Oil paint sets for artists

For artists seeking to delve into the rich and versatile world of oil painting, selecting the right oil paint set is a crucial first step. To navigate the myriad options, consider these essential elements: student vs. professional grade, pigment quality, color selection, and included mediums or tools. A good starting point for many is a foundational set that offers a balanced palette of primary and secondary colors, ensuring you can mix a wide spectrum of hues. For instance, a basic set often includes Cadmium Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Titanium White, and perhaps a few earth tones like Burnt Umber or Yellow Ochre. Understanding what oil paints do professional artists use often comes down to their preference for high pigment load and lightfastness, which ensure vibrant, lasting works. Meanwhile, artists just beginning their journey might find value in student-grade sets which are more forgiving on the budget. If you’re looking to explore digital art with a similar tactile feel, consider checking out 👉 Corel Painter Essentials 15% OFF Coupon Limited Time FREE TRIAL Included for a powerful creative alternative. Regardless of your experience level, building your oil painting set up thoughtfully will greatly enhance your creative process.

Understanding Oil Paint Sets for Artists

When you embark on the journey of oil painting, the sheer volume of choices for oil paint sets for artists can feel overwhelming. It’s not just about picking a box of colors. it’s about investing in tools that will shape your artistic expression. Think of it like a chef selecting their knives—each choice impacts the final dish. So, why do artists use oil paint? Its slow drying time allows for unparalleled blending, layering, and manipulation, giving artists the freedom to refine their work over extended periods, a luxury not afforded by faster-drying mediums like acrylics. This characteristic makes oil paint a staple in both traditional and contemporary art.

Choosing the Right Oil Paint Set: Student vs. Professional Grade

Navigating the world of oil paint sets for adults often begins with understanding the fundamental difference between student and professional grades. This isn’t just a marketing ploy. it speaks to the quality and concentration of pigment.

Student Grade Oil Paints

Student-grade oil paints are typically more affordable, making them an excellent choice for beginners or those practicing new techniques without a significant financial commitment.

• Pigment Concentration: These paints contain a lower concentration of pure pigment and a higher proportion of binders and fillers. This makes them less vibrant and luminous but also more manageable for those learning to mix colors.
• Cost-Effectiveness: A clear advantage is their price point. A student set can offer a broad spectrum of colors for a fraction of the cost of a professional set. For instance, a typical 12-color student set might range from $20-$50, making it accessible.
• Consistency: The consistency can vary more widely across brands, but generally, they are designed to be easy to work with.
• Lightfastness: While reputable brands will ensure their student paints are lightfast resistant to fading over time, the durability may not match that of professional grades, especially for exhibition-quality work.

Professional Grade Oil Paints

Professional-grade oil paints are the choice for serious artists and those creating archival work.

They represent the pinnacle of quality in the medium.

• High Pigment Load: The defining characteristic is their extremely high concentration of pure, finely ground pigment. This results in incredibly vibrant, rich, and intense colors that retain their brilliance even after drying.
• Superior Lightfastness: Professional paints are rigorously tested for lightfastness, ensuring that artworks will resist fading for centuries when properly cared for. Many brands adhere to ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials standards for lightfastness.
• Consistency and Handling: These paints offer a buttery, smooth consistency that handles beautifully, allowing for a wide range of brushwork and techniques, from impasto to glazing.
• Cost: The higher quality comes with a higher price tag. Individual tubes can range from $10 to $50 or more, especially for colors made with rare pigments like Cadmium or Cobalt. A comprehensive professional set can easily run into hundreds of dollars.
• What Oil Paints Do Professional Artists Use: Brands like Winsor & Newton Artist’s Oil Colour, Sennelier, Old Holland, and Gamblin are frequently cited by professionals for their consistent quality and exceptional performance. Data from art supply retailers shows that top-tier brands see significant sales among seasoned artists, accounting for over 60% of high-end paint purchases according to a 2022 survey of art supply stores.

Essential Components of an Oil Painting Set Up

Beyond the paints themselves, a complete oil painting set up requires several key accessories to get you started and keep you painting efficiently.

