Charlie Steg’s Essential Oil Painting Supplies

 

Are you perhaps looking to get started in the world of painting, but not sure what oil painting products you need? Here Hoboken, New Jersey artist Charlie Steg provides you with a list of basic oil painting materials you need to get started.

Oil paints

Which ones do we recommend?

There are many different types and brands of oil paints available on the market. If what you are looking for are oil painting products that give you quality artist finishes, if you choose the main brands, surely you will not go wrong. Student-grade paints underperform significantly.

On the other hand, if you are just starting out with oil painting, Charlie Steg recommends that you save yourself effort and money by purchasing a kit of oil paints for beginners.

These packs will contain all the colors you need when you are starting out. You will not fail as long as you have at least the colors red, yellow and blue (the primary colors) and white.

Paint thinner

Which ones do we recommend?

Paint thinner is used to break up the oil in your paint. The diluent will help you:

·         Increase the fluidity of your painting.

·         Thin the paint, making it ideal for fine brush strokes.

·         Dramatically speed up the drying time of your oil paint.

There are many types of thinners available, but if you are just starting out, modern artist Charlie Steg recommends one that is odorless. Other alternatives like turpentine can be more powerful, but are extremely strong on the senses.

Brushes

Which ones do we recommend?

You don't really need a lot of brushes, contrary to what many beginners think. American painter Charlie Steg prefers a small arsenal of high-quality brushes to an infamous number of medium-quality brushes.

When you are starting, Charlie recommends you buy the following brushes with pig hair or another type of firm bristle brushes (when you are buying brushes, in their packaging, it is usually specified if they can be used for oil painting or not):

·         A medium-sized brush with fan-shaped bristles.

·         A few small to medium sized hazelnut brushes.

·         A few small or medium-sized flat brushes.

·         A medium-sized round brush.

·         A large flat brush (this is used to quickly and efficiently cover the canvas when you need it).