1 Draw the subject
I began by fixing a sheet of oil paper to a foam core board with masking tape, so that it could be easily removed later without harming the paper. I also mixed a paint medium using equal parts linseed oil and white spirit. I used this to thin an orange-brown paint mix and apply a wash across the paper, which rid me of the white of the paper to allow easier estimation of accurate values and also to easily “erase” our initial drawing.
To draw, I used one “pencil” brush (a size 2 or 4 long flat) and one slightly larger “eraser” brush of the same type, which I dipped in a small amount of the medium so I could remove unwanted lines with it. I drew out my subject using straight lines only to attain greater drawing accuracy and an average dark colour that would be harmonious if it showed through slightly later on.
This step took the longest of all because I didn’t want to have to make drawing corrections later after I had loaded the page with wet oil paint. Spend 40-60 minutes depending on the difficulty of your subject.