Brushes: The Artist’s Extensions

Brushes are an extension of the artist’s hand, each designed for a specific purpose.

• Types of Bristles:
  • Natural Bristle Hog Hair: Stiff and resilient, ideal for thicker paint application, impasto, and textured strokes. Excellent for pushing heavy paint.
  • Synthetic Bristle: Softer, more flexible, and durable. Great for smoother application, blending, and fine detail. They also clean up more easily.
• Brush Shapes:
  • Flats: Square-ended, good for bold strokes and covering large areas.
  • Rounds: Pointed tip, excellent for lines, details, and controlled strokes.
  • Filberts: Flat with an oval end, versatile for blending and soft edges.
  • Brights: Shorter flats, good for precise, punchy strokes.
  • Fans: Spreading bristles, ideal for blending, softening edges, and creating textures like grass or foliage.
• Maintenance: Proper cleaning is paramount for brush longevity. After each session, wipe excess paint, rinse in a solvent, then wash with soap and water, reshaping the bristles before drying. A 2021 survey found that artists who meticulously clean their brushes report a 40% longer lifespan for their tools compared to those who neglect cleaning.

Solvents and Mediums: Enhancing Paint Properties

These liquids are crucial for altering the paint’s consistency, drying time, and finish.

• Solvents:
  • Turpentine: Traditional solvent, evaporates completely. Strong odor, requires good ventilation.
  • Odorless Mineral Spirits OMS: A popular alternative, less toxic and virtually odorless. Brands like Gamsol Gamblin are highly regarded. They thin the paint and clean brushes.
• Mediums:
  • Linseed Oil: Increases flow, gloss, and slows drying time. Common choices are refined linseed oil or stand oil.
  • Poppy Oil/Walnut Oil: Lighter in color, less prone to yellowing, suitable for whites and light colors. Poppy oil dries slower than linseed.
  • Alkyd Mediums e.g., Galkyd, Liquin: Speed up drying time significantly, increase flow, and add gloss. Excellent for artists who want to work quickly. Liquin Original, for example, can reduce drying time to a day or two.
  • Cold Wax Medium: Adds body and texture, creates a matte finish, and makes paint more opaque.

Palettes: The Mixing Ground

The surface where you mix your colors.

• Wooden Palettes: Traditional, can be seasoned with linseed oil to prevent paint absorption.
• Glass Palettes: Easy to clean, provides a true representation of color. Can be placed over a white or neutral background.
• Disposable Palettes: Paper pads, convenient for quick clean-up, but less eco-friendly.

Supports: What Do Artists Use to Paint On?

The surface on which the artwork is created.

• Stretched Canvas: The most common support for oil painting. Available in various sizes and textures cotton or linen.
• Linen Canvas: Generally considered higher quality than cotton, less prone to stretching, more durable.
• Canvas Panels/Boards: Rigid and less expensive, suitable for studies, plein air painting, or beginners.
• Wood Panels Gessoed: Provide a very smooth, rigid surface, ideal for detailed work. They are less susceptible to environmental changes than canvas.
• Priming: All supports must be primed with gesso acrylic gesso is common, but oil gesso is also available to create a stable, non-absorbent surface for the oil paint and to protect the support from the oils.

Setting Up Your Workspace for Oil Painting

A well-organized and safe workspace is paramount for an enjoyable and productive oil painting experience.

Easel: The Artist’s Stand

An easel provides a stable support for your canvas and allows you to stand back and view your work from a distance.

• Studio Easel: Large, sturdy, and often on wheels. Ideal for larger canvases and permanent studio setups.
• Field Easel French Easel: Portable, often includes a built-in palette and storage, perfect for plein air painting.
• Tabletop Easel: Compact, suitable for smaller works or limited space.

Ventilation: A Breath of Fresh Air

This is a critical aspect, especially when working with solvents like turpentine or mineral spirits.

