For those who have been asking about free oil painting tutorials, here’s one for you!  I have been toying with the idea of starting a Patreon page where I can offer painting tutorials for a small monthly subscription to those who are interested, but I kept stalling on launching it.  The idea became more of a roadblock than an incentive for me to offer more painting tutorials and I’ve learned that when I’m dragging my feet on something I want to do, I need to go back to the drawing board and determine my hang-up.  I realized that it felt like too much pressure when my focus is diffused in this season of my business (working on my home, working on book proposals, writing this blog, painting for original art sales.)  I just needed to keep it simple and I can continue making painting videos and sharing what I’m learning as an artist and just do it as I’ve always done – here on the blog and YouTube.  So, that’s what I’m going to do.  This is a video tutorial along with a supply list and reference photos for painting two geranium studies in oil.

These are the two paintings we’re going to complete…

You can feel free to print these up to use them as references or work off of the photos I’ve provided below.  The entire video is about 40 minutes and that is painting both of these studies in real-time from start to finish.

Oh, and for those interested in art as collectors, these two originals will be available in my next sale.

painting geranium studies in oil | supplies

Paint

Ultramarine Blue (Michael Harding)
Kings Blue Deep (MH) (I had Bice by Vasari on my palette, but Kings Blue Deep is a reasonably close substitute and is less expensive.)
Rose Madder (MH)
Chinese Vermillion (MH) ( I kept referring to this as Cadmium Red Medium, which is a less expensive option to Chinese Vermillion, see list below)
Burnt Sienna (WN)
Yellow Brown (Old Holland)
Cadmium Yellow Medium (Gamblin)
Naples Yellow Genuine Light (MH)
Cadmium Lemon (WN)
Flake White Replacement (Gamblin)
Titanium White (Gamblin)

If you are just starting with oil painting, this would be the palette I would suggest since they are more economical than some of the brands and pigments I currently use.  These are still professional-grade paints and will give you great color-mixing options and you’ll be able to follow along with my oil painting tutorials.

Ultramarine Blue (Utrecht) – $7.82
Alizarin Crimson (Winsor & Newton) – $11.69
Cadmium Red Medium (Gamblin) – $26.25
Burnt Sienna (WN) – $8.69
Yellow Ochre Light (WN) – $8.69
Cadmium Yellow Medium (Gamblin) – $22.50
Cadmium Lemon (WN) – $18.66
Flake White Replacement (Gamblin) – $9.75
Titanium White (Gamblin) – $9.75

Other supplies

New Wave 12 x 16 Glass Palette (gray)
Richeson Hardboard Flat Panel 8 x 8
Liquitex Professional White Gesso
Princeton 6500 #2 Flat (I am using a Rosemary & Co Ivory Flat #2, but this is a good alternative)
Robert Simmons Signet #4 Long Flat (I used a Rosemary & Co Short Flat SER 274, but this is also a good alternative)
Master’s Touch #4 Filbert Natural Hogs Bristle
Gamblin Gamsol
Anderson & Sons Airtight Solvent Container

painting geranium studies in oil | reference photos

I think that I referenced some photos I found online for these studies, but I wasn’t able to find the exact ones I used.  I didn’t paint them faithfully, but just used the shapes of the leaves and flowers as the jumping-off point and then invented the pots and background.  I did get some late summer photos of some geraniums in my neighbor’s garden last year, though, so I thought I would share those to use as a reference.

painting geranium studies in oil | video tutorial

Here is the video tutorial showing step-by-step how to paint these two studies.  I start at toning the panels and work through to completion of the paintings.  Once the paintings are dry, I would suggest varnishing them with or a similar finish in the desired sheen.

I’m often asked if these oil painting tutorials can be completed in acrylics.  Acrylics certainly can be used since they are traditionally applied from dark to light.  The issue with using acrylic instead of oils is that they dry quickly, so you can’t work back into wet paint which gives you a lot of flexibility.  I also feel that I can mix cleaner, richer colors with oils, so I prefer them for that reason as well.  Use what you’re used to and comfortable with, though!

You can find some more free painting classes that I taught on Facebook Live during the pandemic as well as a few other video tutorials HERE and a few other oil painting & sketchbook tutorials on my YouTube channel HERE.

I share my favorite studio supplies HERE and my library of art books HERE.

For those who enjoy these art classes, would you prefer doing some live classes so you can ask questions or do you prefer them recorded without interruptions?