Master These Oil Painting Exercises and You're On Your Way

Over the years of teaching people how to use oil paints, I have found that this set of
exercises has the best results with the least amount of work in the shortest amount of
time.
Paint as loosely or tightly as you like, the principles of these exercises are the same
in all styles.
At the end you will have had enough painting experience to start to paint your own
masterpieces!

Basic Forms

You will learn how to paint the five basic forms, the cone, cylinder, sphere, cube and
torus. These forms are the foundation of all the objects you see. To be able to paint
these then is to be able to paint anything.

Values Within Colors

In this exercise the colors are seen only as lights and darks or values. This painting
will teach you to paint more complex forms than the previous exercise and it will
teach you to see a color's value.

Color and Form

In this exercise you will practice mixing colors and painting these bright simple forms.
 Distance and Texture

In this exercise you will practice creating the illusion of distance with color. You will
also learn to see the form within textured objects.

To use these exercises duplicate the various stages of the painting on a canvas of
your own. If you choose to paint your own subjects pick ones similar to those here.
For this one you could paint your own black and white subject or print out the source
photo and paint from that. Follow the steps. Try out the brush strokes.

Basic Forms
You will learn how to paint the five basic forms, the cone, cylinder, sphere, cube and
torus. These forms are the foundation of all the objects you see. To be able to paint
these then is to be able to paint anything. (See Creating Form.)
All forms begin with shapes of light, middle and dark values. Each value shape is
unique to its form: parallel stripes on cylinders, triangles on cones, gradual blends on
the faces of a cube, crescents and ovals on a sphere and crescents and stripes on a
torus.
Each form uses different brush strokes. Triangular strokes on cones, crescent
strokes on sphere and torus, curved strokes for sphere, torus and circular blends.
Parallel strokes make cylinders and the faces of a cube. (See Brushes)
With these things in mind we paint this subject. The only colors are black and white.
 How much paint do you put out on your palette?
You need to mix enough paint to cover the area of canvas you want to paint. The one
inch mixture above brushed out to a four inch square. I always mix twice as much of
a color as I think Ill use. It is far better to have some paint left over than to run out.
Youll want more of a mixed color because its unique than you will of one from the
tube.

Mix up several values of gray on your palette.

The drawing is made with Titanium White with the addition of thinner to make it flow
easily and dry quickly. Note the internal guidelines in the cone and cylinder.
Starting with the lightest mixed value, the value shapes are painted in. Use triangular
brush strokes for the cone, parallel brush strokes for the cylinder and cube, crescent
strokes for the torus and curved strokes on the sphere.

Place the darkest of the mixed values. Note the identifying value shapes and how
they define the forms.
The top of the cylinder is flat and is therefore painted in the same way we would paint
one of the faces of a cube, three values evenly spaced and then blended.

Brush in the middle values wherever you don't have light or dark values.
Blend the transitions between values. (See Blends) The direction and shape of the
brush stroke appropriate for the form is also used for the blend. Use curved strokes
for the sphere, crescent shaped strokes for the torus, triangular strokes for the cone
and parallel strokes for the cylinder and cube. If in blending the values you blend too
much and loose contrast (See Contrast) re-introduce, wet paint into wet paint, the
lights and darks even, if necessary, to pure black and white.
Put in the background values. Use the background to sharpen edges. The tabletop
recedes and is therefore a blend. Three different values are used to set up the blend.
The wall is parallel to the canvas and is seen as a single value.

Blend the background. Use a Round brush to paint the proximity shadows. (See
Shadows) These long dark lines will be easier with a little medium added. (See
Medium)
You have now experienced using the paints and brushes in the different ways
necessary to create the basic forms.

All Forms are Created From Five Basic Forms

There are only five basic forms from which all other forms are created. They are the
sphere, the cone, the cylinder, the cube, and the doughnut shaped torus. Parts of
these forms combine to create everything we see. Imagine a half cylinder on top of a
cube and you have the shape of a mailbox, a half sphere and a cone make a
teardrop form, a fir tree is a cone an oak is a half sphere. The cylindrical coffee mug
has a half torus handle.

Values Create Form

Each of these forms has distinctive light and dark value shapes that define them.
Spheres are recognized by crescents and ovals. Cones have triangular light and dark
value shapes. Cubes and flat surfaces are even blends. Cylinders are stripes. The
torus is crescents and stripes. Concave versions of these forms have the same value
shapes but without reflected light. (See Shadows/Reflected light.) When you can
paint these five forms you can paint all other forms.