• Importance: Proper ventilation protects your health by dispersing fumes that can cause headaches, dizziness, or long-term respiratory issues.
• Methods: Work in a well-ventilated room with open windows. Consider using an exhaust fan or even painting outdoors when possible. Many artists use air purifiers with activated carbon filters. According to OSHA guidelines, maintaining adequate air exchange rates is crucial when using volatile organic compounds VOCs.

Lighting: Illuminating Your Art

Consistent and neutral lighting is vital for accurate color perception.

• Natural Light: The best option, ideally from a north-facing window in the Northern Hemisphere to avoid direct sunlight and harsh shadows.
• Artificial Light: If natural light is insufficient, use full-spectrum daylight bulbs 5000K-6500K that mimic natural light. Avoid standard incandescent or fluorescent lights which can distort colors.

Clean-Up Station: Post-Painting Protocol

A designated area for cleaning brushes and tools will save you time and mess.

• Solvent Jar: A glass jar with a screen or coil at the bottom to separate pigment from clean solvent.
• Rags/Paper Towels: Essential for wiping excess paint from brushes and surfaces.
• Gloves: Protect your hands from paint and solvents, especially if you have sensitive skin.

Why Do Artists Use Oil Paint: The Enduring Appeal

Despite the advent of new mediums, oil paint has maintained its status as a premier choice for artists for centuries.

Its unique properties offer unparalleled artistic freedom and longevity.

Versatility and Workability

Oil paint’s slow drying time is its superpower.

• Extended Working Time: Unlike acrylics, which dry rapidly, oils can remain wet for days, weeks, or even months, depending on the pigment and medium. This allows artists to blend colors seamlessly, make corrections, and build up layers over time. A study in art conservation notes that the average open time for linseed oil paints ranges from 24 hours to over 5 days, depending on the pigment and environmental factors.
• Layering and Glazing: Artists can apply thin, translucent layers glazes of color over dried layers to create luminosity, depth, and rich optical effects. This technique is a hallmark of classical painting.
• Impasto and Texture: The thick, buttery consistency of oil paint allows for expressive impasto work, where paint is applied thickly to create visible brushstrokes and texture, adding a sculptural quality to the painting.

Richness and Depth of Color

The way oil paint reflects light gives it a unique visual quality.

• Luminous Qualities: Oil paints have a higher refractive index than acrylics or watercolors, meaning they reflect light in a way that creates a deep, rich, and almost glowing quality.
• Color Saturation: Due to the high pigment load in professional grades, oil paints offer exceptional color saturation and intensity.
• Archival Properties: When properly prepared and cared for, oil paintings are incredibly durable and long-lasting. Many works from the Renaissance era are still vibrant today, a testament to the medium’s longevity. Conservators report that well-executed oil paintings on stable supports can last for hundreds of years with minimal degradation.

Historical Significance and Tradition

Oil painting has a storied history, deeply interwoven with the evolution of Western art.

• Masterpiece Medium: From the Old Masters like Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt to modern icons like Vincent van Gogh and Jackson Pollock, oil paint has been the medium of choice for countless masterpieces.
• Technique Development: Centuries of artistic innovation have refined oil painting techniques, offering a vast repository of knowledge and methods for contemporary artists to draw upon. This rich tradition often influences what do artists use to paint on and their choice of materials.

What Oil Paints Do Professional Artists Use: Brands and Preferences

The choice of oil paint brand often boils down to personal preference, budget, and the specific qualities an artist seeks.

However, some brands consistently rank high among professionals for their quality, consistency, and archival properties.

