NOTE: All artwork on this website is copyrighted by the artist, Jane McCauley, and may not be reproduced in any way without written permission of the artist.

On this page I will tell you how I paint my oils on canvas. But, the painting tips apply to any oil painting.

Below Middle: "GHOSTS OF THE BLUE RIDGE" jpg. ; oil on canvas, 18"x24"; Mama mountain lion with two babies roaming the mountain ridge in autumn.

Note: For those of you  trying your hand at painting, there is also a lot of  technical, "stuff", that may be of interest, or help to you. Also, I'll be glad to try and answer any questions you may have on painting via e-mail: jane@janemccauleyartist.com

As I travel, and I see many interesting, beautiful things, and places, I feel that I just have to paint them! I want to take the beauty that I have seen, and be able to bring it to canvas in oils, so that others may also share in it. When I see something, it usually becomes a, "picture in my head", that I can retrieve later and paint. Once it's, "locked", in my head, it stays there forever! I've always been able to "see" pictures in my head as far back as when I was a tiny child.  When I talk to people, or read, I see it like a movie inside my head. (Seeing things in your head can be a good thing, or not, depending on what people say to you!) So, when I read the Bible, the whole thing appears in my head like an old movie! Pretty exciting!

Sometimes, if there is intricate machinery involved, or a really unusual rock or tree, for instance, I may take some photos for a reference, so that I will be more accurate. (These reference photos are nothing anyone would actually want to see, except for me! God did not bless me with the ability to take artistic photographs! My son, Craig Newman, got that particular talent!

Below: "SENECA WINTER" jpg. oil on canvas, 20"x30", Seneca, West Virginia in winter, mountains, stream, snow, split-rail fence.

Anyhow, when I finally get around to painting, first I make a sketch of the scene on canvas. I use a regular # 2 yellow pencil for that. Then a softer lead , art -pencil to make darker lines and shades. Also, what is called an "artist's stump", to make shadows and shading.

(Note: A "stump" is made of tightly rolled, dense paper, and saves me using my fingers to smudge the pencil lines into shading! Check out art supply places.)

After the sketch is done, I spray a "workable" fixative over the entire sketched area. This seals the pencil marks so that I can then paint over them without the pencil lines, "bleeding" through the oil paint. When the fixative is dry, (usually by the next day), I coat the entire canvas with a, "wash".

(Note: The wash is made of a "pinkish" shade with Alizarin Crimson; or a "golden" shade from Yellow Ocher oils, diluted to transparency with low-odor mineral spirits. This goes on all the "sunny" areas of the scene. After this dries, I apply a wash of dark blue on all the "shady" areas of the scene. I use Prussian Blue for this.)

The pencil sketch shows through the washes. This way I can see if the scene is accurate, and if the shading will be correct. It it is, I let it dry overnight. When it's fully dry, I can then proceed to paint.

(Note: A good trick to see if your drawing is balanced correctly is to put it upside-down. The mistakes will "jump" out at you! Or holding it right-side-up in a mirror will do the same thing!)

Most art teachers, (actually, all of them I've known), paint the background first.

(Note: There is an, "art rule" about this, and it's also a sensible thing to do. So, of course, I don't always do it! Sometimes, I paint the subject first. This is a big "no-no", and  is really a stupid thing to do! It will also require more work! But, I see it in my head, and, sometimes that's what I do anyhow! I don't recommend it. You have to be very careful not to get "background colors" on your "foreground" subjects!)

Usually in this initial painting, the "roughed-in" stage, I paint the sky, and let it dry a day or two. After this  I  can "rough-in" the foreground subjects, like the trees, mountains, buildings, etc.

Below: "NEW FALL SHOES" jpg. ; oil on canvas, 24"x30"; Amish farmer is getting his pair of Belgian draft horses new shoes. Old barn and buggy in the background.

