How Do You Start An Oil Painting? How To Begin The 1st Layer With Oil Paint.

To start a portrait in oil, begin by thinning one paint color, typically brown or green, with one or two drops of solvent. Common solvents used for oil painting are odorless mineral spirits or turpentine. Use solvent sparingly, just enough to improve the paint flow. With a paintbrush, draw your composition onto your canvas or panel using the thinned paint. This first layer creates a monochromatic underpainting. The purpose of the underpainting is to establish the lights and darks while setting the composition. You can soften and blend brushstrokes slightly with a clean brush, and lift out lights with a rag. Allow the underpainting to dry completely before applying the second layer to prevent the brown paint from affecting the other colors.

I am using Gamblin Iron Oxide paint from their Reclaimed Earth series, along with a few drops of Gamsol odorless mineral spirits. It's important to use the mineral spirits sparingly – just enough to improve the flow of your paint so that you can create your composition with a paintbrush. Using too much mineral spirits or solvents can affect the paint's ability to stick to your panel. I've seen cases where the paint rubbed right off the panel after it dried because too much solvent was used.