Walk with Me

A Step by step Oil Painting Demonstration

Walk with Me 12 x 12” Oil © John Hulsey

For many situations, the glaring white of the canvas benefits by some initial toning with an oil color wash. For oil painting, I generally use oil primed surfaces which do not stain easily and allow for wiping any lights back out after this toning. If you should need a drier surface to begin on, add a quick-drying medium such as Gamblin’s Alkyd to this wash. I chose a blue tone for my wash in this case because my overall mass-tone needed to be cool, and this helps to get the temperature of my initial color mixes off on the right foot.

Step One