Oil painting in progress

[Rachel DeSantis]

Hello! I am new to NMA. I am at this point self taught and I am sure I have more than one bad painting habit but the main issue I can’t seem to shake is that I paint very thin…I just can’t seem to load my brushes up properly. Is there any tip any pros can give me on this? Exercises or something? In addition to this question I have been working on this painting for the past 4 days and I am definitely not done (I only just finished the base layer of paint I haven’t used any solvents for translucent detail work yet) but was hoping you all could give me some tips. Thank you!

[Josseline Jeria]

Hi Rachel 🙂 I LOVE this painting! The composition, lighting, gestures of the figures, treatment of the fabrics, I’m working on being able to paint this well! You’ve done so much in such a short time frame. I am a very slow painter.

As for density of paint application, I think it’s a personal preference. You don’t have to paint more thickly. I wouldn’t even say this is painted thinly at all. However, if you are going for a more thicker application, you’d benefit from using hardly any medium throughout the whole painting. The type of paint you use is very important for this. Some paints are quite soft, thinner, thicker, stiffer. It is worth experimenting with a couple different brands to find which suits your painting style. Bristle brushes hold more paint. If you prefer using synthetic, you just have to load them more, again by using essentially no mediums. I have painted on ACP with synthetic and found the paint applied more thickly as that surface doesnt’ absorb much. Smooth Panels would be good for trying this. Being even more deliberate in how you apply your brushstrokes onto the canvas helps too. Resist the urge to blend and spread out your paints too much. Less pressure. Don’t drag too hard on the canvas. Only blend when absolutely neccesary. This will also help to make your paint look thicker. How your prep your canvas also in important. Most pre-primed canvases have gesso/acrylic primers that abosrb the oil of paints so the paint “sinks in” and makes the painting look more dull. I’m starting to add an extra layer or two on top of pre-primed ones to help with this.  The quality of the primer also matters. I’m trying a new primer that has high resin content to see if it helps with this.

I hope any of this helps. Keep up the painting! You are doing a REAL good job of it.

[garyartista]

Lovely piece!   Nice skin tones and good job on the fabrics.

 

You could also try painting with the knife.  Van Gogh laid it on!  I get the feeling your style is more suited to long paint though.

 

 

gary

[Christopher Velez]

well done with the lighting and the color theory. composition is also great. Keep inspiring!!:-)

[Eden]

Wow, I love this painting! The colors are beautiful and I love the composition. I love the two women and the way they are positioned. Their faces are both so expressive.

[GaryM]

I agree with everyone else…a fantastic painting. Composition, colour, mood. The way the light and shadow draws your eye to the centre of interest-all wonderful!

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