How long did it take you to become decent at painting?

Question

I love to do things such as drawings (with just a pencil/pen) and working with charcoals and pastels. I also like to paint, but I'm not the best at it. I'm just 17 years old, and haven't really been painting for that long...but, I'm getting discouraged. I think I'm pretty good at painting things such as landscapes, but what I really want to do is portraits...I just can't seem to get them right though. Any advice?

Thanks!

Answer 1

The quickest way to learn how to paint is to let nature and the masters teach you. Pattern yourself after one of the masters Vermeer, Da Vinci, Rembrandt and read about them and their works. Go to the library and get a "How to paint or painting for dummies. Go get some cheap tempera paints and paints leaves in the sunlight, them graduate to acrylics, watercolor and then to oil. Paint yourself in the mirror (only you will seat that long for you), apples are a great fruit to learn how to paint people, paint apples..different kinds under different light..start drawing with a paint brush instead of a pencil and last but not least take a Saturday class at your local Art league or community college (for no credit its cheaper) or better yet talk to your Art teacher at your high school for some serious direction. It took a couple of months to produce nice (mommy gift) paintings but it took me four years to achieve the museum quality I was searching for. I am about to graduate from a prestigious art school and I can say 50% of what I learned I learned from studying the masters and from books I read on my own. So go for it and look at each painting as a learning experience.

Answer 2

Learning how to paint takes time. I like to paint as well. I started taking lessons at like age 10. I still paint, and I am still larning. (I am now 20). I would suggest practicing your drawing skills, and explore color. Read about and practice making and mixing colors.Just experiment when you paint, trust yourself. You may be surprised how the colors look together. It is a trial/error procss, and takes practice. It would be a good idea to take painting lessons too, a good way to learn how, and apply what you learned on your own. To do portraits, first practice drawing yourself or others. First draw from photographs, then try drawing yourself using a mirror. Get a book on portraits so you can learn proportions and placement. After you become confident or more sure of yourself, try painting a portrait. Try getting a book on painting too, they give good tips on layering colors and such. Good luck with painting, once you get going, you'll love it!

Answer 3

I'm mostly a drawer... I've done some painting before but I prefer drawing much more. It didn't really take me a long time mostly because it's something that just comes more easily to me but taking drawing classes definitely helped me because I learned a lot of technique (which surprisingly is a big part of it). My advice is to put time into your drawing... I'm in an advanced drawing class in school and it takes plenty of time to finish projects. If you practice a lot that also really helps obviously, and having the right tools also helps. Like if you're drawing you want pencils and erasers specifically for it. There are pencils for different things: a 2H pencil is like a normal pencil, a 4B pencil has softer lead and is darker, and a 6B pencil is even darker than that. Those all help make your shading a lot better. If you learn how to shade correctly your drawings will become a lot better because they have more depth to them.

Answer 4

I have been painting a long time. Check out Bob Ross: The Joys of Painting series, or Frank Clarke: Simply Painting. You can also call at local colleges for painting classes. Even at your age you might be able to get into some of them.

Answer 5

If you can draw decently then you have the talent to paint.
It' very personal, but I think you need two years to be a painter. To be an artist could take a lifetime, but you are young so go ahead, maybe take some advice or lessons but don't let yourself become discouraged by anything! (tenacity is the first artist's virtue)

Answer 6

keep practicing, and if thats really what you want to do then go to art school. You will eventually get better at painting over time.

Answer 7

well,1st you have to have the talent or some type of touch....you obviously disovered you have it so work your way up...keep practicing. believe me i went to art school for 4 years..it takes more and more practice and a highly creative mind if you want to do it as a profession.

Answer 8

EVERY STROKE IS AN IMPROVEMENT-
IT ONLY GETS BETTER!