When painting with oil paints, do you paint the background first and then paint over it or paint the image an?

I have trouble with this because if you do the background first, sometimes it leaks through the paint of your focal image when you paint over it. If you do the image first and then the background, it is very difficult to paint around the edges of the image without accidently going over.When painting with oil paints, do you paint the background first and then paint over it or paint the image an?
Background first...perhaps you are applying too much paint on this first step...the background should be applied opaquely enough just to 'seal' the canvas with a base color that should have the advantage of showing through...this gives the painting depth. By working light to dark in things such as sky scenery by day or dark to light for evening/night sky for instance, you are giving your painting a base from which to develop from almost naturally.





Think about the effect you want your painting to have and about the subject that you are depicting...layer your painting gradually ... rather than heavy applications at the very beginning use lighter applications of varying hues.





As I don't know what the subject of your painting is I can't give you a more definitive answer but, there is no 'wrong' way to do an oil painting because everything is subjective to the painter and their vision of what the finished painting should look like. If you find that your colors are 'muddying' -- combining together into a mass of unpleasant hues...gradually add a neutral color to tone things down or liven things up -- lighter or darker -- depending on the result you want to achieve.





Trying to paint the foreground before the background is usually if not always a rather laborious and annoying way to do things...your background grounds your painting and thus doing the foreground first takes away from the impact you want to achieve.





Hope this helps...otherwise do a search for oil painting techniques and narrow it down if you need to, to include the specific effect(s) you are trying to achieve...landscape, portrait, nature, sea...there are many sources that are extremely beneficial to new painters...try Wetcanvas.com for tons of great advise (this is an artist/crafts persons haven), you'll find plenty to help you out here.





Good luck and don't give up...you can create magic!When painting with oil paints, do you paint the background first and then paint over it or paint the image an?
i would first put down a layer of gesso on the canvas (its the primer) after that, it doesn't really matter. Typically, I go back and forth perfecting both before a really completed version of either comes about. Sometimes it makes more sense to start with the foreground or background, depending on the colors you are working with. Generally, if the background is light, I'll start there, and then do the foreground, and then let it dry and keep reworking the two over and over again. If the background is dark and the foreground is light, then it usually makes more sense to me to start with the foreground and paint the background around it, so I don't end up wasting a ton of the light colored paint trying to cover up the dark background when I am painting the foreground. Hopefully that makes some sense.
For painting in general I learned that you start with the background then add the middle ground and end with the foreground. You can paint over wet oil paints if you follow the rule of thin over thick. Try not to over mix to avoid ending up with mud. Remember where your light source is coming from. Keep your perspective true. Practice make better and always sign your work.





Keep Arting!


Jeff (weseye) Wesley
you have to paint the background first or you are gonna make your pic untidy.you have to wait till your background is completely dry. it is not a day's work!!!you have to add multiple layers of paint.while painting the background try not to paint inside the image outline as far as possible.
It doesn't really matter. The thing to remember with oil painting is that sometimes you have to set it aside to dry for days before continuing. You may also be having trouble from thinning your paint out too much.
You always start from the back to the front. Of course you should draw your project first so if you have something in different colors up front don;t paint that so you can continue.