Buying oil paint is much like buying a car, it means you get what you pay for. Usually, the more expensive the paint, the better quality it is.
Things You'll Need: Artist Palettes, Artist's Canvases, Oil Paint Set, Oil Paintbrushes, Palette Knives, Palette Trays, Clean Rags, Easels, Smocks, Turpentine, Clean Rags, Linseed Oils.
- Choose a palette of colors you'll use. This will differ depending on what you'll be painting - a landscape, a figure/portrait and so on.
- Include on your list a good range for a beginner: cadmium yellow medium, cerulean blue, ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, burnt umber, cadmium red medium, lamp black and white.
- Decide which of the 2 different types of oil paint you'll get: ones made with pure pigment and binder or ones made with artificial pigment and binder. Artificial paints are suitable for beginning painters and for people who don't need to have their work last permanently.
- Opt for pure pigment paints for college-level artwork and professional fine art. These paints will hold their colors when mixed with other colors and will not fade.
- Buy oil paints online or at art and craft stores. Look for the pure colors behind the counter or locked behind glass.
- Purchase turpentine to clean your brushes and to thin your paint.