Home Forums Explore Media Oil Painting Absolute basic oil painting colors…

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  • #991847
    sound
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        I have been painting with watercolors ever since i began(10+ years) …tried my hands at oil painting,didn’t like it. Now again i am considering oil painting again.

        Please give me a list of colors that are absolutely necessary….dont want to spend too much…

        Monsur

        #1204717
        yellow_oxide
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            Nothing is necessary. Some paints produce masstone colors, hue shifts in tints, mixes, transparencies, and chromas that can’t be exactly gotten with any other paint, but there’s so many options today that nothing is irreplaceable. If all you want to do is paint then you can do so with any colors, even if it’s not a full palette that covers the whole color wheel.

            The shortest list of paints that produces the largest range of colors when mixed is phthalo blue (green shade), quinacridone magenta, a primary yellow, and white.

            The least expensive list of colors to make a mostly full palette is ultramarine, yellow ochre (or hansa yellow for a bright yellow, but it may cost more), burnt sienna (or naphthol red for a bright red, but may cost more), and white. Burnt sienna isn’t a very good substitute for red on a palette, but it makes a good black mixed with ultramarine. :)

            #1204710
            TGRANT
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                [FONT=Arial]I agree with the excellent advice of yellow oxide. There is no absolute list of colors – it’s all about personal preference. Any of the primaries – red, yellow, blue, along with white can be mixed to form just about any color. Also, color selection will depend on what you want to paint. For example, depending on your style, painting portraits or landscapes may be easier with one set of colors versus another. I agree with the list provided so far, but if you paint landscapes, you I might want to add an umber – burnt or raw. It darkens mixtures (don’t use black) and mixed with some blues gives that dark shadow tone that you see in many landscapes. This is personal opinion only, so take it with a grain of salt. Since you are transitioning from watercolor, recall that oil is largely an opaque medium where you work form dark to light, while water colors is the other way around – that of course is not always the case – it depends on your style. That is to say your style will determine to some extent whether you want opaque or transparent colors and exactly what colors you want. But keep it simple… [/FONT]
                [FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
                [FONT=Arial]Also, if your are just starting oil painting and don’t want to make a big investment at the beginning, if you stick to student grade (Winton for example) or use ‘hues’ instead of true pigments, you will be able to keep costs down. And while there is certainly a number of different opinions regarding artist vs student grade paints, the student grades are fine if you are just experimenting.[/FONT]

                #1204722
                wdaniels
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                    Absolutely necessary? I’m sure you could paint a picture with primary red, yellow, blue, and white. Seriously, what is absolutely necessary is going to vary from person to person according their particular style, methods, and preferences. Since you’ve had experience with certain colors in watercolor, what colors are absolutely necessary for you there? Why not start with those? I see no reason why oil and watercolor palettes shouldn’t be pretty much the same. You say that you tried oil painting and didn’t like it. What exactly didn’t you like about it?

                    #1204688
                    frazzled
                    Default

                        Please give me a list of colors that are absolutely necessary….dont want to spend too much…

                        Start with black and white. Smear those around for a while.

                        If you like what’s happening, you can add lightfast colors such as –

                        Ultramarine Blue
                        Cadmium Yellow Light
                        Perylene Maroon/Quinacridone Red
                        Maybe an earth like Burnt Sienna.

                        'The written word is a powerful medium, dare I say, rivaling that of the Visual Arts; though, I will not say that, as I am making absolute magic in that realm, and the visual component, when done right – is the more effective weapon' - frazzled

                        'Creating art feels like jumping off a cliff; you're plummeting to a sure death at first - full of terror and anxiety.... until things begin to take form.. and a parachute of wonder opens up, allowing you to glide into something grand' - frazzled

                        #1204672
                        Don Ketchek
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                            Since you’ve had experience with certain colors in watercolor, what colors are absolutely necessary for you there? Why not start with those? I see no reason why oil and watercolor palettes shouldn’t be pretty much the same.

                            Agree. You already have experience with colors you like and how they mix in watercolor. I would start there.

                            Don

                            #1204674
                            Anonymous

                                Please give me a list of colors that are absolutely necessary….dont want to spend too much…

                                Order them online from supplier, but even cheaper to find some on ebay.
                                I can give you my absolute needed list with suggested brand, it may not be anyone elses, but it is mine,
                                red- WN Bright Red
                                yellow- WN Winsor Yellow or Utrecht Hansa Yellow
                                blue- WN or Utrecht Ultramarine blue
                                green- Viridian is my fave.
                                ochre- WN Yellow Ochre pale or Utrecht Yellow Ochre
                                umber- and good Burnt Umber.

                                #1204664
                                WFMartin
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                                    I teach an oil painting class to adults, and after about 35 classes, I’ve found that we have been able to create every landscape, and nearly every still-life with the following, limited palette of colors:

                                    M. Graham Oil Paints:

                                    Ivory Black
                                    Ultramarine Blue
                                    Thalo Blue (considering dropping this)
                                    Burnt Umber
                                    Cadmium Red
                                    Cadmium Yellow Light
                                    Titanium White

                                    wfmartin. My Blog "Creative Realism"...
                                    https://williamfmartin.blogspot.com

                                    #1204709

                                    I have really enjoyed Kevin Macpherson’s book, “Fill your Oil Paintings with Light & Color”. He paints with

                                    Alizarin Crimson
                                    Cadmium Yellow Pale
                                    Ultramarine Blue
                                    Pthalo Green (occasionally).
                                    Titanium White.

