>>3771412Check out DrawMixPaint on Youtube. His videos are excellent. There's TONS of beginner videos and books, but I like his videos, he's working from a classic technique perspective.
>Linseed OilIn terms of oil paints, linseed is a binder (what you mix pigments with), and a medium, for thinning paint and creating glazes. The general, standard glaze or thinning is 1:1 linseed and something like turpenoid, you shouldn't use turpentine, it's toxic.
>Turpentine Is used for thinning, mixing, and cleaning paints. See above for Turpenoid.
>WaterHas no place in oil painting, unless you're using the modern water soluble paints. And cleaning, with soap.
>SurfaceAny primed surface is fine. Primer is typicall an acrylic gesso, but if you don't want to deal with that, you can get canvas papers and cardboard panels that have been gessoed.
>Smoot or rough is entirely personal choice. I prefer smooth. These days I paint on wood panels, mounted on stretchers (the frames for canvases), and I gesso them myself, sanding the layers until it's smooth, like eggshell. Cadmium white is not a good primer, because it won't stick to wood or paper, and will take a considerable amount of time to dry. Save the white for mixing. Get some canvas pads or cheaper panels. They're not expensive. You can paint on anything, as long as you prime it with gesso.
>Getting started: Keep it simple, don't get too fancy or complicated with your subjects. Simple still life subjects or simple landscapes are fine. Learn how to mix, how to glaze, and get familiar with brushes, paint - and cleanup. An easel is really recommended. A drafting table is fine as an alternative. Oils are fun to just jump into, but they can take years to master. Slow down, have fun, study, and paint. A lot.
