Knowledge base

How to use the sketching diagram

How to Sketch Out Your Subject Before Painting 🎨 Before I begin a painting, I always take time to sketch out my subject. My go-to method is the grid technique—a simple but powerful way to make sure...

How to Paint Realistic Water

Water is one of the most captivating yet challenging elements to paint. Achieving true translucency, mirror-like reflections, and crystalline clarity can feel daunting—but with the right techniques...

Caring For Your Brushes

Tips for Looking After Your Brushes  Taking care of your brushes is one of the best investments you can make in your painting. With the right routine, they’ll stay in great condition, perform beaut...

Can I sell the paintings I've completed? Shutterstock Licence Codes

Can I sell the paintings I’ve completed? If you’re selling a painting based on one of Michael’s lessons, you’ll need to state that it was created using a reference photo from MJS TV.You can include...

Frequently asked questions | Tutorials

How can I learn to paint like Michael James Smith? Michael shares a wealth of knowledge in step-by-step tutorials, covering many different subjects and demonstrating his technique from start to fin...

Safety of oil paints and mediums!

How safe are oil paints?  I get many questions asking me about the safety of painting with oils, some say they don’t use oil because they believe the fumes to be too strong, or they believe oil pai...

Painting Frost & Snow In Oil

I’ve always enjoyed painting winter scenes. There’s something magical about the contrast between delicate frost-covered twigs and the smooth, pillow-like snow resting on the ground. Leaves dusted w...

How to create the perfect V when painting foliage, using the fan brush

Getting the perfect V-shape mark when painting foliage can feel a little tricky. Many artists struggle with it at first, but with the right brush loading technique and a few small adjustments to yo...

Frequently asked questions | Technique

How much time do you allow to pass between your blocking in layer and the following layers? The time required between the block-in layer and the oil detail layers to complete a painting depends on ...

Frequently Asked Questions | General

Where did you learn how to paint? I am mostly self-taught but I have also learned a lot from my father, who is also an oil painter. I have been developing my own oil painting technique for over 25-...