Category: Oil Paint

Hog bristles are a natural animal fiber that work well for moving large amounts of oil color across a canvas. Water tends to bloat the hog bristle hairs and make them splay out. Hog brushes used with acrylic, watercolor or other media that involves the use of water tend to lose their shape quickly.

Some of the most successful portrait painters suggest using a minimum of four colors to create a skin tone. Some commonly used colors are burnt sienna, yellow ochre, unbleached titanium, cad yellow medium, cadmium red medium, and Payne’s gray.

When the tinting strength of Titanium White is too overpowering for what you are painting, try a Titanium-Zinc white combination, or a small amount of Zinc white instead.

This video shows why it’s important to adhere to the fat over lean principle in oil painting.