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A SPHERE is defined by CRESCENTS AND OVALS. Sphere forms are painted with
crescent and curved brush strokes. (See Brushes)

click on an image to enlarge

CONES are defined by TRIANGULAR values of light and dark. Cones are painted
and blended using triangular brush strokes.

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CYLINDERS are defined by light and dark value STRIPES. Cylinders are painted
with parallel brush strokes.

click on an image to enlarge

CUBES and all FLAT surfaces are governed by the same rules. GRADUAL EVEN
BLENDS depict a receding flat surface. If there is a flat surface parallel to your
canvas, it may be painted with a single color or value. CUBES are various receding
flat surfaces. Each surface is a gradual blend. Cubes are painted with parallel brush
strokes.

click on an image to enlarge

TORUS value shapes combine aspects of two other basic forms. They take the
parallel STRIPES of a cylinder for the middle and the CRESCENTS of a sphere for
the ends. The torus is painted using crescent and curved brush strokes.

click on an image to enlarge

Here you can see that value shapes are stronger than contour lines for the creation
of form.
Lighting can be misleading in seeing forms, particularly flat surfaces. Try to see the
form first. Then see the lighting on it.
 Good Brushes Make Good Paintings
Brushes are the most important part of your equipment. A good painter will have
difficulty painting with bad brushes. A good brush for oils will retain its shape when
loaded with paint and will bounce back to its original shape after each stroke. A bad
brush will not return to its original shape when loaded with paint or after each stroke.
Or worse will not bend at all.

Different Brush Hair for Different Purposes

There are two types of hair used in oil painting brushes. They are BRISTLE hairs
from pigs and SABLE hair from the weasel like sable. In the course of a painting you
start with large areas. Bristle brushes are best in sizes of a half inch wide or larger so
are used to begin a painting. Whole paintings can be painted using only bristle
brushes but if you want finer detail in smaller areas, you switch to sable brushes.
Sable brushes are best in sizes one half inch in width or smaller. Sable brushes are
your detail brushes. (Sable brushes made for watercolors usually lack the spring
needed for painting with oils.)

Long Handles Balance the Brushes

Oil painting brushes are made with longer handles than watercolor brushes or house
painting brushes. These other brushes are ideally used in a vertical position with the
painting surface horizontal. Liquid goes down hill, so the short handles shift the
balance toward the front of the brush so the paint will flow better. Oil painting brushes
are used in a horizontal position with the painting surface vertical. The oil paint
doesnt flow. When you hold your oil painting brush horizontally the long handle
serves to balance the brush in your hand.

Imitation Hair Brushes Can Be Good

Many brush manufacturers make brushes that imitate the qualities of Bristles and
Sables at a lower cost. They include nylon hairs, horsehair and mongoose hair. None
are as good as sables and bristles but occasionally they come close.
 Brushes Come in Different Shapes
The most common shapes brushes come in are: Flats, Filberts, Brights and Rounds.
Numbers on brushes vary widely between brands. Look at the size of the brush
instead of its number.

Brushes and Their Strokes

Flats

A FLAT brush has hairs arranged in a rectangular shape that is longer than it is wide.
From the side it is narrow. The Flat is the most versatile of brushes. You can make a
broad stroke, a narrow stroke and, with a little twist, a triangular stroke. This is also
your primary blending brush.

Filberts
A FILBERT looks like a Flat with the corners rounded. The stroke is oval shaped or
half circular. They are used when you want a softer edge or for smaller blends than
you get with a Flat.

Brights

A BRIGHT (named after a fellow named Bright) is like a Flat except the hairs are
shorter and the side view is narrower. A Bright is used when you want your brush
strokes to show. They tend to put the paint on thickly and when worked too hard will
remove as paint much as they apply. The bright, being short and therefore stiffer than
a Flat, can also give you a little more control of your stroke.

Rounds
Although some people successfully use ROUNDS for their entire painting, they are
less versatile than other brush shapes because little variation in the size and shape
of the stroke is possible. Rounds are most often sable hair and are used for small
details and line work.

Varnish Brushes

These soft sable-like brushes are used for varnish and retouch varnish. Clean the
varnish from the brushes with turpentine then wash them in soap and water.

Blends are Color Transitions

A blend is the gradual transition from one color to another. Oil paint, because it takes
time to dry, allows you to move the wet paint around on the canvas. This makes it
easy to do the thing most difficult to do with other types of paint, the blend. All
brushes will blend oil paint. Flat brushes are best and rounds the worst. The
principles are the same for large and small blends.
click on an image to enlarge
The colors are mixed on the palette and applied in their approximate location on the
canvas. The brush is then dragged back and forth in a crosshatch stroke between
two values until a satisfactory transition is made. Parallel strokes are then used to
refine the transition of values. A clean brush is used for the dark to middle and
another clean brush for the light to middle.

