Consultants are as such: we try to learn something fast, repackage the information, and sound as though we know the topic in depth. As you can see, my first oil painting is still amateurish and this article is definitely not about how-to-paint-oils. But rather a sharing of the fun experience I have when I temporary converted the common bedroom into a humble painting studio.

As shown in the picture above, I have a humble setup painting from “life”. To give you a better appreciation of what are the items for, I have created two larger images with some labels on them.

An easel is a stand that holds a canvas or a board. Traditionally, easels are made of wood. I chose a modern folding one. If you pay attention, easels are commonly used in the shopping malls for advertisement.

Since I am not going to spend an insane amount of cash to paint on canvas, I use oil painting tablet and have it stuck onto a board with double-sided tape. A good light source is important because light brings out the colours of the subject. I made a simple view-finder (aspect ratio must be maintained) to help me in sketching.

I have oiled my palette with linseed oil before first use and guess what? I oiled the wrong side. Moving on, we have the paints and lots of brushes. Dippers are the small tiny containers to hold the turpentine (to make the paint thinner) and linseed oil (to thicken the paint). Paper towels are useful in cleaning the brushes between colour switching. Some paint with a palette knife while for me, as of now, I use it to scrap the paint off the palette at the end of the painting session.