Figure Paintings--Er, Drawings

The painting class I signed up for is run more like a workshop, no lectures, just feedback here and there from the teacher for folks who already seem to know what they're doing, so I think I'll treat it as a 3 hour long drawing workshop. This first drawing is from this class. The rest are from Spring St and the friday night ASL workshop.

 I'm looking to get into painting but I think it might be cheaper for me to buy all the supplies and dedicate a small corner of my house to painting still lifes, and just do that until I'm ready for prime time. Anyone know any good oil painting books? I know you're supposed to start in monochrome burnt umber and work out your values first, but that's about all I know about painting. Well, let the self study begin!