How to Paint on a Canvas Backdrop
Painting in oils on canvas shouldn't be daunting. Painting on a canvas will feel slightly strange for a beginner, but painting in oils does allow for paint to be applied in layers, which can help in covering mistakes. Also, when too much paint has been applied, it can be removed with a palette knife. This tutorial describes preparing a canvas and how to paint a wooden table and chairs in oils.
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Instructions
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Make sure that your canvas is flat before you begin your painting. Canvas can be stretched over a frame and a simple method, such as using a staple gun, can be utilized to hold the canvas secure and keep it taut.
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Size and prime the canvas. Size the canvas with glue, applying it all over the canvas. Any commercial glue will suffice. Glue is required to seal the surface of the canvas. If paint is applied onto an untreated canvas, it can result in the canvas decaying. Come back to the canvas a day later and apply another coat of glue. Next, you will need to use Gesso or another grounding medium on top of the dried glue. Apply at least two coats to the canvas. The more coats you apply, the better the surface of the canvas will be. This is the final stage of preparing your canvas.
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Work on a preliminary sketch of the table and chairs. Use a brush rather than a pencil to create your sketch and draw the table and chairs roughly but accurately. The legs of the chairs and table should all be in proportion and the perspective accurate.
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Start your painting by painting the background; paint around the table and chairs from your preliminary sketch. Apply the paint thinly and quickly at this early stage, but use a thick brush to color in the background. Blend in the colors.
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Go from the background to the foreground and use slightly more detail. Apply your brush fairly thinly, creating the lines of the table and chairs. Roughly color in the table and chairs. Don't concentrate on working with light and shade at this stage.
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Paint the background of the painting again. This time work in the paint more thickly and blend in light and shade. Paint in some detail, but not too much, as you can leave that for the foreground and the main objects in the painting.
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Revisit the foreground of the painting and use light and shading. Use a thin brush to create fine detail in the painting, including individual grains of wood.
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Tips & Warnings
Test your brushes before you begin any oil painting by daubing paint on your palette. You'll quickly find which is the right brush for the task at hand.
Though oils allow you to paint over the same area, try not to take advantage of this too much. If you do, you will end up using a palette knife repeatedly to remove paint.
Resources
- Photo Credit woman painting on a canvas image by monamakela.com from Fotolia.com
