Master Oil Painting with YouTube’s Top Channels
Whether you’re just picking up a brush or looking to refine advanced techniques, YouTube is packed with expert oil painting tutorials, no expensive workshops required. In this guide, we’ve rounded up 10 standout channels, like Paint Coach’s clear value-study demos, Florent Farges’s dynamic plein-air lessons, and Bob Ross’s timeless wet-on-wet landscapes, so you can learn everything from color mixing and composition to palette-knife textures. Grab your palette and let these pros show you how to take your painting to the next level with the best oil painting tutorials on YouTube.
Paint Coach – (Chris Fornataro)
This guy has been around forever. With over 500,000 subscribers and content and more than 7 years of video content, Fornataro is probably one of the most notable YouTube personalities teaching oil painting techniques. He breaks down complex concepts like understanding value relationships and building form into clear, actionable steps. If you want to nail realistic portraiture or landscape painting, his straightforward demos and palette knife tutorials will get you there.
Florent Farges
Florent Farges brings a fresh, painterly approach to traditional portrait work. With over 600 videos on his account from the last 11 years, he is known for his dynamic brushwork and bold color choices. Farges often paints en plein air as well as in the studio. His thoughtful breakdowns of composition, lighting and color theory will help you level up your visual storytelling.
Andrew Cadima
A very talented painter, and a rising star on YouTube. He even has his own line of Trekell Brushes! Cadima is known for his realistic portraits, surreal paintings, and bold use of color. I also recommend his instagram account, which is how I learned of him initially.
Draw Mix Paint – Mark Carder
Mark Carder is a legendary portrait artist who has painted commissioned portraits of two US Presidents and a US Secretary of State, among others. His videos on learning to paint realism in oil are top notch.
Jerry’s Artarama – The John Wellington Videos
These are really great. If you can look past the fact that they relentlessly try to sell you on Tusc & Pine oil paints, there is some valuable information in this set of videos. John Wellington covers everything from brush care to medium ratios, and his no-nonsense attitude makes even the most technical topics easy to grasp.
The faceless YouTube painting instructor César Córdova is a Mexican Postwar & Contemporary painter, born in 1983. He hosts an extensive collection of no-frills video content in both Spanish and English. The production quality may be rough around the edges, but he more than makes up for it with razor-sharp insights into composition and color, brutally honest critiques, and a teaching style that’s equal parts tough love and genuine encouragement, every tutorial delivers solid, hard-won technique without a second wasted on fluff.
Chelsea Lang
Chelsea Lang offers a modern twist on classic subjects. Think loose landscape studies, moody still lifes, and atmospheric veils of light. Her tutorials often include in-depth voiceovers explaining each brushstroke, and she’s great at showing how to balance speed with precision. If you want to develop a more expressive, gestural style, Chelsea’s your guide.
Stephen Bauman
Stephen Bauman specializes in lush, realistic portraiture and figurative work. His channel features studio vlogs, step-by-step portrait demos, and deep dives into proportion and anatomy. Whether you’re struggling with skin tones or capturing a likeness, Bauman’s patient, detail-oriented approach will give you the tools to succeed.
Bob Ross
Bob Ross’s channel is the undisputed gateway drug to oil painting, his “Joy of Painting” episodes are basically therapy sessions with a paintbrush. He walks you through the wet-on-wet technique, teaching you how to slap on a sky, fluff a cloud, and craft “happy little trees” with ease and a grin. Sure, it’s retro ’80s production, but that’s part of the charm: you get nothing but Ross’s soothing voice and solid painting fundamentals, no bells, no whistles. If you’re looking for the purest, yet endlessly inspiring lesson in landscape painting (and a daily dose of calm), this is your channel.
Got Your Own Go-To Painting Channels?
We’ve shared our top picks, but we know there are countless talented instructors out there, maybe one you swear by! If you follow any oil painting YouTube channels (or Instagram accounts, TikTok creators, etc.) that deserve a spot on this list, let us know in the comments. Share your favorite tutorials, hidden gems, or up-and-coming artists so we can all keep learning, and keep those happy little accidents coming!
