This is simply a list of things said , read or heard that I have found useful as a practitioner and teacher.

Painting

Wipe oil brushes with rags, don’t rinse in turps. Colour is cleaner if brushes are wiped, even if paint remains in brush.

Use a soft brush to paint wet in to wet. Bristle brushes will plow up wet paint

Use a limited palette.

Develop a system for laying out and mixing colour on the palette

If in trouble seek simple oppositions – warm /cool ,dark/ light.

Keep your darks thin and your lights thick

Don’t change  shape, tone and hue at the same time ( keep the shape , change the colour etc)

When you move from one area to its neighbour, perhaps recording one form then another consider a link of colour or tone.  Think about linking  not isolating passages of colour and tone.

Value the slightest mark in a study if you are using to scale it up, say from a drawing to a painting. The entire surface of the study is important

Paint small objects from a distance so you don’t get dragged into unnecessary detail

Look for the big shapes in what you are painting because they often make the painting work.

Seek surprising views of your paintings - mirrors are useful