How to Get into Painting art: realizing your Dreams

Are you wondering how to get into painting?

Millions of people are painting and you can learn how to paint, too!

Painting art is a universal language that uses the senses, emotions and the mind to create something beautiful.

Anyone can start painting regardless of your age or experience.

You can learn how to paint!

You can learn how to paint!

how to get into painting

This is your introduction to the essential tools and inspiration you need to get into painting.

Whether you’re a complete novice or looking to refine your skills, get ready to paint.

supplies: begin painting on a budget

Equip yourself with the supplies for your art journey. We can spend a lot of money at the art store, but what do we really need? How can we get into painting without spending a bundle?

Basically, we need: paint, brushes, a palette, something to paint on and clean-up materials.

The most expensive products are not always necessary. The best approach is to stick to the basics and then slowly build your collection as you progress.

what type of paint is best?

Here in the United States the three popular art paints are oil paint, watercolor and acrylic. Each medium has its own characteristics and requires a slightly different approach.

One type of paint is not better than the others. It just a matter of personal preference.

Oils are easy to use. The paint is thicker, provides a textured appearance and dries slower which allows you to work gradually. Start oil painting with a couple of brushes, mineral spirits and a canvas. Oil paintings are easy to frame and long lasting.

Watercolor is another easy paint. All it takes is paint, water, paper and one or two bushes. It's a light, delicate medium that's great for capturing the subtleties of light and color. Watercolors on paper require a mat and they are framed under glass for protection.

Acrylics are versatile. They provide the ability to paint in thin washes like watercolor or thick like oil paint. The down side is that acrylic dries very fast, that makes it hard to blend the colors. However, the dried paintings are very durable and simple to frame.

Let's look at a few more details.

oil paint

Oils may be painted smooth or with lots of texture for added interest. 

Painting with oils is easy!

Tell me more about oil paint

The classic paintings of the old masters were oils. When oil paintings are well cared for, they can last for centuries.

Oil paint is made by mixing color pigments with linseed oil. The oil makes the paint slow drying.

The slow dry time is an asset because it gives time to change and adjust things before the paint dries.

Is painting with oils hard?

Many people think oil painting is difficult. However, myself and all my family learned how to get into painting using oils.

If you have a good teacher, you can begin painting with any medium.

How long do oil paintings take to dry?

Temperature and humidity affect the drying time. Thin oil paint can dry to touch in 2-12 days.

We may use various mediums to speed the drying time such as Liquin or Galkyd. However, thick layers of oil paint may take up to 6 months to dry thoroughly.

What do we need for painting with oils?

Oils are normally painted on a canvas. Choose either traditional stretched canvas or gallery wrap canvas that is stapled on the back, so the finished painting does not require a frame.

Canvas boards are great for practice and learning how to paint.

Oil paint is thinned and cleaned-up with a solvent. Traditionally turpentine has been used for oil painting, but it has a strong odor!

In our modern world, Gamsol, an odorless mineral spirits, is considered the best solvent for painting indoors.

Hog hair brushes are normally used with oil paint. Synthetic brushes, labeled specifically for oils work well, too.

Look here for oil painting supplies.

alkyd paint

Alkyds are like a modern oil paint. Their color pigments are mixed with an alkyd resin, instead of slow drying oil.

Alkyd butterfly painting

Alkyds have been my go-to paint since the 1980s.

My mom and I both switched to them because of their short drying time, compared to classic oil paint.

The resin speeds up their dry time to overnight or at the most within 24 hours.

This provides time for blending, but they dry fast enough to paint layers in a short amount of time.

Their fast dry time makes it easier to paint the finer details.

Finished alkyd paintings look exactly like an oil painting.

They use the same brushes, solvents, supports and painting techniques as oil paint.

watercolor

Many of the colors are transparent and let the white of the paper show thru. It gives them a light, luminous appearance.

Watercolor butterfly art

Watercolors are an easy, portable medium that is often used for painting on location. A little tin of colors, some water, a brush and paper and off you go to paint anywhere you desire.

As the name implies, the paint is thinned and cleaned up with water.

Watercolors are somewhat unpredictable in the way they move and blend with other colors. But that's the joy of using watercolor paint.

The key is learning how much water to use.

Finished watercolor paintings on paper are framed with a mat under glass.

You may find watercolor art supplies here.

