Home > Tips for maintaining good Oil Painting habits

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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.