Is walmart pastels and canvases good for beginners?

Question

Well, I want to start drawing with oil pastels on canvases to draw scenic portraits. For example, sunsets, moonlights, and sometimes portraits of people. I will go to an art class in September, on Saturdays only since I have sports on the week days.
http://www.aroundthecornerartcenter.com/SeptClasses.htm
Here is the link above. Scroll all the way down to the teens and adult section. And the last class that says come draw with Elaine. In the meantime, I want to play around with the pastels. Is the art class good enough? Or should I do something simpler? Well, I can't do that because I only have Saturdays off. Anyways, is walmart a good store for beginners? And what would you say is the average pricing? Any other tips, opinions, comments, etc welcome! Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Buy the best art supplies you can afford. This really is a product where you "get what you pay for". Many would-be artists are frustrated when their efforts don't meet their expectations because they're held back by using inferior materials. If you can at least afford to get medium-priced materials, you're better off with less of that than more of the kid stuff. Kids' art materials fade alarmingly over time - they are not meant to be permanent.

Also, I would NOT recommend using oil pastels on canvas - oil pastels never dry. They can be smudged by anything that touches them - for decades - so they must be framed behind glass. Use a decent quality textured paper instead, either white or coloured for some great effects.

See - you just saved some money!

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I would recommend www.misterart.com or www.Jerrysartarama.com. The thing about ordering on line, is they run sales and for most people there is not tax as the orders are out of state. They carry good art supplies and you will find the help you have for questions. I think prisma-color is a good brand for oil pastels and colored pencils. You do not need canvas as a good art tablet will be better to start out.
I like www.newcenturytv.com (click on artist) for great on line instruction you can see on your computer. It is just $6. for 5 hours a month of viewing and what is great is you can do it to your schedule. Ten minutes here and there to pick up important pointers. They also have about 30 really good art instructors for most topics. Your first 5 minutes are fee to test it out.
I would do this and your art class. If you have a local store, try Michael's or Hobby Lobby, and use walmart as a price check.
Good painting.

Answer 4

I think you have chosen a great teacher to learn from! However I would advise you to get your art supplies from the Around the Corner Art Center.

I'm not familiar with any pastels that Wal-Mart might carry, but from my experience what they do carry is lower end art supplies, more for the crafter than from an artist's prospective....

Answer 5

If you intend to learn to draw an ideal image all you need is time and Realistic Pencil Portrait Mastery guide from here https://tr.im/KIfVB to be in the proper path.
The classes from Realistic Pencil Portrait Mastery guide include 208 pages and an overall total of 605 illustrations.  The basic technique applied is that you begin with a photo, draw a gentle outline of the feature, and then shade it in.
Realistic Pencil Portrait Mastery is an ideal allied to really make the ideal draw.

Answer 6

i would start with basic drawing with graphite and work your way up.
and oil pastels won't do too well on canvas, fyi.
I persoanlly like acrylic painting on canvas, because it is fairly easy and the colors will stay bright.

good luck

Answer 7

Use your hairspray it'll be fine on acrylic as long as you don't put too much on it at a time or the acrylic could run. It'll fix the pastel.

Answer 8

absolutely.....the medium is unimportant...
I know accomplished artists that paint with tar ...and I use house paint...