Maybe you’re interested in trying your hand at painting, but you’re just not sure how to go about it.
There are probably lots of questions simmering in the back of your mind, so here’s some basic information to help you get started with your new hobby.
Topics like Paints, Brands, Colors, Brushes and Canvas…
Let’s begin…
First up, let’s look at the Artist…
1. I Can’t Draw. Can I Still Become An Artist?
If mastering drawing were a prerequisite to becoming a successful painter, there would be very few artists. Learning to draw well can take years of study, and it may or may not have anything to do with your success as a painter. Perspective is important for creating a sense of realism and scale, but just take a look at painters like Grandma Moses and you’ll see that it’s not imperative to getting started.
Just jump right in and start painting. You can develop the skills you’ll need for your painting style as you go along.
2. What Kind Of Paint Should I Use?
No type of paint is easier than another. However, each paint type has its own particular qualities and should be considered when choosing a painting medium.
Oil paint takes a long time to dry. If you’re the impatient sort, waiting for days or even weeks for paint to dry can be a real turn-off. Oils also require the use of products that can be harmful to people with sensitivities or dangerous to pets and children.
Watercolors use only water as an additive, so there is very little risk in using this type of paint. Watercolors are used primarily on paper, and a setup for this type of painting can be very compact if you have limited space in which to work.
Acrylic paints are a great all-around choice, as they can emulate the look of both watercolor and oil paintings. They can be used with only water as a medium and you can paint acrylics on almost any surface.
3. What Brand Of Paint Should I Use?
If you’re on a very tight budget, you can use whatever you can afford. However, the results may disappoint you. Cheap paint is inexpensive because the manufacturer uses lower quality ingredients and less pigment. They increase the amount of filler, so your painting has a dull appearance. You’ll never get the deep, rich colors a professional artist achieves.
You’re better off buying a smaller quantity of good quality paints. However, purchase paints that don’t break your budget. You need to be able to experiment. If you’ve spent a great deal on your paints, you may feel as though you’re wasting it if you experiment. Experimenting is how an artist learns and you’re not wasting if you’re gaining knowledge and experience.
Try out different brands. They vary in consistency, coloration and even smell. You’ll eventually find the paint that’s right for you.
4. Can I Mix Different Paint Brands?
You can interchange the brands and qualities of paints. You may find you prefer one brand of Alizarin Crimson to another or that one manufacturer makes a color not found in the line of paint you’re currently using. You may start out with student grade paint. As you use up a color, you can replace it with an artist grade paint made by the same or a different manufacturer.
However, mixing paint types requires a little caution. You can mix acrylic and watercolor or pastel, but intermixing oil paint with another paint type isn’t quite as simple. You can paint oil over acrylics, but you can’t paint acrylic over an oil painting.
5. What Color Paints Should I Use?
You don’t need a lot of tubes to paint successfully. Browsing around a craft shop, you may see dozens of colors. No, you don’t need every color on the shelf.
Start out with the basics. Buy the primary colors of red, blue and yellow. You should purchase a warm and a cool shade of each color. This gives you a much greater range of color combinations. You’ll also want a tube of white if you’re painting with acrylics or oils. Watercolorists generally use the white of their paper instead of adding white to their paint.
You should purchase a brown like Burnt Umber or Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ocher and a basic green like Phthalo Green. You really don’t need a tube of black, as you can blend deep, strong darks that have far more life and depth.
6. Is Color Theory Important?
Color theory sounds like it’s a difficult, time consuming and scientific subject. It really isn’t all that hard to get the basics down, and you’ll develop your color theory skill as you paint.
Color theory is mainly learning how colors interact with each other. You learn the basics and add to it as your paint collection grows and your interest for new colors increases.
Creating a color wheel and color chart made from your own collection of paints is a good way to get started. This is where experimenting comes in, and mixing and painting new combinations of paints is a useful exercise for learning color theory.
7. How Many Brushes Do I Need?
You don’t need to buy every size and style of paintbrush in the craft store. You should have a wide brush for applying backgrounds and large expanses of paint, a medium size brush for filling and building up smaller areas and a fine brush for details.
There are many brush shapes designed for different purposes, and the bristles used for each type of brush are selected for specific styles of painting. Hard bristles and soft bristles are used for different paints and styles of painting. Start with just a few and add to your collection as you find a need for a new size or shape.
8. What Should I Paint On?
Your paint has particular properties, and you should use the support that will accept and hold your paint. Each type of paint has its own properties, and you’ll find a favorite support as you experiment and learn about your chosen medium.
Watercolor is primarily pigment, filler and water. It requires a porous surface, as the pigment needs to seep into the fibers of the support to become permanent. That’s why you’ll almost always find watercolor on paper.
Oil paint can be painted on primed canvas or wooden panels. It’s imperative that the canvas is primed, as the paint will deteriorate the cloth fibers over time. Priming a wood panel also ensures that the paint doesn’t discolor from impurities in the wood.
Acrylics can be used on almost any surface. Acrylic paint is flexible, durable and waterproof after it dries, so you can use it on paper, wood, canvas, metals or plastics.
There are tons of things you will learn as you begin your adventure in painting. Don’t feel overwhelmed with all the new things you don’t understand. Just keep painting and you’ll see a little progress with every painting session. Learning to paint is a journey that can continue for the rest of your life. You just need to get started with the first step.
