If you feel in yourself an irresistible craving for creativity and dream to draw your own oil painting on canvas, then do not hold back your desires! On the contrary, try to bring it to life. Start drawing at any age is not too late!
Where to begin?
First of all, you need to decide on the idea. What exactly would you like to depict in your picture? Perhaps you live in an unusually picturesque place and want to capture the beauty of the surrounding landscapes on canvas? Many amateur artists begin to paint just such oil paintings on canvas. Landscapes work well even with completely inexperienced painters.
More than anything, is the beauty of flower bouquets in a vase admiring you? In fact, what could be more beautiful than flowers! In addition, in order to draw such a picture, it is not necessary to go to the open air, you can do painting at home. Still lifes - that's what such oil paintings on canvas are called . Flowers work well for most novice artists. But portraits are the most difficult painting genre. You should not start with them.
What will be required for work?
Oil painting requires serious preparation. You will have to go to the art salon, buy special paints and a solvent for them, brushes, charcoal, primed cardboard or canvas stretched on a stretcher, sketchbook.
Oil paints are sold in tubes and are quite expensive. You can purchase them in a small set, which will be much more economical. Moreover, in such boxes the primary colors are already selected . You need to stock up on whitewash separately: when you start painting with oil on canvas, you will realize that this paint is consumed much faster than others.
It is better to choose brushes of different sizes, from natural bristles or a column, flat and round. Thin brushes will be required to work out small details, wide and flat - for the background and initial under-painting, well, and medium ones - for the main work. Charcoal is needed for sketching. A sketchbook is necessary for storing paints and a palette; it is convenient to fix a stretcher on it in order to paint an oil painting on canvas.
The work process - the main stages
Suppose you decide to create a still life with flowers. They put a beautiful bouquet in a vase, dismantled the sketchbook and fixed on it a canvas of the right size. Now you need to take the charcoal and light strokes to outline the contours of the future still life on white canvas.
Next comes the time under shadowing, that is, the main color spots and shadows are determined. Undermining should be done easily, and paints at this stage should be applied to the base with a thin layer. Let the work dry well for a couple of days, and then proceed to detail. This is the most interesting and creative part of the process. The final stage is the study of the smallest details, the so-called "revitalization" of the picture.
Take your time! In order to finish your oil painting on canvas, you may need several days - this is a fact.
You need to know that the technique of oil painting is quite complicated, and you should not be upset if not everything turns out the way you want. Perseverance and work will surely yield positive results over time.
How to arrange the finished work?
When your work is ready, let it dry, and then carefully coat the finished work with varnish in several layers. Each coat must be allowed to dry thoroughly before applying the next.
Be sure to place your picture in a frame or baguette. Baguette is best ordered in a special workshop. There you will be offered a choice of different samples and advised which one is better to choose. A lot depends on the design of the picture, so try to treat this final stage with all responsibility.