How to Paint a White Vase in Oils

Examine the tones of the white vase to enhance the depth.

Not everything is as plain as it seems to be. When painting white objects, an artist must take notice of the different subtle colors that are brought out by lighting, position and shape. Painting white three-dimensional objects involves examining where shadows appear and different ways of accenting shadows and lighter spots. Painting a white vase in your picture will add an elegant touch to your artwork.

Things You'll Need

• Gray paint
• Purple paint
• Blue paint
• Cadmium red paint
• Ultramarine blue paint
• White paint
• Brown paint
• Palette
• Flat bristled brushes
• Canvas

Instructions

1. Create a darker toned background so the white vase is visible. Painting a white vase on a white background makes the vase hard to see.

2. Sketch the outline of the vase with a light color such as gray, light purple or black. Use fine, light brush strokes.

3. Mix blue and cadmium red paints together and loosely paint the shadowed parts of the vase with the mixture. Shadows will appear depending upon where the source of light is in the picture.

4. Accent the darker shadows with cerulean blue and ultramarine paints to bring out the lighter highlights. Use light brushstrokes to avoid weighing down the painting with too many colors.

5. Use reds and browns to add further accents to the shadows and edges of the vase.

6. Mix white and blue together to create a faint blue paint. Fill in the empty spaces of the vase where the light source hits the vase with this mixture.

7. Refine the edges and modify the lights and the darks. Use white paint to outline edges and use the darker mixtures to create shadowed edges.

Tips & Warnings

• Use different brushes for each mixture to avoid mixing the wrong paints together.

References

• Jerry's Art-a-Rama: Intermediate Painting a White Vase