Oil Painting classes near me

Finding the Perfect Oil Painting Tutor in the UK

When it comes to painting and art, working with oils requires some very specific techniques that you mightn't be able to learn on your own or from a book. Oils are commonly made of pigments in linseed oil and can take a long time to dry. They've been used to create art for over five centuries and were particularly popular in the classical and renaissance periods.

While oils take a long time to dry, this is what makes them popular amongst many artists. An artist can correct any mistakes and build up their painting slowly over time. On the other hand, not everyone wants to wait six months and a year to finish your painting.

There are some very famous examples of oil paintings including Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Vermeer's The Milkmaid, Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, and Kandinsky's Composition VII to name a few.

You need the patience to learn how to use oil paints and the patience to use them, whether you're painting a portrait, landscape, or something abstract, they have the potential to create some fine works of art.

Why it's Important to Study Oil Painting

Oil painting techniques aren't inherently easy to learn and the oils don't necessarily behave in the way that you'd think so before you get good at using the paint, you'll also need to get good at drawing, too. After all, you need to plan out any piece and being able to draw well will help with this.

To learn the necessary techniques, you'll need to study and learning from a book can only get you so far. Many art students supplement their art course at school or university with private tutorials, especially if they don't study oil painting specifically on said course.

Challenges in Oil Painting

As we mentioned, oil painting is really difficult. Oils can create rich and vibrant work but they require several layers which take ages to dry (between six months and a year!). Oil painting is all about patience and you'll need to take your time on every painting.

Remember that the changes to oil paintings need to gradual and you could be working on a small part of your painting for an incredibly long time. To be good at oil painting, you need to have an eye for detail and incredible amounts of patience.

In the past, many oil paints were toxic and some of the toxic ones are still in use today. Make sure you know what you're working with before you start painting and always take the necessary safety precautions.

Oils are some of the most expensive paints so you need to learn how they work before you start buying paints. You don't want to be buying loads of oils and wasting them because you haven't learnt how to paint with them correctly.

Areas of Oil Painting Studied at School

If you're studying an Art GCSE, you'll cover a range of different techniques. Students learn about the different ways to create art including drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, photography, and printing.

They also study the creative process, which is important if you want to use oil paints. As we said, it can take a long to create a painting with oils so you should carefully plan your work.

As part of the creative process, GCSE students will learn about finding inspiration, responding to stimuli, analytical drawing, developing ideas, creating a design brief, experimenting with materials and techniques, recording and observing, annotating work, and analysing and evaluating your work.

In addition to the creative process, aspiring artists will also learn about the principles of design, and the elements of art such as line, colour, tone, shape, and form.

There are a lot of things to cover so unless the student expresses an interest in oil painting for their project, they won't learn too much about oils.

As students progress through their art education, they'll be given more opportunities to specialise. During primary and secondary school, students have to learn everything on the curriculum but by the time a student reaches university, they are given much more freedom.

Private Tuition in Oil Painting

To get the most out of oils, you need to study the techniques, how to use colour, how to apply oils to a painting, and how to make the oil paints work for you.

Reading a book isn't the same and every artist should consider looking for a painting or drawing tutor  While there are plenty of art courses where several students can learn how to use oil paints in a single class, when you work with an oil painting tutor, they'll teach you how to paint but the most important thing will be that the courses adapt to the students.

An art course with a private tutor isn't set in stone and you can speak to the tutor about what you want to learn, what you're struggling with, and how you'd like the lessons to be.

Finding an Oil Painting Tutor in the UK

It's never been easier to find oil painting tutors. Thanks to Superprof, a quick search and you'll be able to view their profiles, see what they offer, how they can help you, and how much they charge per hour.

There are tutors all over the UK and around the world offering oil painting lessons and courses. Many of them offer the first lesson for free so it's a good idea to try out a few of them and see who is the best match for you.

As you try out different art tutors, make sure to ask them about their teaching approaches and whether they teach any other techniques like life drawing, colour theory, and what else you could learn from them.

If you can't find any oil painting tutors near you, don't forget that you can also get online tutorials. While they might lack the hands-on approach, they tend to be cheaper than face to face art lessons and tutorials.