BrushLens · Reference analysis for oil painters
Six tools that decode your reference photo before you pick up a brush - including mixing recipes from your own palette, like 40% Yellow Ochre + 40% Titanium White + 20% Alizarin Crimson.
Get access7 days free, then $7/month. Cancel anytime.
Or $59/year · or $199 lifetime
Your photos never leave your device
The tools
Group your reference into 2 to 10 value steps. See the big shapes immediately, in grayscale, umber, or full color. This is what most painters skip and then struggle with.
Tap any spot and get an actual mixing recipe from your palette - like "40% Yellow Ochre + 40% Titanium White + 20% Alizarin Crimson" with a match score. Hold for a precision loupe, or switch to Value Map mode and plot up to 10 points on a value scale.
See the warm and cool zones mapped across your reference, with breakdowns showing the temperature balance in your lights, mids, and shadows. Get concrete advice on canvas toning and color strategy.
Reduce everything to a 2- or 3-value pattern with live ratio readouts. If your notan doesn't read, your painting won't either. Check it here before committing hours on canvas.
See exactly where your reference is most and least saturated. Isolate mode keeps only the high-chroma areas in color - so you stop over-saturating shadows and know where to spend your strongest color notes.
Plan your composition with common canvas ratios and composition guides (Rule of Thirds, Golden Ratio, Diagonals). Find the strongest crop before you start drawing.
Your photos stay on your device. BrushLens runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, stored, or sent anywhere.
Who built this
I'm Soren - an oil painter and educator. I built BrushLens because I kept doing the same analysis by hand before every painting: squinting for values, checking temperature, testing crops. Every tool in here is something I actually use at the easel, built around one principle: value first, then temperature, then color.
- Soren, oil painter & educator
“Your app is amazing! I’m finally understanding color and value!”
“Portraits can be so challenging so I find this tool so helpful. This is such an efficient and valuable tool to help the learning process!”
“As a beginner I enjoy your method of doing the values first.”
7 days free - cancel anytime
or $59/year · or $199 lifetime
All six tools, unlimited use. Your photos never leave your device.
Cancel before your trial ends and pay nothing.
Common questions
No. BrushLens runs in your browser - phone, tablet, or desktop. If you want it on your home screen like an app, you can add it in two taps, but it's optional.
Yes. BrushLens is built mobile-first and works on iPhone, iPad, Android, and any desktop browser. Saved studies stay on your device.
Yes. Pick from presets like the Essential 12 or Zorn, or build your own from a library of 100+ pigments - you can even add custom colors. Mixing recipes are calculated from the exact colors you own.
One click in your account, any time. Cancel during the 7-day trial and you pay nothing at all.
Decode your reference before you pick up a brush.
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