i am keen to learn to paint.what should i start off with first..water colour or oil paints?

Answer 1

Different people feel comfortable with different mediums, so try a cheapie set of any of the (watercolor, acrylic or oils) and see which you like best. They all have significant characteristics. Oils need a lot more materials, turpentine, etc and the thicker they are the longer they take to dry. The different functions can be one of the advantages of them too, depending on how you work. Acrylics are cheaper and dry faster but can be worked a little like oils, just you have to work fast and they are more plastic. If you want to try ALL mediums, I suggest trying watercolors first. Once you learn to paint in oils it is commonly difficult to work with the lighter, thinner paint and techniques of watercolor. (i had this trouble myself!)

Have fun experimenting!

Answer 2

You have already recieved some good advice. Every artist has their own way of doing things. As for being a beginner, you just have to play with it. As many have said, oil takes a long time to dry. I left a pallet full of fresh, unmixed oil paint on Thursday, and when I returned today, Wednesday, it was all still very workable. !!!However, my painting was dry as a bone. Of course I only blocked in my shapes and still need to go into it and bring in the finishing details. One of my favorite mediums after Turp, is Japan drier. You can buy it reletivity cheap at a good home improvement store like Home Depot. Liquin is another good quality medium to speed up your drying time, and will give your painting a rich look. Working with oils is often a process of much layering and many glazes. Everyone usually developes their own style. After much practice. That's what art is all about. Practice practice and more practice. Before I begin an important painting in oil, I usually get into shape by painting a master study. What ever you do, don't fret, and don't let yourself get too discouraged, each painting you do you will become better and better. The best of luck with it, and to you. L.White

Answer 3

I would not start with watercolor even though watercolor material is cheaper and easy to set up and clean up. The reason is that it is difficult medium to control and manipulate for a beginner.

As many others have said, I would also suggest acrylic but oil comes pretty close.

Acrylic is cheaper and you need only water and no need for turpentine. The problem with turpentine is not only buying the material but also using the right containers and also worrying about spills etc.

Oil, on the other hand, allows you plenty of time to manipulate the paints. For example: after you put the paint on canvas/paper, you decide that a little bit more of this paint or that is needed, you could add and manipulate.

You can buy a canvas paper that you can use for practising acrylic or oil and so don't have to waste too much canvas

Buy good material but not the most expensive. I would suggest staying away from the under $10 paint packs that are sold in places like Michaels. The problem with these cheap multi-pack is that the lids to the tubes don't close after 1 or 2 use or the top of the paint break off. The paint tube becomes useless after that.

Happy Painting!

Answer 4

line drawings, pencil sketching colouring and then only comes painting.

if you know something with all the others, go ahead with water colours first. then go for oil paints.

Answer 5

The first rule in any painting is to have a strong foundation on the canvas, or paper. That means your draughtsmanship had better be educated to some degree.
Oils are expensive but are more forgiving than watercolours.
The number one rule in watercolours is this "THE FIRST FIVE HUNDRED? THEY DON'T COUNT".
It is a way of telling the student just how difficult the medium really is! It is simple, and it looks easy but I can tell you from experience that it is a very difficult medium to master.
Not that you can't do it if you want, just know that the frustration level could be very high for you if you are a perfectionist, or you're looking to do quality watercolours.
All the best to you.

Answer 6

I'd start with acrylics. They are more "user friendly" than oils. Watercolor painting is an ENTIRELY different method of painting than oils or acrylic, so unless you plan on sticking with watercolor as your medium of choice, I wouldn't even try them.

Go to www.yarnellart.com and buy a couple of videos or DVDs from the artist Jerry Yarnell. He paints primarily in acrylics and is a wonderfully gifted artist and teacher. Many people I know have learned boatloads of technique from him.

Best of luck.

Answer 7

I would grab whatever is nearest and just start throwing it around have fun do a painting ten times before you say I can't..... and acrylics are good because you can always paint over what you may not like until you do like it .... most of all paint something that you love and have fun!!!!!

Answer 8

water colors
they are easier to paint , cheaper , less messy , washable ,
and the materials needed are also few and cheap. (water,paper and brushes)
oil paints need turpentine and cannot get washed off .

Answer 9

I'd go with acrylic. Oils are expensive (well, they are all expensive) and I found them more difficult to blend or highlight. Watercolours are kind of difficult, too. Acrylics don't run badly, unless you want, clean up with soap and water (turpentine with oils), the brushes are less expensive. Starting off I think easier it is to 'draw' with acrylics. With oils you'll need canvas and stretchers, acrylic and watercolour you can use paper.

Answer 10

You are getting a lot of good advice, but if you know anyone with supplies, try whatever you can before you decide. As others have pointed out watercolour is very different. If you are painting in oil or acrylic and you need to add a highlight or just something in white, you paint over what you have. In watercolour you use the white of the paper only. In other words you almost do the painting in reverse, making sure you have your light colours and white. Don't go too cheap with the supplies. There is a quality of paint that is reasonable, but only buy the minimum number of colours. For example: alizarin crimson, new gamboge, ultra marine blue and burn sienna. You can make most colours from these but you may want a green or purple. Don't buy Cadmium colours to start because they act differently on the paper. There are synthetic brushes that are a good quality for a beginner, but don't go with the cheapest paper. "Arches" paper in a light weight is good for starting. You will never be able to experiment with wet in wet if you buy cheap paper. Whatever you choose, have fun with it and don't be overly critical of your first work.