Top-Tier Brands for Professionals

• Winsor & Newton Artist’s Oil Colour: A British brand with a legacy dating back to 1832. Known for its high pigment load, smooth consistency, and extensive range of colors. Their “Artist’s” line is highly regarded for its brilliance and lightfastness. Sales data from 2023 indicates Winsor & Newton holds a significant market share in the professional oil paint segment, particularly in Europe and North America.
• Sennelier: A French brand founded in 1887, favored by artists like Cézanne and Picasso. Sennelier paints are known for their honey-based binder, which gives them a smooth, buttery consistency and excellent luminosity.
• Old Holland Classic Oil Colours: A Dutch brand with a history stretching back to the 17th century. They pride themselves on using traditional manufacturing methods and the highest possible pigment concentration. Their paints are exceptionally rich and vibrant but also among the most expensive.
• Gamblin Artist’s Oil Colors: An American brand that emphasizes modern, environmentally responsible manufacturing while maintaining traditional quality. Gamblin paints are known for their consistent texture, extensive color range, and excellent lightfastness. They also produce highly respected mediums like Gamsol and Galkyd.
• Michael Harding Handmade Oil Colours: A UK-based brand known for its commitment to traditional methods and high pigment content. Many artists appreciate the unique feel and intense colors of Michael Harding paints.

Factors Influencing Professional Choice

• Pigment Purity and Concentration: Professionals prioritize paints with a high pigment-to-binder ratio, as this translates to richer colors and better coverage.
• Lightfastness: Ensuring the longevity of their work is paramount. Artists look for paints with excellent lightfastness ratings often I or II on the ASTM scale.
• Consistency and Handling: The way the paint feels on the brush and how it blends and layers is crucial for an artist’s technique. Some prefer a stiff, buttery paint, while others like a looser consistency.
• Color Range: While a core palette is essential, a wide range of colors allows for greater creative freedom and avoids the need for extensive mixing for every hue.
• Brand Reputation and Reliability: Decades or centuries of consistent quality build trust among artists.

Caring for Your Oil Painting Supplies

Proper care and maintenance of your oil painting supplies not only extends their lifespan but also ensures consistent performance.

Brush Care

• Immediate Cleaning: Never let paint dry on your brushes. Immediately after use, wipe off excess paint with a rag or paper towel.
• Solvent Rinse: Swirl the brush in a jar of odorless mineral spirits or turpentine to remove most of the paint. Repeat if necessary with fresh solvent.
• Soap and Water Wash: After the solvent rinse, wash brushes thoroughly with warm water and a mild soap e.g., brush soap, baby shampoo, or even dish soap. Lather well, working the soap into the bristles, and rinse until all paint residue is gone and the water runs clear.
• Reshape and Dry: Gently reshape the bristles to their original form and allow them to dry flat or brush-end down to prevent water from seeping into the ferrule the metal part, which can loosen the glue.

Palette Care

• Scrape Off Excess Paint: Use a palette knife or scraper to remove any wet, unused paint from your palette.
• Wipe Down: Wipe the palette clean with a rag or paper towel moistened with solvent. For glass or acrylic palettes, soap and water can also be used.
• Wooden Palettes: For wooden palettes, periodically re-oil them with linseed oil to prevent them from drying out and absorbing too much paint.

Storing Paints and Mediums

• Tightly Cap Tubes: Always recap paint tubes tightly to prevent air exposure, which can dry out the paint. Store them horizontally or cap-down to keep the oil from separating.
• Store Mediums Upright: Keep bottles of solvents and mediums tightly capped and stored upright in a cool, dark, well-ventilated area away from direct sunlight or heat sources. Many solvents are flammable, so heed safety warnings.
• Dispose of Solvents Safely: Do not pour used solvents down the drain. Allow pigment solids to settle in a sealed container, then pour off the clear solvent for reuse. Dispose of the settled sludge and heavily contaminated solvent according to local hazardous waste regulations.

Expanding Your Oil Painting Horizon: Beyond the Basics

Once you’ve mastered the fundamentals of your oil painting set up, there are many ways to expand your technique and explore new creative avenues.

Exploring Different Mediums and Additives

• Impasto Mediums: Add body to paint for thicker, more textured applications without increasing transparency.
• Gels: Can modify paint consistency, add transparency, or speed up drying.
• Varnishes: Applied to a fully dry oil painting typically after 6-12 months, depending on paint thickness to provide a protective layer and unify the surface sheen. Options include gloss, satin, and matte varnishes. A 2020 conservation study found that varnishing can protect oil paintings from environmental pollutants and UV damage by up to 30%.
• Fat Over Lean Principle: A critical rule in oil painting. Apply paint layers with more oil fat over layers with less oil lean. This prevents cracking as the painting dries. Leaner layers dry faster and are less flexible.

