5 MISTAKES to AVOID as an Oil Painting Beginner

5 MISTAKES to AVOID if you want to Start Oil Painting.
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About me (bio) :
I am an artist living and working in France. I learned the techniques of the Atelier of the Nineteenth century and now I try to share some of my knowledge with the rest of the world, because I think that beauty still has an important role to play in artistic creation. I do mostly drawing and oil painting, and my goal is always to provide techniques and explanations that can be useful to anyone, from beginners to more advanced artists.
The material I use most of the time (not necessarily in this video) :
Drawing
Equipement
✓ Kneaded eraser
✓ Plumb line
✓ Small mirror
✓ An old synthetic brush
✓ Masking tape
✓ Cutter
✓ Sandpaper or sanding block
✓ Mahlstick or Hand rest (DIY)
✓ Level ruler
Graphite
✓ Pencils 2H, HB and 2B
Charcoal
✓ If available: Nitram charcoals (H, HB and B)
!!! Or, if not::
✓ Square Venetian charcoals Lefranc and Bourgeois
✓ Natural charcoal box (check that the heart of the stick is not spongy and hollow)
Black and white chalk
✓ Sketch pencil Conté white
✓ Square Conté noir : HB and 2B
✓ Chalk or pencil holder
✓ Pencil sketch Conté Pierre noire : H and HB
Sanguine
✓ Sketch pencil Conté : Blood and blood Medici
✓ Crayon Polychromos Faber-Castel : sanguine
✓ Sketch pencil Conté white
Oil painting
Palette
(Extra-fine paint, recommended brands according to availability: Lefranc Bourgeois, Winsor and Newton, Royal Talens Rembrandt, Sennelier)
✓ Titanium white PW6
✓ Yellow ochre PY42
✓ Burnt Sienna PR101 or PBr7
✓ Venetian red or English red PR101
✓ Permanent Alizarin crimson (Attention: do not use the traditional pigment, which is not very light-fast) PV19 or PR177
✓ Cobalt teal blue PG50
✓ French ultramarine blue PB29
✓ Raw umber PBr7
✓ Burnt umber PBr7
✓ Ivory Black PBk9
Brushes
✓ About ten filbert hog bristle brushes sizes n° 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12
✓ Some flat brushes
✓ Round sable brush or round Kolinsky sable n°10 (from the size of the nail (about one inch) or synthetic imitation
Medium
✓ Linseed stand oil
✓ Odourless mineral spirits
✓ Safflower oil
Surface
✓ Linen canvas, fine grain universal coating
✓ Canson oil-acrylic oil paper Figueras
Others
✓ Palette
✓ Foam and spalter brushes
✓ Palette knife in the shape of a water drop
✓ A few small pots, containers, jars...
✓ Paper towels
***
Thanks for watching !

[@veronicamieres5788]

the internet is amazing, all these resources for free! thank you so much for sharing with the world :)

[@FlorentFargesarts]

You're welcome, I'm glad my work can help others.

[@angelagertisser7508]

Beautiful

[@lauramowgli5859]

☺❤🙏

[@crieverytim]

1. Neglect the Values 2. Avoid Trying to Find the Right Color - try to put it in its context (try, compare, adjust). Start w the darkest parts of the painting 3. Avoid mixing the colors on the canvas - work as much as possible on the pallet. 4. Not stepping back enough to assess and look 5. Not enough or Too much paint

[@josephtermeer4595]

After painting a few years, I've made every mistake here, lol. This was a wonderful tutorial, bravo! I really hope a new artist will discipline themselves to following this tutorial. Many canvasses will be saved.

[@spoononacouch2984]

This video was a real eye opener. I was like “oh I already keep values as a priority” on tip 1 but when I continued I realized Ive been doing every thing wrong and this video helped a lot! I was so frustrated with painting and I almost never get inspired but I think this video kind of gave me an inspiration to paint more.. Thanks!

[@marcblur9055]

Very good advice on all points. If you're a painter, beginner or advanced, reading the comments, do an experiment where he talks about getting all the right values in a simple still life with a grisaille underpainting, and then use colors over it that you know are wrong but still the right value. You'll be surprised how well it pulls together when you step back, even though the colors are abstracted. Starting your work with the darkest values, as he says, is also good advice because dark values are scary and we doubt ourselves. Learn to trust what you see in values and not what you "know" and the rest of the painting falls into place.

