OIL TUTORIAL:
Mischievous Joy (stage six)
I started applying color by painting the background. After having tried many brands,
I’ve settled on Winton oil colors by Winsor & Newton as my favorite. These are high-
At this point the coloring isn’t precise, just base of titanium white mixed with
a bit of cerulean blue and phtalo blue, and just a hint of a cloud added in titanium
white. Not worrying about staying within the lines, either. You can see the lines
still showing through the preliminary coat of paint where the hair is -
I used a #10 brush to add the paint, and a #16 to blend it and smooth it out. I prefer to use pure red sable brushes, which are soft enough to allow gentle blending of color. For more info on paints, brushes and accessories that I like to use, please refer to the Materials section.
Many times with detailed backgrounds it takes lots of glazes and layers of different color to build it up, but since the background is really simple here, I expected it to be just one (thick) layer. I like to wait between the layers until each is completely dry before I start working on the next. This way if I apply a layer I don't like, I can later wipe it off using a little oil thinner and a cotton cloth. You can't wipe the paint off if the layer underneath it isn't completely dry, you'll surely scrape parts of it off.