Watercolor paint comes in two forms

• Tube watercolor paints make more brilliant color because we don't have to add so much water to use them.
• Pan watercolors are a dry cube placed in a pan. They are portable and favored for painting on location.

We have a choice of 3 supports for watercolors.

• Watercolor is often painted on 140# watercolor paper. Watercolors on paper need to be matted and framed under glass for protection.
• Watercolor can be painted on canvas. Make sure the label says it can be used for watercolor.
  Before painting, brush water on the entire canvas to break the surface tension. Let the water soak in before painting. This helps prevent the paint from beading up or sliding around.
• Aquabord is a rigid archival watercolor support made by Ampersand. It is textured like cold pressed watercolor paper. The colors on Aquabord are more brilliant than many watercolors done on paper.

After the paint is dry on watercolor canvas or Aquabord, spray the painting with a protective UV resistant spray. The paintings may then be framed without a mat or a glass covering.

Acrylics

Acrylics are often chosen by beginners. They thin and cleans-up with water.

They dry very fast, so additional layers may be painted quickly. The down-side is they dry so fast that blending and transitioning the colors is quite a trick.

The colors are bright and durable. They dry to a flat finish, so the finished paintings are often varnished. They are economical, widely available, and considered a good way for the beginner to get into painting.

They may be painted on various surfaces like rocks or wood. I painted fruit and flowers on my kitchen cabinet doors and then varnished over the finished paintings for protection.

Regardless of the medium you choose, learning how to paint requires practice and patience. Let your art journey be guided by your love of the process and not just the end result.

As your artistic confidence grows, you may with to explore other painting mediums.

Frequently asked questions

Here's some FAQs you may have been wondering about.

Do I Need to Know How to Draw?

Some people are naturals at drawing. Others learn it along the way, like me.

The beginning tutorials for either oils or watercolor provide an easy way to get started painting without fine drawing skills.

You can easily trace the outline of the dog in this beginner's tutorial of painting a dog with oil, alkyd or acrylic.

This watercolor butterfly tutorial shows the basics of how to draw a butterfly in easy steps.

What are the fundamentals of art?

Paintings are built upon the basic fundamentals of color, composition and values.

These basics serve as the building blocks of your artistic expression. Get a good grasp of them and you'll be well on the road to successful artwork.

color: a vital concept for every artist

Have you ever marveled at the vibrancy and harmony of the colors in a beautiful painting?

Color is fun!

A color wheel can be handy when we first begin painting. It can help in identifying colors and selecting pleasing color combinations.

The wise artist uses color temperature in their paintings.

Warm bright colors like red, yellow make objects appear closer. Cool colors like blue, green and purple make objects recede.

Color is a powerful tool in the hands of an artist. Once you understand colors, they will become our precious tool.

An important aspect of color is the emotional effect of colors.

good Composition creates good paintings

Composition is easy.

Composition provides the framework of our artwork. It's how the elements are arranged in the painting.

A well-composed painting is balanced, and each element harmonizes with the rest.

A good composition draws the viewers in and guides them throughout the painting.

The rule of thirds makes composition easy. It's a no-brainer when we are learning how to get into painting.

It always creates a good composition, so we can concentrate fully on the process of painting.

Divide the painting surface into nine equal portions.

Place the main elements of the painting along these lines or their intersections.

This automatically creates energy and interest in our paintings.

More ways to use the rule of thirds.

values in painting art

Values are one of the most important keys to painting good art.

Values make impactful artwork.

Light and dark values are the backbone of our paintings.

Artists can use values to direct the viewers focus, add depth, and increase visual interest.

A painting without sufficient variation in values will look flat and dull.

Artists use different values to make objects look three-dimensional.

We also us values to place on object in front of another.

Learn to see and use values in your paintings.

Practice painting with the rules. Later you can bend the rules and find your own style.

what should we begin painting?

Now comes the fun part of how to get into painting - deciding what you want to paint!

Paint what you enjoy.

Begin painting with subjects that excite you, intrigue you, or calm you.

Paintings are personal. They are like a part of ourselves. The joy we find in painting will inevitably reflect in our artwork. That's the beauty of learning how to paint.

The best place to start painting is with the things around us. We do the best job of painting a subject we understand. We have a better idea of its form and colors.

It's a good idea to start simple. A piece of fruit or a simple landscape scene would make a good start. As you progress and build confidence, then start painting more complex subjects.