[@tedburke8187]

Absolutely correct, I've been painting for years and I discovered all this the hard way

[@dante8999]

I would say one of the best things you can do to a painting your struggling with. Is first ask another artist to give feedback... And if you still want more... Give up on the painting. Take a break for like a week. When you come back you will find you have a different mindset, different inspirations, and fresh eyes. It can make a world of differance to your work and help you see your own mistakes and help you learn.

[@marcblur9055]

Also, hold your painting in front of a mirror or upsidedown. Reversing what you see will bring out a lot of what you'll want to correct.

[@mikegurney4163]

The beauty of your program videos and your KZbin videos is that one, you keep the subject matter simplified, two, you impart your experience and knowledge into the videos, three, your dedication of improvement on each video is so self evident. Well done my friend, keep up the great work.

[@WendyDaCanuck]

I knew about a lot of those but the one for checking values using the reflection in your black phone screen was a new one and I really liked that idea. Thank you for sharing!

[@jgw5491]

A very good tutorial. I only wish that you had given examples for No 2: "Try, Compare, Adjust". I think a beginner might be a bit flummoxed without some demonstration.

[@jinxmas]

I am always amazed about how much painting and hair styling have in common. From color value, to stepping away from the piece and looking at a distance.

[@YeeWhoEnterHere]

I can't believe I haven't thought about using a dropper for the solvent, thanks for that.

[@NotaFullDeck333]

As a long time photographer I find taking a a photo of it really helps. I love looking at it in black and white because it is easier for me draw what. I know where shadow and light are to create depth. I love black pastel and charcoal for that reason. I am about to try oil paint for the first time.Love your videos!

[@dorotheapotterteipel8199]

Learning about oil, after decades of gouache, pen & ink, is daunting. This is so good I'm going to look for it again.

[@nattyrudd3279]

These are literally my favorite videos ever, they're so chill and helpful and they give me hope when I'm stuck and feel like I'm not improving 😂 thank you for making these!!

[@ShanesUnicorn]

You had me at get coffee 😯 im listening

[@karimnoffal752]

I've learnt so much from your videos, they are helping me become a better artist! Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge with us, you're awesome!

[@FlorentFargesarts]

I'm glad I can help ! :)

[@benok1716]

this answered many questions i didnt even know i had, thank you

[@johnnyk7480]

I concur with the mistakes mentioned. Thanks for the reminders!

[@gabrielcalegari7761]

You're an amazing teacher, thank you so much!

[@dantinsky_]

Thank you for sharing your tips, Florent! You are a true professional

[@robertdrake5100]

Thank you for your videos. I really get a lot out of them. In the current video, I really appreciate point number 4 - stepping back from the painting. Often when I paint, I am so close to the painting and focused on one detail I forget the entire painting. Focusing on a detail is important but it must be tempered. One way I have found to be useful to balance is to take a cell phone photograph. It is like using the reverse mirror (tailored for the modern age). At a stopping point, I take a photo of the work with my cell phone. Granted, modern cell phone cameras enhance the colors way more than looking at it with the naked eye. Never the less, this lets me see my work in a different contextual setting. Often I find that the obsessing over the most minute details, while important, can stop. I have done enough. Learning when to stop is crucial. It is so very hard for artists.

[@polinashinkina9551]

You explain so well - THANK YOU!

[@cassandro9445]

Amazing advice, you're the best! Thank you!!!

[@garypeerless3269]

I find it very useful to work with a mirror behind me which quickly enables me to view it from a distance . Thank you for sharing your knowledge 👍 keep up the good work

[@mariafelix7994]

Oh My God! Where were you Florent? Thanks for being here and so generously creative.

[@twopcs]

Your explanations are so clear and helpful!

[@dougg1075]

That dropper in the paint was kinda what I’ve been looking for. Cool

[@nikkiswenson54]

Your paintings are beautiful. I want to thank you for teaching, helping others to try to paint too. You are an excellent teacher. I really appreciate your interesting, instructive tutorials!

[@diannabyrne5931]

Great video for beginners. These tips will avoid a great deal of frustration for them. Thank you!

[@sarahdoit]

He is great for beginner like me in oil painting. The 5 mistakes he listed here completely were what I went through the last 3 months. I also made a major mistake of using wrong surface.. I am following him from now on!!!!

[@dante8999]

Also there is a soft look to painting on canvas and a harder texture and quality when painting on board and wood panels. Choose the painting surface based on the project

[@rosanna.w.4087]

Wow, aren't you just Wonderful! Your channel is definitely the most informative.. easy to follow and and answers my questions when I'm struggling.