                                    You can go pretty far with this limited choice of colors.

                                    "Painting is a verb"

                                    #1204711
                                    sound
                                    Default

                                        I think there has been a confusion regarding the term ‘absolutely necessary’…
                                        what i actually meant is…the list of colors that is mostly used …..that will cover all the colors after mixing…and i mostly paint landscapes.

                                        For example, with watercolors all i needed were these colors….
                                        Ultramarine blue,cobalt blue,raw sienna ,burnt sienna,cadmium red,light red crimson alizarin ,cadmim yellow and Payne’s grey.With these colours i could do almost any painting….may be at times i felt the need of some green or orange…..

                                        Monsur

                                        #1204718
                                        yellow_oxide
                                        Default

                                            I think that with oil paint it’s easier to mix colors, so fewer colors are needed. One reason is that the paint on the canvas doesn’t experience the same drying shift that watercolor does, where every color on paper lightens and loses chroma as it dries. It’s very easy to know exactly what paint on the canvas will look like while the paint is still on your palette, so you can make many different mixes of different values and hues and chromas. Another reason it’s easier to mix oils is that you don’t feel like you’re on a short time limit because the paint will normally take several days to dry, so you can take your time and slowly mix exactly the color you want on your palette.

                                            Also, in watercolors there’s more things to consider with each paint. Some paints stain more than others and some granulate. A watercolorist might have two very similar paints on their palette because one granulates and the other doesn’t. Oil paint doesn’t do this, so it’s not a concern to think about.

                                            Because of that I think it’s more common to see oil painters advocate a very, very small palette of just four paints. Personally I would use as many paints as are needed for a painting, whether that number is 2 or 10, but in general I think in oil paint it’s easier to do more with fewer paints.

                                            #1204712
                                            sound
                                            Default

                                                You say that you tried oil painting and didn’t like it. What exactly didn’t you like about it?

                                                I dont know ….i simply didn’t get the hang of it…i almost hated every thing about it…..the way it handled, i had no control over the paint with bristle brushes, on the other hand i could not move the paint around with sable brushes …there were too many things to worry about…. Whether to paint thinly or thickly, when to use medium, when to use bristle brushes ,when to use sable brushes…and loads of other doubts.

                                                Monsur

                                                #1204719
                                                yellow_oxide
                                                Default

                                                    With watercolor you are always using a medium, water, that’s added to the paint to change how it handles. Mediums for oil paint are also meant to change the way the paint handles, but they’re completely optional. Certain techniques may need the paint to be thinner, but just to paint all you need is the paint straight from the tube, a surface to apply it to, and something to apply it with. It’s better to first become comfortable with the way paint works straight from the tube before you start trying to change the way it works.

                                                    The way you use a brush is different in oil paint too. In watercolor you have a lot of paint on the brush that can cover a large area because so much paint and water is soaked up into the bristles. In oil paint you’re mostly just painting with the tips of the bristles and whatever small amount of paint that’s on top of them. So you have to “reload” your brush more often in oil and your brushstrokes will be much shorter.

                                                    I don’t use sable for oil because I like oil paint to be thick and sable is useless with thick paint.

                                                    #1204713
                                                    sound
                                                    Default

                                                        thanks yellow oxide for your valuable advices….yes this time i have decided to keep things very simple….use just bristles and paint straight from the tube…no medium nothing….lets see what happens… :)

                                                        Monsur

                                                        #1204728
                                                        Aspsusa
                                                        Default

                                                            I dont know ….i simply didn’t get the hang of it…i almost hated every thing about it…..the way it handled, i had no control over the paint with bristle brushes, on the other hand i could not move the paint around with sable brushes …there were too many things to worry about…. Whether to paint thinly or thickly, when to use medium, when to use bristle brushes ,when to use sable brushes…and loads of other doubts.

                                                            As someone who has recently tried pushing around oil paint for the first time I’d say that bristle brush dipped in solvent (then lightly squeezed out) was a revelation. I used to HATE bristle brushes (with acrylics), never understood why they were popular. Dip it a bit in solvent and the behaviour changes radically!

                                                            Another nice thing about a spot of solvent (it really doesn’t take much – 1/3 of a small palette cup is usually enough for me) is that you can sort of on the fly change the consistency of the paint: dip, squeeze, pick up, to canvas (or palette) and then either smash the paint around with the brush to make it thinner, or don’t.

                                                            It was acrylic mediums that originally got me hooked on art supplies, and I seem to be going somewhat the same way with oils now; I’d really really really recommend at least a drying oil and a solvent – it’s almost magical how you can change the lustre, consistency and flow with just those two!
                                                            It’s just so much FUN to take a small cheap canvas and play with only one or two colours + solvent/oil/medium!

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