You may want to explore more painting ideas for beginners.

start with an easy subject

"Speedy and Tuna"

When I was giving my sister a lesson on how to paint, we did a small watercolor of her two goldfish named "Speedy and Tuna".

We used a simple palette of Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Yellow Light and Ultramarine Blue.

The fish were simple to draw. We painted them first. Then the background was painted around the fish with salt sprinkled into the blue for added texture.

Painting is lots of fun!

practical tips for painting art

Here are a few ideas to help speed-up learning to paint art.

paint Often!

This is an 8x8 inch painting.

The more often we paint, our inspiration flows and we want to paint more.

The more we paint, the faster we learn.

There's a special joy that comes with a completed a painting. It gives us a sense of accomplishment.

Plus, then we have something to share with our friends and family.

Include painting in your schedule. No matter whether you paint daily, weekly or monthly - paint regularly.

Many professional artists paint daily.

Painting on a regular basis will put your learning to paint into overdrive!

Share your paintings

It's encouraging to get feedback from friends, family and other artists by sharing.

• Join your local art association.
• Paint with other artists.
• Go to painting classes, art shows and visit art museums.

Seeing other's artwork and sharing your art will encourage you. It will stimulate you with new ideas. Plus, it's just plain fun to share.

What is the best place to paint?

What's a good place for painting art?

If we have a place to leave our painting stuff out ready to go, we are more likely to paint.

How do we store our supplies?

I started out storing my paint and brushes in a fishing tackle box. Different things work for different people.

What about lighting and ventilation in your painting area? What is the best type of light bulbs for painting art?

Get the answers with more ideas for your home art studio.

sometimes we get stuck

Get inspired and begin painting again.

Painting is fun, but sometimes we may run into a block where we just can't get into painting.

This happens to all artists from time to time.

That's called an artist's block.

There are practical things we can do to get out creative juices flowing again.

How do we overcome an artist block?

We can get back to painting again with new inspiration.

the language of painting art

What did that artist say?

There are some common art terms used by today's painting artists.

Many of them apply to all art painting mediums. We hear artists saying them.

The glossary has three sections:

• General Terms including color terms
• Art Supplies - the types of paint, what we paint on and brushes
• Painting Techniques for both oil and watercolor

If you wonder what they mean, check out the glossary of common art terms.

painting is a joy!

It's fun learning something new. And who doesn't like a challenge?

The joy of learning to paint.

Get involved, that's how to get into painting.

When I was learning to paint, my full concentration would be on painting.

One time, everything else slipped my mind, like cooking dinner. Late in the afternoon my husband asked, "Are we having dinner tonight?"

Oh my, I was so engrossed in painting that I completely forgot about the time, dinner and my hungry husband.

So the painting had to stop and get finished after dinner and dishes.

Read more about the artist, Carol May.

review how to get into painting

what's the best way to begin painting?

You’ve taken the first steps to start painting. You are equipped with essential tips on selecting the right supplies, the fundamentals of color and composition, and keeping your inspiration alive.

The best way to get into painting by doing.

The tutorials are your tools to practice and learn at the same time.

Paint some of the popular painting tutorials. Each step contains photos with the details of how to do the painting step by step.

Choose tutorials that pique your interest and start painting. Paint and learn at the same time. That's how we get into painting.

do you want to start oil painting?

Oil painting is easy. Painting with any medium is easy with a good teacher.

A "Fun Fish" oil painting tutorial

Most of my paintings are done with a limited palette.

A limited palette consists of only one to five colors. Any additional colors are mixed.

This oil painting tutorial of a "Fun Fish" is done with a limited palette of yellow, red and blue.

The bluish background is painted around the fish. Then we paint the fish.

Then thinned paint colors are blown through a soda straw onto the blue background to simulate seaweed. That's what makes this fish painting "fun".

If you want to learn more about oil painting before you start, How to Oil Paint provides detailed answers to frequent questions about using oil paint.

learn how to paint watercolor

Many people get into painting with watercolor.

Watercolor tutorial for beginners

You can begin watercolor by painting this Rufous hummingbird visiting a yellow flower.

First there is a discussion about the basics of watercolor.

Following the intro are the easy steps to get you started painting watercolor.

In this beginners' tutorial you will learn;

• what colors to use, only three colors
• the suggested brushes
• what you can paint watercolor on
• how to keep your colors clean and more.

Can you guess the 3 colors?