[@crystallparker9247]

Thank you for sharing this, I've been struggeling for so long!!

[@Detalle]

I’ve been doing art for a while and still had trouble with values, thank you because your explanation was just GREAT!! It had a better understanding in my eyes than when in art school and my instructor’s explanation was just uncomprehending to me.

[@earthtraveler313]

Excellent thank you for what you do. As an artist myself, I also take the opportunity to learn as much as I can. An artist can be a teacher and always a student. Keep safe.

[@jm-ol5db]

Been wanting to learn how to oil paint might start w your lessons! Thanks

[@shealeighhanna1233]

This was so, very, helpful!!! Thank you for your clear explanations!

[@arnoldguzman7270]

Thank you Sir,for this videos it helps me to improve my artwork,and thank you for the technique.God Bless

[@masterpainters1706]

I would have picked the exact same 5 points. Especially your point on values and also viewing from a distance. Great advice as always

[@svahas]

You are one of the best I have seen - thanks!

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Thank you so much ! ;)

[@papercraftingwithmisstommi]

Hi Florent! These are some great tips. I’m just learning to oil paint and this has helped a lot. Thank you for these videos!

[@kindofartrf6007]

Thank you very much for your counsels. I appreciate it.

[@tonyt303]

Thank you . One day Im going to try painting. Really inspired right now by the work of Hannah Van Bart.

[@jennamarie625]

Number 4 is so important!!! I learned this around 15 years old. Always step back and see how your work looks from farther away. It makes a load of a difference and you can point out where something needs adjusting, etc

[@Anagabriely123]

This is the best video I saw this year. Thank you!❤️

[@curiessrose]

Thank you for these tips. They are definitely helpful. I only wish you would sell prints of your artwork. There is an evocative, reflective quality to them that is beautiful.

[@katielily4132]

I am a beginner, and definitely guilty of all of these! Thank you for a great, super helpful video!:)

[@fluffybrushespheiffer2410]

Thank you Florent, stepping back is helpful. The hardest thing for me is I get too detailed too early in the painting. It's hard to pace yourself

[@fluffybrushespheiffer2410]

I guess it comes with loads of practice.

[@shawncharton9416]

Fantastic video, Florent! I love your work and your videos!!

[@anneturnbull6624]

Thank you for those useful tips.

[@peteannells4218]

Paintings are an optical illusion' you don't see the illusion yourself until you walk away and come back to it. Standing back and looking, looking at the painting in a mirror (so see a 'different' painting, and walking away (even for 30 seconds) then looking back...all good habits. Great video as ever, just wish you had thought of a mistake that I haven't made at some time...but then mistakes are a great way to learn. Thanks.

[@D6hK24Ai]

Thank you so much! This is very helpful. 😀

[@mimigarritydenman2896]

very, very helpful. Thank you!

[@ShahnazPakhi]

Thank you so much! I am struggling with oil as a beginner, I use acrylic mostly and finding oil very difficult

[@RayNaso]

Tons of great information. For beginner or advanced.

[@Amy-rk3dz]

Thank you so much for your video's!!!!! Love them.

[@sagegallagher]

Thanks for such great tips!

[@nikkiswenson54]

Very good advise! Thank you so much!

[@fannymalmstrom3652]

Wow these tips were AMAZING thank u!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻😍😍 i really think these tips were for all mediums

[@yptim]

awesome videos thx! love to know what you listen to when you paint!

[@artsiecrafty4164]

Great idea to use a dropper to add the medium!

[@wallywest5804]

Perfect thank you...just what i needed🖒

[@marian20012]

I have never seen glass as palete for colours, that is brilliant idea. It is easier to clean it as on wooden palette.

[@enoart4276]

Your paintings are awesome! You're so talented

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Thank you so much !

[@bio-plasmictoad5311]

Don't forget skilled as well, a talent you don't learn you just have the natural ability for it. Painting takes time to learn and with that become a better artist.

[@user-ze2ju3rm7u]

Thanks, it helps me a lot!

[@TiffanysFineArt]

Thank you so much for this video! It is very informative! :D

[@BlueKungFu]

Florent your videos are fantastic, your advice so useful, thank you for sharing your vast knowledge. You are an incredibly talented and skilled artist, I just love your work. ❤️

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Thank you so much :)

[@BlueKungFu]

@@FlorentFargesarts You're very welcome Florent, it's you who deserves the thanks. 🙏

[@henriquejanuario881]

Very good! Thanks for sharing!!!