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(A) In a blend the brush strokes are ALWAYS perpendicular to the light. In a circular
blend the brush must rotate to remain perpendicular to the light so curved brush
strokes are used.
(B) The placement and size of value shapes within a blend create the contour of the
surface. Note the value placements for flat surfaces on the left and curved surfaces
on the right.

Using the Darks and Lights Together

CONTRAST is the relationship between the lightest light and the darkest dark on an
object or in an environment.
This depiction of the values from black to white is called a VALUE SCALE.

For more instructional videos visit Bill Martin's YouTube Channel

The farther apart on a value scale the values are, the greater their contrast. The
closer the values are on a value scale the lower their contrast.

When objects have a HIGH CONTRAST of values they appear close. When their
contrast is low they appear farther away. The distant cliffs have a smaller range of
values and therefore less contrast than the near cliffs.
The gradual increase in the contrast of objects brings them into the foreground.

An object's cast shadow can be used to indicate distance by its contrast to its
environment.

Low Contrast
Objects in diffused light have the lowest contrast.

Objects within a cast shadow are always in diffused light. If objects have values from
middle to dark, they appear to be in a cast shadow.
If objects have values from middle to light, they appear in a haze or a mist.
CONTRAST CREATES THE TYPE OF LIGHT. High contrast equals bright light.
Low contrast equals diffused light, distance, shadow or haze.

When You Need the Paint to Flow More

Medium is a term used to describe the liquid that is mixed with the pigment. Oil and
pigment make oil paint. If more liquid is added to a color it will flow more smoothly
and become more translucent. In most cases the paint consistency right out of the
tube is perfect. Small detail, line work and sharp edges, however, are easier with a
little additional medium.
Adding linseed oil alone to a color will increase the flow but won't give the sharpest
edges. Adding thinner alone gives sharp edges but a chalky appearance. A medium
of HALF CITRUS THINNER AND HALF LINSEED OIL is best for most situations.

Seeing Values Within Colors is Important

In this exercise the colors are seen only as lights and darks (or values). This painting
will teach you to paint more complex forms than the previous exercise and it will
teach you to see a color's value. Print out the source photo or create a colorful still
life of your own to paint from.
Value is the relative lightness or darkness of a color.
A color's values create our perception of three-dimension. (See Creating Form)
Because we create form by first dividing a color into it's light, middle and dark values
it is important to recognize each color's values.

For identifying particularly difficult color values a VALUE SCALE is useful.

The value scale is placed over the questioned color.

You then determine which value it isn't. Clearly the value of the blue is not # 9 or # 1.
It's not #'s 8,7 or 6 because the blue is darker than these. The true value of a color
will be between too light and too dark on the value scale. The blue is lighter than #2
and darker than # 4. Its value is #3.

Which is too light and too dark here? (It's a #7 value)

With these things in mind we will paint this subject. Using only black and white mix
several values of gray on your palette.

The drawing is made with thinned white paint on a toned canvas (See Canvas).
White is used because it will create the least contamination of subsequent colors.
The drawing should remain simple because a complex drawing would soon be
painted over and lost.
The pure white patches are the highlights. They are put in first here to keep them as
clean as possible. The highlight on a shiny object is a distorted picture of its light
source. The light value for this pepper is placed around the highlight and wherever
else the light value appears.
Next the darks are placed.
If it's not the light and not the dark it's the middle value.
The middle and light values are blended with a Flat brush.
The pepper is blended using parallel and curved strokes with Flat bristle and Flat
sable brushes.

The first pepper was the lightest in value. This second pepper is the darkest in value.
In the three values we use for this darker pepper the light value is the same as the
middle value of the first one. Once again the light value is placed around the
highlight.

The darks are put in. They are darker than the darkest darks of the first pepper.

The middle values are put in wherever the lights and darks are not. A Flat bristle
brush one inch wide was used.
The blends are mostly made with curved brushstrokes using a Sable Flat.

The right hand pepper is a value between the first two. Each of these peppers has its
own set of three values.
The cabbage is begun. Its value shapes establish the form first.

The cabbage is loosely blended to strengthen the illusion of three-dimension.

The texture of the cabbage leaves is then established working wet paint into wet
paint. This is one of the advantages of a slow drying paint.

