I was wanting to get into painting what do I need?

Question

What brands of brushes, pants, and what size of canvas do I need. I am brand new at this.

Answer 1

First of all, get someone to show you a few basics, because these things don't come with an owner's manual and unless you have some idea of what you are doing it can be a drag. A few beginner lessons or a good book on how to paint are worth the investment. Ask the store clerk to recommend a book for you -- I would recommend Harvey Dinnerstein - Artist At Work. It is an excellent painting instruction book that is very worthwhile -- you will have to find it used but I see on Amazon you can get a copy for about $12.

http://www.amazon.com/Harvey-Dinnerstein-Artist-at-work/dp/0823022102/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4903173-4493738?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177357907&sr=8-1

You can also look for Ray Smith's book used but it's hard to find - but very well worth while for beginners. It's caled How To Draw and Paint What You See. Or the library may have it --

http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Paint-What-You/dp/0863183573

See if the local art association or community center offers classes. They are usually quite cheap and very helpful.

To start you need a few relatively inexpensive supplies. Some extra-cheap paints called "student grade" may be tempting for the price tag but I wouldn't wish those even on students because they are just crappy - very diluted and low-grade materials that result in muddy mixtures and poor tinting.

Utrecht.com has good materials -- everything you will need - and they are reasonably priced.

Start with pre-stretched canvases - start with about a 9x12 or a 12x16 until you get comfortable and then take it larger from there.

Do not use cheap-o canvases - they suck up the paint and drag your brush. Get Fredrix or similar. Utrecht is OK. Actually, this is a good rule to apply to all art supplies - cheap brushes, cheap canvas, and cheap paint will frustrate and discourage you because the results will be sub-par, and not even because of anything you did. So don't get the cheap stuff - you don't need to spend a fortune -- I'd say just go middle of the road. Learning to paint is challenging enough. Don't add elective struggles as well like rotten materials that you have to fight against. The savings in money does not compensate for the waste of time and skill development they cost you.

If not Utrecht, good beginner's paints are Grumbacher and Winsor & Newton (not the Winton grade). Top-quality paints that you might want to use when you take it up a notch are Maimeri, Old Holland, Sennelier and Holbein.

You will want brushes in the flat and round shapes in various sizes. Utrecht's interlocking bristle brushes are very good.

A suggested materials list, bare beginnings -

Paint - titanium or cremnitz white, ultramarine blue, burnt umber

Palette - wood, not paper. Palette knife and palette cup

Rinsing tank (silicoil is good and cheap) and odorless turpentine for brush rinsing

Long-handled bristle brushes - rounds and flats sizes 4,6,8, and 10.

Linseed oil

Canvas. Not canvas boards. They are too junky to be worth anyone's time.

Rags or heavy paper towels - Viva is good.

Latex gloves. CVS brand has several comfortable sizes and are of good quality.

You will need an easel - they range in price but there are a lot to choose from. A French style easel is good - it's portable and can hold your supplies as well. A tabletop easel is fine too - you can get them for about $30 or so at art supply stores. The important thing to remember about how to use an easel is to orient the angle and height of the canvas so that it is not tilted - just straight in front of you and perpendicular to your line of vision. If you work flat sitting at a table your images will always look skewed because you drew them at an angle. You can work either sitting or standing, but the canvas needs to be positioned properly so you don't have to struggle with an angle problem.

The reason the list of colors is so short is that it helps to get comfortable with the materials and with the way the paint color shifts from warm and cool and dark to light. Brown is the warm and blue is the cool. Brown and blue mixed straight together will give you your darkest dark, and of course you will gradually add white to make it lighter. Cremnitz and zinc have very weak tinting strengths so you can lighten by small degrees. Titanium is powerful and if you are not careful will bleach out the color, so add it a little bit at a time until you get used to it. Play with the brown/blue/white palette until you feel like you have a good sense of how the warm/cool/dark/light shifts can help your image. Start simple with a still life object and take it from there.

When you are ready to expand your palette, get winsor red or something akin to cadmium red and cadmium yellow - also yellow ochre and ivory black. With this limited palette you can do a lot, and your painting color harmony is easier to control with a limited palette.

I say "akin" because cadmiums and cobalts can be dangerous. There are colors that approximate these colors without the toxic properties. I use Sennelier Vermilion and Winsor Red.

I know a very good painter who only uses red, yellow, white and black -- no blue -- and his paintings are amazing. This is a common limited palette and has been for centuries.

Anyway, this should be enough to get you started. I recommend Utrecht or Jerry's Artarama because they are reasonably priced, are one-stop shopping and are interested in hiring employees with enough of an art background to intelligently discuss and help you with choosing art supplies. If necessary you can order online from the web site - they are very reputable and their delivery time and cost is good.

And let this cheapskate warn you that if you shop at AC Moore or Michael's they will overcharge you - sometimes by more than 100%. (I once saw an easel that I could get at Jerry's for $30 selling for $85 at Michael's. Run away!!)

Enjoy yourself and good luck to you -- it's the best thing there is.


www.utrecht.com
www.jerrysartarama.com

Answer 2

Where to begin? Well, first, you need a motivation. Painting is all about inspiration. At least, in my eyes, I paint because I want to visually express my own twisted thoughts and ideas. More often then not, my works are all based around some story or situation I envision. Some person or being, creature or entity that I would like to see outside my imagination if only to help tell their story. It is this goal for which I paint. Some people paint merely for the goal of painting. They like the process, the general act of putting paint to canvas. It doesn't matter what they're painting, they simply like to paint. This isn't me, and I can't say it isn't you. Finally, the best and most enjoyable form of painting is painting for yourself. Entering a contest or taking on a comission is fine and good, but in the end the intrinsic motivation can overshadow the pure and simple fun behind your art, and when that happens, the fun can die very easily. You like painting? Find out a few things then. First, discern what it is about painting that you like. Second, find out what it is you like painting best. Third, practice what you like painting until you are completely satisfied with it, and go from there. Anything beyond that third step, well... maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist, but I haven't gotten that far. I wish you the best in all your artistic endevours.

Answer 3

Go to a shop and look at what it costs.......think a little...... then buy.

It all depends on the size of your wallet. Usually these art shops have 'qualified' help that can tell you what to start with. Oil, water-paint or acrylics? Canvas or try on paper first?

Usually they also have info on lessons in your neighborhood. I would advise to at least take some to get you started...not really necessary but it sure helps you over the first bumps.

Answer 4

go to the website "decorativepainters.org and find yourself an instructor in your area. An instructor will offer classes for you to take and they will help you get the supplies you need to get started. There is all kinds of painting.. oil, watercolor and acrylic. There are all kinds of painters... fine art, decorative (tole) and crafters. Figure out your style and your supplies will expand as you discover what you like and what you are going to paint. www.artistclub.com is a good source for supplies, paints and books and www.craftcatalog.com is a good source for decorative painting books. Dickblick.com is another good source for fine arts or check out your local Michaels or Hobby Lobby... chances are they may be offering a painting class too.