Help with Oils

Well it’s difficult to know where to start, what is it your needing help on? Is it choice of materials, method of application, supports, medium etc. I have the feeling that you are going to say all of those things... and it’s far too complex a subject to cover in a few paragraphs. My suggestion, and I’m sure others will back me up here, is to purchase ‘Vibrant Oils’ by the talented artist Haidee-Jo-Summers. It covers absolutely everything that you need to know about oil painting, and has been written with newcomers to oils in mind. In the meantime, buy some decent oil paints, Jackson’s Artist range are competitive and extremely good. Also their Black Hog brushes and Shiro range are great and reasonably priced. Select a limited palette of say 6 or so colours including Titanium White. This will give you the opportunity to work on colour mixing. As for mediums, buy some distilled turpentine and a bottle of Linseed oil, mix at a ratio of 60/40. Or simplify it with a bottle of Artists painting medium. You can use the same supports as for acrylic in the main, canvas covered boards are a good choice. I’m sure that you’ll have plenty of other suggestions on here, each of us have our own favourites and suggestions which can have the tendency to confuse, but that would be my initial starting point!

Alan's right about too much advice - it can be very confusing. I'll just add a bit, though.  1) Agree about Haidee-Jo Summers' book, available in hard copy and on the Kindle; 2) Modesty only prevents my mentioning my own e-book, Oil Paint Basics, on the Amazon Kindle Store: oh, Heavens to Betsy, I HAVE mentioned it: tsk; 3) Jackson's oils, or Ken Bromley's, are good quality - suggest Titanium White, Burnt Sienna, Permanent Rose, Cadmium Red Light, or Winsor Red, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Cadmium Yellow, Lemon Yellow, Viridian or Pthalo Green, Prussian or Pthalo Blue, Ultramarine, and Cerulean.  Some of those are expensive, I'm afraid, but if you can take the plunge it'll pay off in the long run; 4) avoid Zinc White; 5) you can do without Turps, and just use a minimal quantity of Linseed Oil, mixed thoroughly with the paint - but a lot of people use Turps, or Low Odour Thinners - avoid White Spirit for mixing with colour, I don't even like it for cleaning up afterwards; get yourself a painting knife, for mashing paint on the palette; flat hogs, a couple of filberts, and a rigger will do most things for you to start with. That'll do for starters, to avoid information overload - but feel free to ask any specific questions here; one of us will know the answers.  

I can endorse the recommendation for Haidee-Jo Summers book and Jacksons black hog brushes. If you are going to tackle bigger paintings have a look at AS Handover brushes, they are varnish  brushes (I think) but are excellent for blocking in larger areas and 'setting the scene. One final tip, when painting, only go to smaller brushes for final detail...unless you are in the photo-realist cohort. Above all, pitch in and have a go, I think there is no better medium and once you get going you will find it forgiving and flexible.

Even photo-realists would be better advised to keep their smaller brushes until the end - you've got a 20" by 12" canvas in front of you, and you reach for a brush with which you could more easily apply eye make-up...... Gawd, you'd be there forever...  Best advice I ever got was 'use bigger brushes than you think you can manage'.