The other cabbage is a different set of three values but it has the same form.
The texture is applied to the second cabbage using wet paint into wet paint.

Cast shadows are the absence of light so their values are dependent on the surface
value and the strength of the light. Bright light makes dark shadows.
The background cleans up the edges.
Thus you have seen the importance of the values within the colors and how
they alone create the illusion of form. Plus you have used the paint in new
ways.

How Do You Match That Color?

A rainbow gives us pure examples of the basic colors of the visible world. The
rainbow's colors are, in order, red-violet, red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange,
yellow, yellow-green, green, blue-green, blue-violet and violet. When this order of
colors is formed into a circle we have the COLOR WHEEL. The color wheel is an
essential tool for matching colors.

The Color Wheel

The wheel is arranged with yellow, the lightest value color at the top and violet, the
darkest value color at the bottom. From the top down on the right are yellow-orange,
orange, red-orange, red, and red-violet. These are called the warm colors. From the
top down on the left are yellow-green, green, blue-green, blue and blue-violet. These
are called the cool colors.

Complementary Colors
Any TWO colors directly across the color wheel from each other are called
COMPLEMENTARY COLORS. Red and green are opposite each other on the color
wheel and therefore are complementary to each other. Yellow and violet are each
other's complements. Yellow-green and red-violet are complements. Complimentary
colors when placed next to each other on the canvas intensify each other.
Complementary colors when mixed together on the palette neutralize each other. In
this chart the pure intense colors are on the outside opposite their complements. As
we move to the middle, the complements are mixed together until they become gray,
the least intense of all.

Color Values
All colors come in all values. The pure spectrum colors are in the position of their
relative values on this seven-value scale.

With These Things in Mind, This is How to Match Any Color

We have only to answer these three questions to match any color we see.
1. WHAT COLOR IS IT FROM THE COLOR WHEEL? (Its spectrum color)
2. HOW INTENSE IS IT? (How much of its complement does it contain? More
complement means less intense.)
3. WHAT VALUE IS IT? How light or dark is it?

This is How it Works

The colors in order on the palette

Matching the Brown Leaf

The spectrum color is a red-red-violet. White is added to match the value. Yellow-
green, the complement of red-violet is added to reduce its intensity.

Matching the Green Leaf

Green is the spectrum color. Cadmium green is the base color. It is a little to the
yellow side so its intensity is reduced using a red-violet (Quinacridone Rose). Yellow-
green and red-violet are complementary to each other. White is added to match the
value.

Matching the Silver Tape

Blue is the spectrum color. White is added to match the value.
Orange, the complement of blue is added and the color becomes gray.

Matching the Colors of a Three Dimensional Object

In this case a bar of soap.
The middle value is first. The spectrum color is yellow-orange. A small amount of its
complement, blue-violet, is added to match the intensity plus a trace of white.

White is added to the middle value to create a light value. Blue-violet is added to the
middle value yellow-orange to create the object's shadow color.
The soap's colors are matched. A color's complement will usually make the color's
shadow value. For darker value shadows use the middle value color with less white.
In some cases a color's compliment won't darken the color enough. This is when you
add black to get the value.

You Are Now Ready for Color and Form

In this exercise the colored toys provide bright simple forms to practice mixing three
values of colors. (See Creating Form) When you see a colored object you are seeing
many values of that color. Because the first step is always simplification, we reduce
the values to three, a light, middle and a dark. When these are blended many values
are made. Of the three values the middle value is usually the closest to the actual
color of the object. The dark is usually the middle value color with its COMPLEMENT
added. The light value is the middle value color plus the color of the light, usually
white. (See Color Matching) Highlights, the bright spots of light, are distorted or
blurred pictures of the light source.
All forms begin as three values. Shiny forms will also have a highlight.
The dark value will usually have the complement of the middle value added.

Lay out your colors on your palette in this order. On the edge farthest from you, put
your white on the left. As a right-handed painter you will have to reach the farthest to
get to the white thus reducing the degree of contamination from neighboring colors.
Next is cadmium yellow light, then cadmium yellow, cadmium orange, cadmium
scarlet, cadmium red, Quinacridone rose, dioxazine violet, French ultramarine blue,
thalo blue, thalo green, cadmium green and cadmium green pale. Black may also be
added but is so rarely used it is put out only as needed.

If you are using the minimum palette of colors, lay them out as white, cadmium
yellow, cadmium orange, cadmium red, Quinacridone rose, dioxazine violet,
ultramarine blue and cadmium green. The intermediate colors such as yellow-orange
or blue-violet will have to be mixed when needed.
With these things in mind we will paint these toys.

