Free Sample
The Purple Guide to Learning Oil Painting in 10 Days
A no-nonsense, day-by-day starter plan to get your first real oil paintings done and decide if this is the hobby for you
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: First Day
Welcome. If you are holding this book, you have probably thought about trying oil painting at least twice in the past year. Maybe a video crossed your feed, maybe a friend's living room has a half-finished canvas, or maybe you just want to know what that earthy smell is like. Whatever pulled you here, you are about to do the one thing that separates people who try a hobby from people who only think about it: you are going to start.
First, let us get one thing out of the way. Oil painting is not easy. I am not going to tell you it is. Your first brushstroke is likely to look like a blobby smear. Your second one might fix it. Your third one will probably smear it again. That is normal. It is also why this book is not a 10-day marathon to masterpiece status. It is a 10-day experiment to answer a question: do I actually like doing this enough to continue? And today, on day one, your only job is to get some paint on a surface and see what it feels like.
Let us talk about what you need for this one session. I want you to resist the urge to buy that wide wooden box of supplies yet. You need four things: a small pre-stretched canvas (look for a size like 6x6 inches or 4x4; ask the shop assistant for the smallest one they have, and it should already be