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Oil painting is very exciting and appealing for the ones who will begin painting. You can easily cover your mistakes; choice of colors and the smell of the paint will make you fall in love with the oil painting. But be careful, there will be many hazardous materials around you if you decide to do oil painting. Some paints are very toxic and they might cause cancer. Varnish and thinner are highly flammable. A well lighted and well ventilated place would be the ideal spot to paint your picture.

Before you start to paint, take your time. Do not rush and push yourself. You might complete some paintings in 10 days and some might take 3 months. We are not racing against the time. We are enjoying this beautiful hobby.

Analyze the picture that you are going to paint, feel the atmosphere in the picture. You need to see which direction the light comes from, the reflections and the shadows. It is very important to determine which part of the picture is more shadowy. Think of the picture that you are going to paint and create ideas to draw it better. If you can feel yourself in the picture, painting that picture would be easier than ever. As in other kind of arts, if you don't feel, you cannot create good things.

Don't be afraid to mix the colors. The tube paints might not have all the colors that you need. You can only find the colors you need by mixing them. Always try to learn more and more about the colors. I advise you to use hard brushes. Apply the paint on the corner of the canvas and see how fast the paint gets absorbed. If the canvas absorbs the paint fast, you need to prime the canvas. As a beginner, it is better to use a transparent glass palette. It can be any kind of glass; you don't necessarily need a palette. Place the glass palette on a piece of white paper so you can clearly see the colors. Don't use too much paint. Use turpentine oil to clean your brushes and then wash the brushes with soap. If you make a mistake, you can use a piece of clean cloth to wipe the paint.

It is not good if you use too much oil and there is no need for that. Start painting with very little oil in the first layer. The next layer that you are going to paint should contain more oil than the previous layer. Painting is all about the light and the shadow. If one of the objects is brighter than the others in the painting, use white color to soften the color you are using. You can put a little white dot where the light shines most.

When you finish painting the picture, wait for at least 6 months to varnish it and it is better to use a high quality varnish.

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