The drawing is made with white paint that has been thinned down.
Starting with the teapot put in the light value first. The blue is a mixture of French
ultramarine and thalo blue. For the light we just add white.
Next we put in the dark. The dark is the middle value blue with the addition of blue's
complement, orange. A deep dark is needed so no white is used. In all cases a
color's complement is added to the shadowed part of the object.
The middle value is the true color of the object.

The values are blended with parallel strokes and the illusion of form is created.
Next are the yellows. Three values of yellow are created. The spectrum color is pure
yellow. The middle value is Cadmium yellow light with a little white. The light value is
the middle value with more white added. Shadows always contain the complement of
a color thus the dark is Cadmium yellow pale plus its complement Dioxazine violet.
The light value is placed around the highlight. The highlight is a distorted picture of
the light source as it is on all shiny objects.
The dark is next. The sequence of light, dark and middle is used. Light is used first to
minimize contamination from the wet paint. Dark is next because it is easy to see.
The middle value is last and unifies the form.

If an area it is not light or dark it has to be the middle value.

Parallel and curved brush strokes are used for the blends.
Red-red-violet is the spectrum color for the monkey. White is added for the middle
value.
More white is added for the light value. The shadow color is the red-red-violet plus its
complement yellow-green.

The dark value is placed.

The middle value fills in everything else and is blended.

The colors for the bell lyre are violet-blue-violet with a trace of its complement,
yellow, plus white. The mixture is already dark so white is added for the middle value.
More white is added for the light value.
The penguin's feet are orange-yellow-orange with a trace of blue. White is added for
the light value. More blue is added to the middle value to make the dark value.
The black for the penguin is actually blue with orange added. Additional white is
added for the penguin's belly values and for the teapot's top and bottom.

The values are blended.

The background values are placed. Three values of white with yellow and violet will
create the flat receding surface of the floor. One value of white with more violet and
yellow added creates the back wall that is parallel to the canvas.
The values are blended.

Last the cast shadow values are placed. The color of a cast shadow is the
complement of the color of the light. The orange (with some blue) cast shadows
indicate a cold light.
The blends finish the painting.
So now you have learned to mix your colors. You know how to create shadow
colors and highlight colors and all the transitions in between.

For more instructional videos visit Bill Martin's YouTube Channel

Distance and Texture is Your Last Exercise

In this exercise we explore form as it appears in heavily textured subjects and the
way colors change as they are seen at different distances.

Distance Changes Colors

As the same colors are seen at different distances they change. When matching
colors on your palette you will see that all colors acquire their complements when
they are seen farther away.
Even in this short distance the middle reds of the tomatoes are different. The farthest
one has the most of its complement (green) in it making it look farther away. Also the
green tablecloth as it recedes has its complement (red) mixed with it.

Here the intensity of the colors of the leaves creates the impression of near and far.
The most intense colors are always in the foreground.

Look For Texture Between Light and Shadow

Textures are most clearly defined at the transition of the light to the shadow. On
smooth objects the edge of the highlight defines the degree of smoothness. On rough
objects the change from light to dark defines the texture.

Spheres and cones from smooth to rough, the value shapes within the forms create
the illusion of three dimensions.

With these things in mind we paint this subject.

The basic shapes and angles are drawn with thinned white paint on a toned canvas.

Landscape paintings begin with the things farthest away in this case the values of the
sky.
The three values of the clouds are blended with a Flat and Filbert sable brushes, to
create the softest textures.

The ocean values are put in. As colors recede they become less intense so the blue
ocean at the horizon has more orange in it than the blue ocean in the front.
All receding colors become less intense. Their complements are added as their
distance is increased.

The grass in the distance is the same color as the grass in the on the hill but because
it's farther away it is less intense. The yellow-orange of the grass has its complement,
blue-violet, added as it is seen farther away.
Texture begins. The edge of a Flat brush is used to begin the grass.

The darks of the trees are placed first here to further define the drawing. The edge of
a Flat bristle brush is used.
Next the lights are placed.

The middle values complete the form.

The lights and darks for the foreground grass are put in.

And the middle value completes the form. Notice the change in intensity of the grass
colors in the distance, on the middle hill and in the foreground.
This is the first layer of paint. Oil paint is well suited to working in layers if you want to
improve an area or add something else, wait three days for it to dry before adding
new paint.
With your review of the basic information and the completion of these four
exercises you should have enough different types of painting experiences to
be equipped to paint anything you want. So what are you going to do? You can
send me a photo if you like.