Oil Colours for Beginners: Paints, Mediums and First Steps

Oil painting has a rich, slow-drying feel that many artists love. This guide to oil colours for beginners explains how oil paint works, which sets and single colours to start with, what linseed oil and turpentine do, and the simple rules that keep your paintings from cracking.

What makes oil paint different?

Oil paint is pigment mixed with a drying oil, usually linseed oil. It doesn’t dry by evaporation like acrylic or watercolour; the oil slowly hardens by reacting with air. That is why oil paint stays workable for hours, which makes blending smooth and soft edges easy, but a painting can take days or longer to be touch dry. Oil paint is cleaned with a solvent or oil, not water.

Oil colour sets for beginners

• Art Rangers Oil Colour 12 × 12ml: a very popular, affordable starter set of commonly used colours.
• Mont Marte Oil Paints 12 × 12ml and the Mont Marte Intro Set 8 × 18ml: ready-made palettes for learning and practice.
• Marie’s Oil Colour 12 × 12ml and 18 × 12ml: sets with a high pigment content and smooth, buttery consistency.

Single oil colours

Once you know which colours you use most, buy them as single tubes. Marie’s oil colours come in 50ml tubes in many shades and in larger 170ml tubes of the main colours, such as Zinc Titanium White 170ml. White runs out fastest, so many painters buy a large white with a small set.

Prices change, so see each product page for today’s price. Browse all oil colours and oil colour sets.

Oil painting mediums and solvents

• Linseed oil such as FUJIN Linseed Oil 100ml or Art Nation Refined Linseed Oil: thins paint, improves flow and adds gloss. It also slows drying.
• Turpentine such as FUJIN Turpentine 100ml: thins paint for early layers and cleans brushes. Use it with good ventilation.
• Varnish: FUJIN Dammar Varnish gives a protective, glossy final coat once the painting is completely dry.

See all oils and mediums.

The fat over lean rule

The most important rule in oil painting: each layer should contain a little more oil (“fat”) than the layer beneath it. Thin your first layers with turpentine (lean), and add more linseed oil as you build up later layers. If a lean, fast-drying layer sits on top of an oily, slow-drying one, the top layer can crack as the paint underneath keeps moving. Thin layers should also go under thick ones.

What else you need

• Brushes: stiff brushes for moving thick paint. See our brushes for oil colours and paint brush guide.
• Surface: a pre-primed canvas, a cotton canvas pad or papers for oil colours. Our canvas guide explains the options.
• Palette and knife: a wooden palette and an artist palette knife for mixing.
• Extras: lint-free rags, two small jars for solvent (one dirty, one clean) and gloves if you have sensitive skin.

Drying time and varnishing

Thin oil layers are often touch dry in a few days; thick paint can take weeks. Earth colours such as burnt umber usually dry faster than whites and some reds. Wait until a painting is completely dry, often six months or more for thick work, before applying a final varnish.

Safety tips

• Paint in a well-ventilated room and keep solvent jars closed when not in use.
• Keep paints and solvents away from children, pets and open flames.
• Rags soaked in linseed oil can heat up and catch fire as they dry. Spread them flat outside to dry, or store them in a closed metal tin of water, before disposing of them.
• Don’t pour solvent down the sink. Let the paint settle in the jar, reuse the clear solvent on top, and dispose of the sludge safely.

Frequently asked questions

Can I mix oil paint with water?

No. Ordinary oil paint does not mix with water. Use linseed oil or turpentine to thin it and to clean brushes.

Can I paint oil over acrylic?

Yes, oil can go over a fully dry acrylic layer or acrylic-primed canvas, but never paint acrylic over oil.

How long does oil paint take to dry?

Thin layers are usually touch dry in a few days; thick layers can take weeks. It depends on the colour, thickness and how much oil you add.

Do you deliver islandwide?

Yes. We deliver across Sri Lanka in 2–5 working days, with cash on delivery, card or bank transfer. You can also visit our shops in Boralesgamuwa and Horana, open every day from 9 AM to 6 PM.

Not sure what to choose? WhatsApp the Haanz team on 0711 515 515 and we’ll help you put together an oil painting kit.

More Haanz Art Guides

Watercolour Paints for Beginners: Tubes vs Cakes and Best SetsRead the guide →Resin Art for Beginners in Sri Lanka: What You Need and How to StartRead the guide →Canvas Guide: Sizes, Priming and Choosing a Canvas for PaintingRead the guide →Watercolour Paper Guide: GSM, Cotton and Which Paper to ChooseRead the guide →

See all Haanz Art Guides