[@FlorentFargesarts]

You're welcome Henrique :)

[@adurpina]

another great tips of painting mate

[@smackoverjt]

Very true. Very useful.

[@lesliedavid6396]

A HUGE THANK YOU!!!

[@jantmoen]

Thank you!

[@mathilda6763]

Just started the video...Man, your beard has such a pretty colour.

[@Beinhartwie1chopper]

Mathilda !

[@sandradelvecchio6894]

The picking and finding the color like a puzzle is exactly what I have been doing. Ugh.

[@FlorentFargesarts]

It's a common mistake, never hesitate to try a small color sample, even if you know it will be wrong... then look, compare and change if necessary. Oil paint can always be removed or covered so no worries. It also removes a lot of the "color anxiety", normal for beginners.

[@spoononacouch2984]

Me too! All the time and paint I have wasted..

[@helseyrivera3280]

OMG! Amazing content. You got a new subscriber

[@joseandygonzalez5624]

Good recomendations bro, thanks

[@hectorrivera2785]

Great video, thanks!

[@tumblingrosesstudio]

This is fantastic- I have been muddling value and chroma- your slide is so clear that the same value can have different chroma. I think also the habit of naming colours can confuse chroma as the different intesities are named different things and we think of the different chromas as colours/hues

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Thanks, Dannielle. Color naming and color theory is a gigantic mess, for sure! Everyone sees and names colors differently. But as painters, we have to learn to understand colors more in depth.

[@asyakhalil7547]

So helpful 😍

[@DavidSteadStudio]

Florent - so right - No' 4: standing too close to the canvas. Trying to get students to stand back and look at their work can be SO difficult but it's something I stress to them constantly.

[@LARINamaste]

I love your channel !

[@ChristinaTodd1970]

Hi. Thanks for the newbie tips, they are so helpful. What medium do you have in the dropper? Or is it a mixture of stand, linseed and OMS?

[@JourneysPalette71]

Wow wonderful, I am honored to see your painting. I will be watching videos frequently with sub..

[@collyermum]

Thank you for a great video, I shall be checking out more of your videos Can I just ask what was the beautiful piece of piano music? I’d love to listen to it in full! Thanks

[@MichaelMarko]

To be honest I am just learning how to paint but I start by kind of sketching with a lot of dry brush in a light color. Sometimes white or grey. I then begin to paint “in” adding light or dark still basically sketching in paint and using mostly a dry brush. In this way I gradually build up the composition constantly refining and adding color, revising, refining and blending. I start sort of ambiguously and ending with decisive details.

[@kavitabhandariarts205]

Thanks

[@beverleyelbilia53]

Thank you for your video :) Does someone have the name of the music at the end please?

[@annabodhi38]

I have to say that I love your eyebrows. Thank you for the video too.

[@BlueKungFu]

He does have excellent eyebrows, I have always thought that! Along with huge talent, skill, incredible knowledge and that really lovely French accent.

[@annabodhi38]

@@BlueKungFu ~ Agreed! ❤️

[@Apusays]

I actually learnt french from your video previously.

[@phyllissanfiorenzful]

Just subscribed, do you have a video on oiling out? I want to rework a painting after a long time.

[@cubecopyright872]

This channel is so underrated.

[@Exayevie]

Well it's ten o'clock at night but now I feel absolutely compelled. I must make coffee.

[@jojimoji6738]

very informative

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Thanks :)

[@ShavierArt]

Hi! What is the technique called when you do black and white first amd then color?

[@shuvoarts.3314]

Great. 😊👍

[@David-pi9rj]

Great advice, and I also want to compliment you on your English. If I could speak your language as well as you speak mine I would be very proud.

[@jenniefrench1338]

Do you use the watersoluble or what I call waterrinsible or regular. I can't handle even the OMS

[@mr1992er]

Hello! Have you tried water mixable oils? what's your opinion?

[@katebeedot6964]

thanks! that was very useful. The idea of mixing paint on your painting is in fact ok if it’s watercolour where you can achieve the most surprising effects.. I’m trying to move away from watercolour and of course I get into my old habits

[@sandradelvecchio6894]

Kate Beedot he has a video showing a sphere he did by mixing on the canvas vs going back to the palette and picking up new transitional color. The one where he uses new paint instead of mixing on canvas looks way better. But that’s for beginners, I think once you’re more experienced you can do that and you know how to make it not look flat.

[@FlorentFargesarts]

It's also ok for oil painting, but it's not a reliable color mixing strategy for beginners... It's too unpredictable. But with experience, it's possible.