(Note: It is a good rule-of-thumb to paint the background first. Usually the lighter areas of sky. Then move up into the darker areas. In oil painting, with the exception of the sky, paint the dark areas first. Then "build" out to the lighter areas on top of it. For instance, paint the dark tree trunk and leaves first. When it's dry enough to add details, start putting in lighter shades of brown and green. You will be amazed at how much more realistic it looks by doing this! You can also add the shadows in any clouds. Come back later to add lighter areas. The painting at the "dark" stage looks pretty bad, to someone just glancing at it! So, hide it until you get some details in it! With painting watercolors the process is reversed; paint the lighter areas first, going to darker.)

This must now dry several days before I can add details. It still has to be a bit, "tacky" to the touch, so that the new paint layers will adhere to the ones underneath. Oils just out of the tube are too thick for me. I like a thinner paint. So, with a "thinner" made of  three parts "boiled" linseed oil, and one part low-odor mineral spirits, I mix up a little container of , "medium", to thin my paints. I mix the medium into the paint on my pallet with a pallet knife.

(Note: Smelling pure turpentine makes me sick! Mineral spirits dosen't have much of an odor, and is fairly cheap to buy a whole gallon at a hardware store! "Odorless" thinners sold at art supply stores are really expensive and the mineral spirits is just about the same, for me.)

After the roughed-in painting is dry enough to add details, I constantly add more linseed oil to the thinner-mix, to "top-off" the container.

(Note: This is because in oil painting there is another "hard-and-fast  rule": Always paint "lean to fat". Older layers of oil paint will not adhere properly to newer layers unless the new ones have more "fat" in the mix, r.e.: linseed oil. As I paint, and the layers dry, I wipe the fairly dry painting with a cloth saturated in mineral spirits. This prepares the old paint layers for the new ones to adhere better. I found out when I do this before adding the newer, "fatter" paint layers, that they seem to, "stick" better! Also, as the painting progresses the older layers of paint kind of, "sink into" the background, as they dry more. The mineral spirit wash brings them back out to match the new paint.)

Below: "COON FISHIN' " jpg. oil on canvas, 20"x24", raccoon mama teaches babies to fish in a mountain stream in the fall. (Painting sold, no prints.)

My biggest brush is really small! My smallest brush is teeny! Usually artists like big brushes. Not me. I can't get details with a big brush!  It does take longer with little brushes, but, I have to do it like I do it!

(Note: If you find your hand constantly getting on your paint on the canvas, and smearing it, or just getting your hand dirty....get a "mahlstick"!  You can make it, or buy one. It's the greatest invention for artist's since the easel! A mahlstick is literally a long stick of some kind, with a cork, or rubber "foot" at one end. Some mahlsticks have the foot covered by a soft cloth tied on with a cord. You can buy a mahlstick at art supply stores. The aren't expensive. You may even be able to make one! Mine is made of a lightweight aluminum tube, with the rubber foot at one end. My stick comes apart in 3 sections, in case I want to shorten it. To use it, if you are right-handed, for instance, hold the stick on down at the end without the rubber foot, in your left hand. Lean the stick across the canvas, and rest the "foot" on the edge. If it smears a bit on the edge from the foot touching it, the frame will hide it! Now, you can, actually lean your right hand on the stick, so your hand won't get tired, and you won't smear your paint on your hand! In this picture of me below you will notice that I am holding a mahlstick across my canvas.)

When I have added all the details I see in my head, the painting is finally done! (Sometimes my husband, Sonny, is driven nutty by my detail painting! He says, "Aren't you done....YET?" I tell him, "Until it looks like what's in my head, no!" He is learning to cope, poor dear.) After the painting is finished, and quite dry, (which takes days, or longer if the paint is applied thickly, for instance, with a pallet knife), I spray the whole thing with a finish-sealer for oil paintings. After the first light coat of sealer dries, I apply a second light coat going the opposite direction, to be sure I cover the whole canvas. Now, all the sealer coats must dry completely. When the painting is dry, I frame it. If you think this process is tiring....it is!

Below: "BED ROLLS" jpg. oil  on canvas, 16"x20", kitties sleep on an old quilt on a bed in a log cabin. Red Cardinal sits at the window on a branch while it snows. (Painting sold, no prints available.)