Category: Technical

15 Painting Hacks

8/27/2025

These painting hacks for artists working in oil paint will help you simplify your workflow, improve your results, and help keep you organized. These artist painting tips and time-saving painting techniques will make the process smoother so you can focus on what really matters—exploring your curiosity in oil painting.

1. Prevent Galkyd Lite from hardening in the bottle
Whenever you use Galkyd Lite, always add a small amount of gambol to the bottle before closing it. This will keep it liquid over a longer period of time and prevent it from oxidizing and hardening inside the bottle.

2. Color-code your paint tube caps
For those of us who leave the caps off our paint tubes while painting, paint a dab of that color on the top of the cap so you can quickly identify which cap belongs to which tube of paint.

3. Prevent oil from oozing out of your tub of paint
This effect, which is normal, is related to the storage, temperature, and humidity conditions during paint manufacture. The oil sometimes rises to the top of the tube. A simple solution is to hang or store your tubes of oil paint upside down, with the cap at the bottom. The oil will migrate slowly upward. Later, when you turn the tube over and squeeze out the paint, it will not be overly oily.

4. Use acetate to test your brush marks
You know that you're painting needs something, but you're not sure what. And you do not want to mess up your painting by taking a wild guess. A great solution is to lay a sheet of clear acetate over your painting and paint over the acetate, allowing you to see your brush mark effects without committing to them on the actual painting. Then, if you like the effect, remove the acetate and paint the marks on your painting. Some acetates will accept oil. Check the manufacturer's guidelines.

5. Stay on the level
I often see painters paint a copy of a photo they have taken, and not realize they had not held their camera level, and subsequently, the horizon in the painting is also crooked. It's normal to take a photo that is not perfectly level. But always check the level in your painting. Even when it's off slightly, it shouts!

6. Another oily paint trick
If your paint is excessively oily when you squeeze it out of the tube, squeeze the paint onto a piece of cardboard. Spread the paint around, and the cardboard will absorb the excess oil. After a few minutes, scrape the paint off the cardboard, and you will have a nice, thick, pasty color.

7. A hard copy is better than digital
If you are painting from any kind of reference image, it is far better to have a good, high-quality color printout than to try to paint off of your phone. The downside of painting off your phone is that the image is small, and the colors are backlit, which is an effect that is difficult to reproduce in paint. A better approach is to paint using a high-quality printout, as a printout is on a reflective surface, and your canvas is also reflective. That way, they are both in the same visual environment.

8. Work out the wrinkles
If your painting is wrinkled, spray Tight-N-Up on the back of the canvas. It will work even after you have painted your picture, but it is best to tighten your canvas before you begin.

9. Lavender oil
Some artists use lavender oil in their painting, and it smells delightful, but it's also toxic. Don't use it in your painting.

10: Take your eyeballs for a walk
Studies have shown that when artists look at their painting for a long time, they lose objectivity, enter tunnel vision, and lose perspective in what they're doing in the context of the whole. It is essential to constantly refresh your eyes and shake out the stiffness in your hands and back. Set the timer on your phone to every half hour, to remind you to get up and loosen up. Take five minutes to check in with other painters or take a walk down the hall. You'll come back refreshed and see your painting with new inspiration.

11 Make a name for yourself
Sign your painting at least 1/2 inch from any edge to avoid a picture frame from covering it. And practice your signature over and over until it looks like a work of art itself. You don't want to go to all the work of making a beautiful painting and then have a child-like signature.

12 Experiment with a limited palette
Limit yourself to three primaries + white (ultramarine blue, cadmium red medium, cadmium yellow medium, and titanium-zinc white). A reduced palette makes color mixing easier and creates natural harmony in your painting.

12 Keep a palette scrap canvas
Don’t waste leftover paint—scrape it onto a spare canvas or panel. Over time, this becomes an interesting textured ground for a future painting.

13 Work on a toned ground Instead of white
Before beginning a painting, cover your canvas first with a thin layer of burnt umber, raw sienna, or gray. A touch of Gamsol may be needed. Scrub in the paint, then wipe it off with a dry rag, and the canvas will remain stained. This reduces the stark white, helps judge values better, and often speeds up the painting process.

14. Use the Mirror of Truth
There is something wrong with your painting, but you don’t know what it is. Place your painting in front of a mirror. Seeing it reversed tricks your brain into noticing proportion errors, awkward edges, or compositional imbalances. Or take a photo of you painting, then flip the image in your phone's image editing feature, and you will see the painting in reverse, making errors stand out.

15 Brush soaps
Artist brush soaps can be expensive, and I have experimented with them all. Try this alternative method: After cleaning your brushes with Gamsol, clean them more thoroughly with inexpensive Dawn dishwashing liquid. It is formulated to break down grease and oil. Put a dab of Dawn soap into the bristles of your brush, massage it in well, then rinse in water. Lay your brushes flat to dry.

Keep following your curiosity!

0 Comments

15 Painting Hacks

New Product - Gamblin 3-in-1

Author

Archives

Categories