A lower quality paint may not cover the canvas well. You may get areas where it kind of streaks or shows through. If you are working with a low grade material you’ll never know whether the fault is with the material or if it’s with you and your technique.
Oil painting supplies for beginners [artist recommended]
You don’t need to break the bank when starting to oil paint. In fact, I recommend beginners start with just these 4 essential oil painting supplies:
1. an oil paint set
2. small canvas panels (or value-priced stretched canvas)
3. an oil paint brush set (or use brushes you already own)
4. an oil paint medium
That’s it! Everything else you can scrounge from home!
Read on for more details …
you can also download my Quickstart Guide to Oil Painting.
It’s full of tips for the beginner including my 10-step process for creating perfect paintings (almost) every time. And it’s FREE!
Feel confident when entering an art store.
Art stores are my weakness: I’m like a kid in a candy store when I enter them. I have spent hours happily poking around and dreaming of all the possibilities.
BUT I also know they can be overwhelming to a beginner. I was a complete novice when I started painting, and so I bought some really dumb things.
The problem with art supplies, in my humble opinion, is that the labels don’t do a good job of explaining what the art supply is for.
And a problem with many oil painting How-To books is that they recommend professional grade art tools that are overkill for a beginner. No, you definitely don’t need an $800 top-of-the-line easel to start painting. You can save those for when you go pro.
To start oil painting, all you need to buy are these 4 basic supplies. In fact, they all you may EVER NEED. (I still use egg cartons to as brush holders!).
So read on to learn more about the essential art supplies, and some of the brands I recommend for beginners
Oil Paint Set
Buying a set is usually is a bit more economical than buying single tubes, so that’s why I recommend beginners start with an oil paint set.
It’s also simpler. There are also a LOT of different colours (pigments) out there. This can be a bit overwhelming for the beginner. A paint set takes that all away.
And don’t worry — you will have plenty of time to learn and experiment with all the colours later. In fact, it’s part of the FUN of learning. As I explain in my Intro to Oil Painting course , you won’t know until you try! Your signature style can come out of the supplies you use.
So for now, you just need to get started. And that’s why painting sets put together by reputable brands are great.
If you want to buy your own individual colours, or have inherited some oil paint colours, I recommend using the split-primary palette. You will just need to buy 7 individual tubes of paint. Click to read my article.
Which brands to buy
As long as you are buying a reputable brand of oil paints, it doesn’t really matter which brand you start with. They are all good.
Plus, you will want to try them all because each paint brand has its own formula resulting in different textures. Some are runny and some are thick! Also, their colours can vary.
You never know which one you will like best, so don’t worry about the brand. Just get the oil paint set that’s on sale!
Which type of oil paint: traditional or water-mixable?
Before you start shopping you need to choose between traditional oil paints and water-mixable oil paints. You can read my Quickstart Guide to Oil Painting for more info on what the differences are between the two paint formulas are, but here is my #DumaDoArtTip: starting with water-mixables is probably the easiest.
Water-mixable paints can be thinned and cleaned with water which means you don’t have to worry about solvents. Solvents like turpentine and OMS (Odourless Mineral Spirits) emit aromatic compounds which need a properly ventilated space.
If you are painting small, there is very little difference between the two paints.
Later, if you want to try traditional oil paints, you can always mix your water-mixable oil paints with traditional ones, which means you won’t waste a thing. The water-mixable paint will lose its ability to be thinned with water and will act like regular oil paints.
Which grade: professional or student quality?
Most reputable paint brands have a student quality and a professional quality. Student quality paints are less expensive than artist quality paints because they have less pigment in them, or they use a lower quality pigment, or both.
This will be most noticeable when mixing colours. You will be able to mix more beautiful colours when you use artist quality paints.
#DumaDoArtTip: Buy the grade you can afford but that won’t make you “miserly” with the paint.
As a beginner, you don’t want to worry about wasting paint. You want to allow yourself to play, be experimental, and waste lots of paint!
Worrying about wasting paint will make you stiffen up. Giving yourself permission to paint the worst paintings ever is how we progress fast.
