TabascoCat Art

When I am trying to learn a new medium or technique the first thing I do is try to find books on the topic.

So when I embarked on the journey to learn oil painting I went search for some basic books on this technique.

The Oil Painting Book by Bill Creevy is an excellent primer on oil painting and includes just about everything that one would expect for a book on the basics of the medium.

This book, however, offers a lot more than just the basics – it is packed full of useful, detailed information that I have never seen all in one place before.

Creevy covers just about every major brand of oil paint out there – history of the company and brand and any unique characteristics of the paint. He does the same same thing with oil painting media, solvents and varnishes – he completely cleared up the confusion I had about all the various things you can add to oil paints.  Next he goes onto every type of support and ground that can be used in oil painting.  All of this in the first part of the book!

Example of write up on Old Holland brand oil paints

Next he gives complete information on just about every way that a design can be transferred to the support and all the techniques for developing the underdrawing/underpainting.

With all of that out of the way he goes through all the major techniques of oil painting including alla prima, wet in wet, etc.

Where this book stands out is in the amount of time that Creevy spends on the technique in glazing included a very thorough demo on developing a grisaille underpainting and finishing with glazing and scumbling.

Glazing chart included in book:

He also devotes an entire chapter to alternative oil based media including alkyds.  The info on alkyds is the best I have ever read and he also includes a demo in this section.

Overall this book is an incredible resource.

Examples of Creevy’s work:

So are there any cons?  First, as detailed as this book is, an absolute beginning painter might struggle with there being too much detail and not enough on basics such as using a brush and basic color theory/mixing.  Also, all the examples are Creevy own work and are very distinctive – so the range of effects that can be achieved with oil paints is not well illustrated.  However, for the advanced beginner and beyond this is an incredibly useful resource on oil painting.  I personally like his style and plan to try some of the demos in the book.