Realism Figure Oil Painting For Beginners

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Realism Figure Oil Painting for Beginners-Intermediate

by Kirsten Sanford | Nov 18, 2022

Become a better, realistic painter by learning the basics and essentials of portrait oil painting. Explore the charm of realism and discover your potential in creating portrait art!

Material list for students to purchase:

Required oil paint colors: Titanium white, cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, cadmium red light, alizarin crimson, raw umber, cadmium green pale (Windsor Newton brand), cinnabar green medium (Rembrandt brand), viridian, cerulean blue, ultramarine blue.

Optional oil paint colors to get in addition to above colors: Cadmium orange, raw sienna, burnt sienna, burnt umber, mars black

Recommended brushes: Robert Simons Flat and Filbert, Bristle, Size #2, #4, #6, #8

Silver Brush Renaissance (Typer #7110) Red Sable #1, #2

Surfaces: 11×14 canvas (2-3 total)

Other Supplies: Linseed oil, Turpenoid or Gamsol, 2 containers for cleaning brushes with lid, palette knife, rags, wooden or plastic palette

About the Teaching Artist

When she was young, Yun Li learned some basic drawing techniques from a neighborhood artist. Little did she know that the short time she spent then would be the start of her circuitous art journey. After graduating college in China, she moved to the States to pursue the American dream. She has been working as an IT professional for the most of her career to make ends meet, however her passion for art has been her escape to a better world. In 2015, she finally picked up brushes and decided to pursue her childhood passion in art.

In the past few years, she studied realism painting from Max Ginsburg and a few other internationally renowned artists. These works have become her inspiration, along with other old masters such as Rembrandt, Sargent, Schmid and etc. Slowly but surely, painting has now become a large part of her life. She thinks about painting all the time now to the point where it sometimes even occurs in her dreams. She believes the human face holds the key into our lives— if we are patient enough to observe and listen, we can understand each person’s stories.

Her passion for art goes beyond painting as well. She is also a Chinese folk dancer and performs with CCAA for cultural celebrations. Therefore, dancers and their elegance are a major theme in her artwork. Through years of practice in both painting and dancing, she found many similarities in these two art forms, including the rhythm and flow of movement, shifting moods, and various colors, shapes, and proportions— she finally found a way to hold a brush and dance at the same time. With every brush stroke into the late hours of the night, she aims to depict her perspective of truth and beauty in the world and hope to share all things she found inspiring with you.

Yun Li is currently an artist member of the renowned Salmagundi Club in NYC, Oil Painters of America, and other national professional artists organizations. She has exhibited at national exhibitions in recent years including Salmagundi Club and Oil Painters of America exhibitions, and won various awards for her portrait paintings.