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Hang on Studio Wall
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Michael Robinson

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I don't see anything wrong with your painting, especially if it's your first oil. The sky looks fine. But if you feel there is a problem, it would suggest you are working the paint too hard, disturbing the blue under the white, so they mix. When you use white, you need a very clean brush, take the paint straight from the tube, or with very little thinner, and lightly touch it into the painting. You might like to try using a pallet knife to do the crests on the waves? It also helps to give the blue a few days to dry out a little before adding the white, and even then, still use a light touch. What white are you using? Some are more transparent than others, especially when thinned down. Titanium white is probably your best bet, in my opinion.
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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And/or leave the paint to dry out a little, for a day or two - then come in with the white. I've quite often done that. Oil paint won't behave like acrylic - so if you work wet in wet, you need to reserve those parts you want to be light in colour; in other words, don't lay paint over them and expect a lighter colour not to mix with it if you apply it immediately. You CAN do this, but need a very light touch.

Martin Kinnear

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Its perfectly possible to work white oil over blue without picking it up. The answer lies in how you mix up the paint; this is termed its rheology. Working wet into wet (directly) is more challenging than working wet over dry (indirect), but both are straightforward - just pay attention to your mix. Hope this helps
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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Agree, but Lizzie's just starting out with oil - still, maybe you can't grapple with the deeper issues too early! Yes, a heavy white like Titanium can be laid onto wet blue paint - my worry was that it can quickly get sticky and unmanageable when you're a beginner, and frustration can then build to such an extent you never want to trouble a tube of oil paint again. But I'm probably being too cautious on Lizzie's behalf - he's right, Lizzie, it CAN be done; but as I suggested, keep a very light touch and don't use too much oil in your blue. We aren't actually disagreeing - I'm just more conservative than Martin ....

Paul Hopkinson

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Well I finally bought a copy of Leisure Painter this morning only to find out my subscription copy arrived in the post today as well! My partner Jo and myself are really happy with not just the tutorial of my marsh tit painting but also the part on page 8 for the camera work I wrote for them. I'm a happy chappy!

Edited
by Paul Hopkinson