The Purple Guide to Learning Oil Painting in 10 Days
A no-nonsense, day-by-day starter plan to get your first real oil paintings done and decide if this is the hobby for you
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
Ten days. Ten concrete lessons. Three finished paintings. A real shot at knowing if oil painting is for you.
About this book
You've been thinking about trying oil painting for a while. Maybe you saw a YouTube video of someone layering color and thought, 'I could do that.' Then you looked at the supply lists and the intimidating terms - gesso, linseed oil, fat over lean - and closed the tab. This guide doesn't assume you know any of that. It's built for the curious beginner who wants to smell the paint and feel the brush in their hand before they commit to a whole new lifestyle.
Each of the ten days has one job: get you closer to finishing a small painting. Day one, you're actually painting a leaf with a bare-bones kit - not watching someone else paint one. Day four, you're mixing your first flesh tone. Day eight, you're putting it all together into a tiny landscape. Along the way, you'll see real costs, honest timelines, and a troubleshooting section for when your painting turns to mud or your patience runs thin.
This is not a 'master painting in a week' hype course. It's a 'try it and see' plan from someone who wants you to have a good experience. By day ten, you'll have three small works on your desk, a clear sense of whether this is your new favorite hobby, and a list of concrete questions to ask if you want to go further. No vague platitudes. Just paint, canvas, and a plan.
Reader Reviews
Karen Green
★★★★★I bought this because I've been staring at paint tubes in the store for months and buying nothing. The day one chapter was exactly what I needed - it told me to buy one brush, one color set, and a cheap canvas, and to paint a leaf. I actually finished the leaf in about an hour and felt 'oh, that wasn't scary at all'. The budget breakdown on day three stopped me from overspending. The progress table kept me honest. I'm on day eight now, my fingers are stained, and I'm still going.
Lisa Nelson
★★★★★The title says it exactly: this is a 10-day plan, not a lifetime course. I appreciated that the author didn't promise me I'd be painting portraits by Friday. Day two's self-assessment made me realize I actually hate my tiny dining table setup, so I moved to the porch. The day six troubleshooting about 'muddy brown' saved me - I was overmixing like crazy. It's not poetry, but it's practical and it got me painting instead of just pinning ideas on Pinterest.
Amy Lee
★★★★★Decent for what it is, but the writing is pretty dry in places. Day one was good and I liked the leaf exercise, but the 'milestones' table felt overly cautious - like they were scared to promise anyone would see improvement. I also wish the supply list on day three compared a few more brands, because the local art store had none of their picks. Still, it got me to paint three little canvases, which is more than I did in the 'beginner' workshop I paid fifty dollars for.