How Should I Start Learning To Paint?

Do you have a reason why you want to start painting and a goal for what you want to get out of it?

Have you chosen a medium with which you want to start learning, either acrylics, oils or watercolors?

Have you purchased the supplies that are needed for painting?

Have you gotten familiar with the fundamentals of art?

For your first painting, have you decided on what to paint?

Before you go out and buy all your new art supplies and start throwing paint onto the canvas, you should consider why exactly you want to take up painting and what you want to get out of it. Your answers will determine how you proceed and what you should focus on learning. To get anywhere near this goal, you would need to follow a dedicated and rigorous training regime which focuses on drawing and the other fundamentals of painting.

You should decide on a medium to focus on, at least for the short-term. This will allow you to really get a feel for how the medium works, so that you can then pay more attention to the big-picture aspects of painting, like color, composition, value, etc. Every medium has pros and cons. If you are just starting out in painting then I recommend you start with acrylics or oils. But feel free to start with watercolors if you are up for the challenge.

The supplies you get will vary depending on the medium you decide to go with. In a broad sense, all you need is an easel (to hold your artwork), canvas/paper, a palette (for color mixing), a set of brushes that are suitable for your chosen medium, palette knives and last of all, a set of paints. Check for the best and most affordable paints as you will waste a lot of them in the beginning.

You could practice for years and hardly improve if you don't know what you are doing. This is where the fundamentals of art come into play - color, value, composition, edges, brushwork and technique. It is important that you get familiar with them early, as they will help you understand what exactly is going on when your brush hits the canvas. Learning these fundamental areas will benefit every stroke you make.

One of the most challenging aspects of painting happens before you pick up your brush – selecting a subject to paint. The perfect subject should be inspiring and challenging. You should feel the need to paint it.

You are now ready to create your first painting. Just a word of warning though, it will be harder than it looks! Try to capture your initial impression of the subject. Think about the subject in terms of shapes and colors. You can then refine the painting and add more detail.