Top TV artist Alwyn Crawshaw helps the beginner to master the exciting medium of oils in this comprehensive course of 29 lessons. Starting with simple exercises on brush control and how to mix colours, Alwyn guides the beginner through all the basic methods and techniques of oil painting, explaining clearly each process and offering advice and encouragement at every stage. There are numerous step-by-step exercises and demonstrations throughout the book. Particularly useful for the beginner are the revealing sections on 'what went wrong' consisting of painting exercies which illustrate all the common pitfalls -- and how to avoid them. The book is divided into different sections, each dealing with a popular aspect of oil painting: * Getting started * Simple exercises * Working outdoors * Simplifying what you see * Painting from photographs * Demonstrations * Gallery