Tips for Maintaining Good Oil Painting Habits

Following are the tips for you to maintain good oil painting habits:

Tips for saving color:

• Clean away any mixtures near heaps of colors you are setting up to keep.

• Keep a habit to put colors in same place on palette – used up areas must be worn out & wiped for new oil paint for next painting session.

• For disposable palettes scoop off mounds of paint you desire to maintain with your knife and move them to a fresh sheet; if a skin shapes, stab and take away the skin and work with the new color under.

• If you are not regular on painting for a week – cover palette with plastic cover & place in freezer.

• When you desire to clean your palette clean off central mixing area of wooden/acrylic palette, when you are done with your oil painting,

• For caring for tube keep tubes clean, wipe necks & caps.

Caring for your brushes:

• Wipe to take away surplus paint on rags, newspaper, etc.

• Rinse in container of solvent not advisable to soak.

• Clean your oil painting brush with rags, newspaper to immerse up solvent

• You can also use mild soap (shampoo or dawn), put dab in palm of your hand, foam brush in palm moving in circle to work foam into bristles.

• Lather & wash it in lukewarm water until soap suds are snow white, & rinse with clear water; bristles might discolor.

• Press bristles into tidy, solid shape while moist.

• Let it dry and store in jar bristle-end up.

Safety precautions:

• Read labels on oil paints and mediums – some are gently toxic (cadmium colors), so you need to careful with it.

• Avoid consumption of food or smoking while you paint

• Wash hands carefully after oil painting reproduction session; try using lotion to hands before hand, paints would wash off easier

• Some solvents don’t create deadly fumes, any how, must be used in well air room – open a window

• Some solvents are combustible also and toxic (gasoline, kerosene) – stick to turpentine and petroleum stuff made for artist’s use.