#DumaDoArtTip: You can always start with a student-grade paint, and then start adding artist-grade colours one by one. This will allow you to “SEE” the difference between the paints, too. That’s what we are doing as artists. Learning to see.
Don’t buy dollar store brand paints though… you will never get nice colours from them. Too frustrating. Pigment quality does matter when it comes to colour. Stick with name brands.
BONUS Content: don’t forget to download my Quickstart Guide to Oil Painting. It’s got my 10-step process for creating perfect paintings (almost) every time. And it’s FREE!
Oil Paint
There are many different types and brands of oil paints available. You can not go wrong with any of the major brands, as long as you go with the artist quality paints. Student quality paints have noticeably poorer performance.
Here is a versatile starter palette for oil painting:
- Cardinal red
- Yellow Ochre
- Cardinal Yellow
- Viridian Green
- Alizarin Crimson (Red)
- Burnt Umber
- Titanium White
- Ivory Black
Now if you are just starting out I would suggest you just save yourself some effort and purchase a starter kit. These will have all the colors you need when starting. You cannot go wrong as long as you have at least a red, yellow, blue (the primary colors) and white.
Some popular oil painting starter kits can be purchased from Amazon below:
Paint Solvent
Paint solvent is used to break down the oil in your paint. The solvent will help:
- Increase the fluidity of your paint
- Dilute the paint, making it great for thin washes
- Speed up the drying time of your oil paint dramatically
There are many different types of solvents available, but if you are just starting out I would recommend an odorless solvent. Other alternatives like turpentine may be more powerful but they are extremely strong on the senses.
Linseed Oil
Your oil paint already has oil in it, but you can add additional oil to change the consistency of your paint.
There are many different types of drying oils to use in oil painting, but linseed is easily the most popular.
Oil medium is the counter to paint thinner. It is used to fatten up your paint and will:
- Increase the fluidity of your paint.
- Slow the drying time.
- Increase the transparency of your paint, making it perfect for glazing.
Oil painting involves a steady balance between the amount of oil and solvent that you use.
The general rule is to start your oil painting with lots of solvent using thin washes, then progressively adding more oil to the mix. The last strokes on your painting should be the fattiest (oiliest).
Do I Need an Easel?
When you paint you should always work on an easel, even if it’s a tabletop easel. It’s not a good thing to work with your painting laying flat as it affects your perspective of your work. That said, you want something sturdy enough that it’s not going to slide while you’re working.
The easels we recommend to beginner students is the Martin Angelina Table Top Easel sold for about $20 on Amazon.
Once you know you want to continue with your art and are looking for an easel upgrade, an H-frame easel is a good investment.
The easels we use in the studio are Weber Avanti 2 Steel Studio Easels (roughly $250, but watch for them to go on sale). The SD STUDIO DESIGNS Deluxe Easel is a more affordable and high quality alternative.
Additional Art Supplies: Linseed oil or Medium
Like canvas, the subject of medium is a conversation that could go on for years.
Most high quality oil paints can be used straight out of the tube, with no medium necessary. However, you may find that while using some of these paints, they can be heavily pigmented and therefore, quite dense.
Although mediums are not necessary oil painting beginner supplies, to help the paint move a bit easier, We recommend that you use as little medium as a vehicle for the paint.
For the most part, paint is made with linseed oil. Paint makers take pigment, grind it up, and mix linseed oil into it.
And if that’s what your paint is made from and you want to thin your paint down, then you want to use more linseed oil.
It’s always good if you can use cold-pressed linseed oil (it’s going to be two or three times the price of regular linseed oil but should still be under $15 for a bottle).
Cold-pressed linseed oil is the highest grade of linseed oil you’re going to get. This way you’re going to get used to working with good material.
Final Thoughts on the top 5 Oil Painting Beginner Supplies
This is the list of art supplies you need to get started as an oil painter. Keep it simple and invest in quality oil paints to get you started. Then, spend your time and focus on practicing and learning all you can about oil painting!
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