How to Choose the Right Oil Paint for Your Artistic Journey

If you’re thinking of working with oils, choosing the right paint is a key step.

Whether you’re a hobbyist or you’ve recently started an art and design course, it’s worth understanding each oil paint type. Their different nuances can have a profound impact on your work and its quality too. Here’s a quick guide to help you make informed choices.

Types of oil paints

– Student vs. professional grades

Oil paints come in two main grades: student and professional. They vary hugely in the concentration of the pigments and overall quality of the materials used.

Student-grade paints are naturally more affordable, and since they contain less pigment, they’re perfect for practising techniques. Professional-grade paints offer richer colours and smoother textures, which can improve the quality and longevity of your work.

– Popular brands

There are several brands offering oil paints for every skill level.

• Winsor & Newton is known for its consistent quality and lower price points, making it a favourite for students.
• Meanwhile, Gamblin specialises in artist-grade, eco-friendly paints.
• For a top-end choice, Sennelier paints boast a smooth, buttery texture and rich pigments.

– Pigment types

Oil paint pigments vary in opacity, transparency, and vibrancy.
High-quality piments maintain their vibrancy for decades, a quality referred to as lightfastness. However, some paints cover surfaces more smoothly than others. While opaque paints offer maximum coverage on surfaces like canvas, transparent oils are better suited for layering and glazing.

Factors to consider

– Colour palette

Seeking a balanced palette is essential in finding your style.

If you’re a beginner, it’s worth starting with primary colours and a handful of secondary tones. Colour adds flexibility to your artwork because oil paint can be mixed to create a striking range of hues. As your style changes, you can add more colours to your palette.

– Consistency and texture

Oil paints vary hugely in viscosity. A thicker, buttery texture works beautifully for impasto techniques and paintings where you’d like to see visible brushstrokes on the canvas. Fluid paints are better suited to smoother, more detailed works.

– Drying time

Some oil paints are fast-drying while others need to be left to dry for longer. Faster options allow you to build layers quickly, while slow-drying paints leave you with more time to blend carefully and work on the intricate details. Choose consistency based around the techniques you’d like to explore.

– Additives and mediums

Knowing the additional ingredients in your chosen paint is vital. These can determine the drying time, consistency and other important properties. For example, linseed oil makes the paint glossy and more fluid, while turpentine thins the paint and speeds up drying.

Starter guide to oil painting

1. Choose a limited palette

Start with primary colours, plus a couple of secondary tones. Add more shades as you build up your skills, using only familiar shades to experiment with new techniques. You can explore colours on digital art software first.

2. Try different brands

Experimenting with different brands and types of oil paints before starting an important project means you’ll be informed. Every paint feels different on the brush, so it’s worth finding the one that’s best suited to your style.

3. Buy samples first

Thirdly, we suggest trying smaller tubes or even complimentary sample sets before committing to larger sizes. By trying as many brands and colours as possible, you’ll find the missing piece to elevate your skills and complement your portfolio perfectly.