Hello. Something that excited me about majoring in Illustration at Marywood, was having the opportunity to learn and experiment with new mediums.
Painting (Oil)
Throughout my art career in grade school, I had many opportunities to paint with acrylics and water colors. However, I never had the opportunity to paint with oils. My grade school prohibited the use of oil paints primarily due to costs, but also because oil paints can be messy and ruin clothing. With this being said, I was thrilled to learn that I will have multiple opportunities to enhance my painting skills with oil paints.
Painting I (Spring 2024)
For the Spring 2024 semester, I wanted to try something new, so of course, I chose to take Painting I; a class only that only uses oil paints. Frankly, I was nervous at first knowing that I will be diving into a medium I had no prior experience with. Nonetheless, I was excited to learn!
My First Experience with Oil Paint
I am not going to sugar coat it, I was nothing short of clueless during my first Painting Class. I had no Idea how to start my piece, let alone properly use the paints, stand oil, and solvent. However, I quickly came to the realization that I was in class; therefore, this was my opportunity to ask questions, attempt new things, and make mistakes… but learn from them too!
Still Life Assignment #1:
Behold! My first ever oil painting!
Of course it is no where near perfect. Art is never perfect. However, with the limited color palette, I was able to grasp an understanding on the basic fundamentals of oil painting. Including but not limited to: mixing paints, adding solvent and stand oil, and layering my paint.
Overall, for my first ever experience with oil paints… I was thrilled with the results!
Still Life Color Note and Color Square Assignment:
This is my most recent work from Painting I. The purpose of the assignment was to be able to identify different color notes in a still life, and to understand the relationship between objects and their surroundings.
Overall, just by looking at the piece, I am able to see my improvements in my skills and abilities with oil paints. This was my first piece utilizing a full color palette, and I am overall happy with the results.
WRAP UP
To conclude this post, I want to reflect on my first experiences with oil paints. Looking back, if someone told me a year ago that I would be using oil paints, let alone an entire color palette, I would have said he or she was out of his or her mind. Nevertheless, I am beyond thrilled to see myself today having stepped outside of my comfort zone and learned a new medium.
– Stay Spooky, Santo Schiavone 🙂