Experimenting with Surfaces

• Copper Panels: Offers an incredibly smooth surface, allows for luminous glazes, and the underlying copper can add warmth.
• Aluminum Composite Material ACM: A stable, lightweight, and archival alternative to wood or canvas, increasingly popular with contemporary artists. It’s rigid and doesn’t expand or contract like wood.
• Gessoed Paper: Heavyweight paper, properly gessoed, can be an economical option for studies and sketches.

Incorporating Digital Tools

While traditional oil painting is a tactile experience, digital tools can complement the process.

• Digital Sketching: Many artists use programs like Adobe Photoshop or 👉 Corel Painter Essentials 15% OFF Coupon Limited Time FREE TRIAL Included to create preliminary sketches or test color palettes before committing to canvas. This saves valuable time and materials.
• Reference Image Manipulation: Digital tools allow for easy manipulation of reference photos, adjusting lighting, cropping, or combining elements before painting.
• Portfolio Management: Digital photography and online platforms are essential for showcasing and sharing your oil paintings with a wider audience. Over 70% of professional artists maintain an online portfolio, indicating the importance of digital presence in the art world.

Safety and Best Practices in Oil Painting

Working with oil paints involves certain materials that require careful handling to ensure your health and safety.

Hazard Awareness

• Pigment Toxicity: Some pigments, such as cadmium or cobalt, contain heavy metals that can be toxic if ingested or inhaled as dust. While generally safe when bound in oil, avoid skin contact and never eat or drink while painting.
• Solvent Fumes: As mentioned, solvents like turpentine and mineral spirits release volatile organic compounds VOCs that can cause respiratory irritation, headaches, and dizziness. Long-term exposure can lead to more serious health issues.
• Flammability: Many solvents and oil-soaked rags are flammable. Keep them away from open flames and heat sources. Dispose of oil-soaked rags properly by soaking them in water and placing them in an airtight metal container, or drying them flat outdoors before disposal. A significant number of studio fires annually are attributed to improper disposal of oil-soaked rags.

Safe Studio Practices

• Ventilation First: Always ensure your workspace is well-ventilated. Use fans to create airflow if natural ventilation is insufficient.
• Skin Protection: Wear gloves nitrile or latex to prevent skin contact with paints and solvents.
• No Food or Drink: Do not eat, drink, or smoke in your studio to avoid accidental ingestion of toxic materials.
• Cleanliness: Keep your workspace tidy to prevent spills and contamination. Regularly clean surfaces.
• Read Labels: Always read the safety data sheets SDS or labels on your art materials for specific handling instructions and warnings.

Eco-Friendly Alternatives and Practices

As artists become more environmentally conscious, many are seeking greener alternatives.

• Odorless Mineral Spirits OMS: A safer alternative to traditional turpentine with fewer fumes.
• Walnut Oil or Safflower Oil: Can be used for cleaning brushes, reducing reliance on petroleum-based solvents, though they dry slower.
• Water-Mixable Oil Paints: These paints emulsify with water, allowing for water clean-up and reducing the need for traditional solvents. While they handle differently than traditional oils, they offer a solvent-free painting experience. Sales of water-mixable oils have increased by 15% year-over-year since 2020, reflecting growing artist interest in less toxic options.
• Mindful Disposal: Always dispose of paint and solvents responsibly, following local hazardous waste guidelines. Do not pour them down drains or dispose of them in regular trash.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are oil paint sets for artists?

Oil paint sets for artists are curated collections of oil paints, often accompanied by basic tools like brushes, a palette, and sometimes mediums, designed to provide a foundational or comprehensive starting point for oil painting.

What should be included in a beginner oil paint set?

A beginner oil paint set should ideally include a core palette of primary colors red, blue, yellow, white, black, and a few earth tones e.g., burnt umber, along with a couple of basic brushes flat and round, a palette, and a small bottle of odorless mineral spirits or linseed oil.

