but you cant use it for acrylic painting again. Final point for oil painting; prime your surface! Oil paint is nasty stuff, it'll eat through paper, canvas and wood given a chance, most canvases come pre-primed, but you'll need to coat the paper or box yourself.
> 
> With the advances in synthetic polymer (acrylic paint) technology, acrylic is looking more and more like oil every year, so unless you're dead keen on your boxes lasting till the end of time, you could do without oil paints.
> 
> haha! I think I've scared you enough now! ^^'



You haven't scared me. ^^

I've never used turpentine so I wouldn't even know about the scent. XD;;
But thanks for telling me about this, as I would have went and painted, having never known there was a special chemical needed to clean my brushes. Also, thanks for the heads up about priming, another thing I never knew. x-x;;

And, it's not about the box lasting, though I would like that, it's just that I currently have oil paints and I'd like to use them for something. XD

Oh! Here's another question. Is blending oil paints different from blending acrylic? I suppose the answer would be yes. I have experience in blending and mixing acrylic paints, but none with oil.


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## Bankin (Sep 1, 2008)

Its largely the same, there are now some brands of acrylic paint that dry more like oils, so they're more like them again. But really, every time I bring home a painting dad asks "ooh! is that oil?" which it hasn't been.
In acrylic I paint a lot with modeling compound, which gives is a lot of the volume of oils which I love.

With oils be careful of red tones though, cadmium red in particular, word around says
 it can cause cancer, which is why they don't use red glazes in ceramics anymore ^^'


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## Kangamutt (Sep 7, 2008)

be sure you're using the right brushes. those little soft brushes are for watercolour. You want the brushes with the long handles, and synthetic bristles. As far as surfaces, canvas would be best, but you can always buy some gesso (primer) and throw a few layers of that on a piece of wood. Yes, ventilation is very important when painting with oils and using turpentine. (I actually have a funny story about turp a fellow artist told me) Yes, cadmium can give you what is called _heavy metal poisoning_. It comes in shades of red, orange, and yellow, and is completely harmless, provided you don't eat it.  With shading, your best bet is to tone the base colour down with it's complementary, plus a little of a cool colour for emphasis. The best thing to do right now is to experiment and familiarise yourself with the material.


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## LainMokoto (Sep 7, 2008)

I'm currently taking a painting class in college and we are working with oil paints. Class has only been in session for two weeks but, we are using stretched canvas with the oils and bristle brushes. Solvents can be used to thin the paint out to make washes and such but, be careful of the fumes. I suggest a Windsor & Newton Sansodour solvent since it is low odor. If you chose to get some solvent, you won't need much to thin the paints out with, you can pour a small amount of solvent into a palette cup or a small clean jar and keep the lid on it when you aren't using it so the fumes don't get to you, be sure it paint in a ventilated area (Has had the fumes become to much once, it isn't fun) I know turpenoid has been suggested for cleaning your brushes but, a good nontoxic way of doing this is to clean the brushes with some cooking oil. I tend to just swirl the brushes in the oil and blot them onto a paper towel until no paint remains on the brush. After you have done this step, rinse the brushes with soap and water (dishwashing liquid works quite well) and of course shape the tips and place the brushes in a cup with the brushes upright and things should be fine. Hope this helps you a lil bit. 
Ps. Oil paints take a long time to dry, I have heard anywhere from a week to a month depending on solvent use and such.


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## Kangamutt (Sep 8, 2008)

Some say that oil is _never_ 100% dry! But yes, painting with oils takes a lot of patience.


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## LainMokoto (Sep 8, 2008)

Kangaroo_Boy said:


> Some say that oil is _never_ 100% dry! But yes, painting with oils takes a lot of patience.





From what I have seen, it eventually dries but, expect to wait some time for it to happen. I have friends and family who work in oils and their stuff seems to dry as well. Areas with higher humidity make drying times longer though.

Edit: Forgot to add earlier, turpentine can slow down drying time significantly so that might be why some say it never really dries.


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