Oils

Learn how use oil paints with this clear and simple guide. Accomplished artist and teacher Norman Long explains all the basics and shows you how to master this versatile, vibrant medium so you can produce beautiful paintings full of life and colour. A handy front section covers all the practical stuff, from choosing the right materials to essential techniques. Ten step-by-step tutorials then guide you through a range of subject matter, from still life to landscapes and figures, providing a thorough grounding in painting with oils. Each tutorial is broken down into key stages, with clear step-by-step photography and easy-to-follow instructions. There are also special features on composition, painting outdoors and painting people. Throughout, Norman gives plenty of tips and practical advice to help you make the most of your paints. It's no real surprise that oil paint, which has been used for hundreds of years, is still the most popular painting medium. Oils create luminous, hard-wearing colour and can be used in an infinite number of ways. Because they dry slowly, you have a longer working time hours or even days after you started and their slow drying nature means they are fantastic for creating subtle colour blends. Best of all, if you make a mistake, you can scrape off and repaint as many times as you like. Painting with oils isn't as hard as you might think, and the rules of oil painting are actually very simple. Once you know them, you are free to do almost anything while producing works that will last for generations.