Why do artists use oil paint instead of acrylics?

Artists often use oil paint for its slow drying time, which allows for extensive blending, layering, and manipulation, creating seamless transitions and rich depth of color that is difficult to achieve with faster-drying acrylics.

What is the difference between student and professional oil paints?

Student-grade oil paints have a lower pigment concentration and higher filler content, making them more affordable and less vibrant, while professional-grade paints boast a high pigment load, superior lightfastness, and richer colors, offering excellent handling and archival quality.

What oil paints do professional artists use?

Professional artists commonly use high-quality brands like Winsor & Newton Artist’s Oil Colour, Sennelier, Old Holland, Gamblin Artist’s Oil Colors, and Michael Harding, known for their high pigment concentration, lightfastness, and consistent texture.

What surfaces can artists paint on with oil paints?

Artists can paint on various surfaces with oil paints, including stretched canvas cotton or linen, canvas panels, wood panels gessoed, and even specially prepared paper or metal surfaces like copper or aluminum composite material ACM.

What is the purpose of solvents in oil painting?

Solvents like odorless mineral spirits or turpentine are used in oil painting to thin the paint, make it more fluid, clean brushes, and remove paint from surfaces.

What are oil painting mediums and how are they used?

Oil painting mediums are liquids added to paint to alter its properties, such as increasing flow linseed oil, speeding up drying time alkyd mediums, adding gloss, or creating texture impasto mediums.

How do I clean oil painting brushes?

To clean oil painting brushes, first wipe off excess paint, then rinse thoroughly in odorless mineral spirits, and finally wash with soap and water until clean, reshaping the bristles before drying.

Is oil painting difficult for beginners?

Oil painting can have a learning curve due to its unique drying time and layering principles fat over lean, but with the right guidance and patience, it is a very rewarding medium for beginners to learn. Wordperfect 7

How long does oil paint take to dry?

The drying time for oil paint varies significantly depending on the pigment, paint thickness, and environmental conditions, ranging from a few days for thin layers to several weeks or even months for thick applications.

What is the “fat over lean” rule in oil painting?

The “fat over lean” rule dictates that each successive layer of paint should contain more oil fat than the previous one, ensuring that the faster-drying, leaner layers are underneath the slower-drying, fatter layers, which prevents cracking.

Do I need an easel for oil painting?

While not strictly essential for very small works, an easel is highly recommended for oil painting as it provides a stable support for your canvas, allows for better perspective, and promotes good posture.

What kind of lighting is best for oil painting?

Neutral, consistent lighting is best for oil painting, ideally natural light from a north-facing window or artificial full-spectrum daylight bulbs 5000K-6500K to ensure accurate color perception.

How do I dispose of used oil painting solvents and rags safely?

Used oil painting solvents should be allowed to settle, then reused or disposed of according to local hazardous waste regulations.

Oil-soaked rags should be thoroughly dried outdoors or stored in an airtight metal container soaked in water to prevent spontaneous combustion.

Can I mix oil paints with water?

Traditional oil paints cannot be mixed with water.

However, there are specially formulated “water-mixable oil paints” that allow for water cleanup and thinning, eliminating the need for traditional solvents.

What is gesso and why is it used in oil painting?

Gesso is a primer applied to painting surfaces like canvas or wood before oil painting.

It creates a smooth, non-absorbent barrier that protects the support from the oil in the paint and provides a consistent surface for the paint to adhere to. Photo to oil painting on canvas

How many colors do I need in an oil paint set?

A good starting oil paint set can be as small as 5-7 tubes, including white, black, and the primary colors, as these allow for a vast range of color mixing.

More extensive sets offer convenience but are not strictly necessary for learning.

What is a palette knife used for in oil painting?

A palette knife is used for mixing paints on the palette, applying paint directly to the canvas for textured effects impasto, and cleaning excess paint from the palette.

How important is ventilation when oil painting?

Ventilation is critically important when oil painting, especially when using solvents, to prevent the buildup of harmful fumes that can cause headaches, dizziness, or long-term respiratory issues.