Whether you are an interior design expert or a home owner, you probably wish to own a piece of art. Or may be you want to start a hobby. May be you have watched a few painting tutorials on how to do a beach painting or a floral painting or even a black and white painting, and you want to buy a blank canvas and play with some oil paints and acrylic paints and complete an art project.
You have come to the right place! So let’s get started.
What are the things you need to start painting on canvas?
1. Buy a ready-to-paint canvas
Pre-primed canvas
Even though we use the phrase “Blank Canvas”, to make something sound simple, in reality, there are many different types of canvases out there. The “traditional canvas” is good for the professional artist. Professionals will have an exact size in mind, a certain grain, a particular stretch they need etc. But since you are beginner – from the nearest art and crafts shop, purchase the canvasses that are already stretched and gessoed.
These are also called “pre-primed” canvasses. You will find many different sizes, but since you are a beginner, my suggestion is to buy a canvas that you can easily handle. Therefore, buy a canvas that can be kept even on a table for you start off with. A square canvas is the easiest for beginners. If you can move it around with one hand, consider that as the perfect size.
2. Acrylic paints or Oil Paints
Set of oil paints
This is purely a personal choice, but acrylic paints are easier to handle in certain ways. Acrylics are water based, meaning that you mix it using water, and also you can clean brushes etc using water. Those who consider things such as “appreciating value” of art tend to think that oils on canvas are better than acrylics on canvas. But the good news is, that culture has changed and even the top art galleries accept acrylic art.
Oil paints are not that easy to handle as you must mix the paints with either turpentine or an oil such as Lindseed oil etc. But the thing about oils are that it is easier to apply on canvas, and it takes longer to dry. How is that a good thing? Because it takes longer, even if you make a mistake, you have time to correct it. Whereas Acrylics dry quite fast. Which means you have to learn to blend and apply colors fast. I highly recommend watching a few step by step tutorials on mixing and blending oil paints before you start your journey.
3. Variety of colors
Since you are a beginner, It is a good start to buy a box of colors, as opposed to buying the tubes or bottles individually. A box has an entire collection; warm colors, cool colors, bright colors, white and black. Even though the box may not have your exact choice of colors, you will learn to mix them to match your color scheme. So if you wish to buy acrylic paints, ask for the basic acrylic paints set. And if you wish to buy oils, you can do the same.
Always buy extra white paint and black paint. Because you will learn that these two colors can be added in small or large quantities to make colors lighter or darker. For example if you want to make a lighter shade of pink, you can mix red with lots of white paint. And if you want to be extra creative, purchase some out-of-the-box vibrant colors and dazzling metallics paint so you can have a touch of gold or pop of color in your art piece.
4. Brushes and Palette knives
Depending on the type of colors you buy, whether they are acrylic or oil, you will see the shop promoting certain “recommended brushes”. Most brushes can be used for both mediums but there are some specific brushes for oils for example. Buy a variety of sizes. Brush sizes vary from 0000 to 24 and there are many different types and styles. You don’t need to have all sizes. Until you learn painting skills, its good to buy few sizes, may be a few sizes like 2, 8, 20 etc.
Palette knives help you add texture to your art. Paints on canvas stay thick and bold when you use a palette knife. Of course, the amount of paint you need to use is more with these tools, but for example iff you want to make petals thicker (if you are drawing flowers on canvas), or show the shadows on a rock painting, a palette knife is a must have. And advanced painter will have many palette knives. For beginners on canvas, this might not be the ideal tool. However, If you wish to learn how to use a palette knife, there are many step by step tutorials on YouTube that could help you get started with the process.
5. Other accessories
You will need to purchase a white color (because it helps you see the colors clearly) or a wooden palette to mix colors. Always buy a palette that is not so heavy. Because you will be carrying this around, and it is easier to carry something that is lighter. The plastic or acrylic ones are easier to clean than the wooden palettes as paint tend to stick on wooden surface.
You will need turpentine and or an oil like Lindseed oil if you are going to use oil paint. If you buy acrylics, you will need a cup or a bowl to hold some water for mixing paint and to wash the brushes. Depending on the types of paints you use, the cleaning method will be different. You can watch a video tutorial on how to properly clean brushes and the palette after you use them.
Other things you need include wash cloths, some sponges, cotton swabs, and cotton balls, that will help you clean the areas that you may have accidentally painted. You can also use sponges to blend and apply colors.
Beginner painting ideas
Abstract painting
Sometimes you see an abstract painting (which we feel that anyone can draw) gets auctioned at Sotheby’s for millions of dollars! And you think abstract is an easy style. Even though it looks quite easy, truth be told- it isn’t. At some point, you have to plan what colors you want to use, and what kind of theme you wish to draw etc.
For example is it going to be just blocks of colors, or is an abstract flower painting, or an abstract birch tree painting? Chances are that you will end up getting confused or even agitated with your drawing if you don’t first plan, or even have idea of a theme.
There are step by step abstract painting tutorials online, they can help you come up with ideas etc. Here’s an abstract flower painting tutorial:
Other ideas for beginners
Easy, popular and simple ideas for paintings are:
- Heart painting
- Night sky
- Dot painting using cotton swabs
- Flower painting using your favorite colors
- Color blocks
- Leafy tree
- Eye
- Seascape
- Apple
- Galaxy sky
- Sky and clouds
- Rainbow
- Daisies in a vase
- Cactus
- Sun
- Moon and stars
- Heart shape with glitter
- 3D Project – 3D cube
- Mermaid
- Under the sea
- Fish
- Simple bird
- Waterfall
- star
- Cherry blossom trees
- Birch tree
- Acrylic pour painting
- Art using stencils
- Ladybug
- Feather
- Word art
- Tulips
- Sunflower
- Cupcake
- Cherry
- Shadows
- 2D art
- Seashells
- Candle
Once you complete 2-3 paintings, you will get familiar how to mix colors, how to hold brushes, how to blend and also know things like how long it takes for paint to dry etc.
Intermediate level:
- Sunset paintings
- Geometrical shapes
- Abstract flowers painting
- Autumn trees
- Abstract painting of city scape
- Abstract painting of sea
- Poster style art
- Books
Pro- level
- Abstract butterfly painting
- Animal painting
- People
- Realistic paintings
- hyper-realistic art
- Still life
- Boat
- Ship
- Horse
- Cars and vehicles
- Actual places – landscapes
- Human movements
- Botanic drawings
The reason why we listed a few intermediate and pro-level is to give you an idea of what is considered easy and what is considered a little bit more advanced.
All these themes have been tried and tested by many. You can find many step by step tutorials for all the themes above. Also don’t be shy to add your personal touch to your painting. Whether it’s adding a touch of gold to your painting or using a splash of colors, you must learn to experiment with colors, brushes and strokes. Have the patience and the time to enjoy it so that it will not cause stress, but will be a fun project.
It is also recommended to keep a reference photo with you. You can either print and keep it next to you or have it on a screen. If you have it printed, it is easier to bring it closer to the actual canvas so you can easily match the colors right.
Once you complete your art project, keep your art piece away from dust because when the painting surface is wet, it is sticky. And it is difficult to remove them when the surface is wet as it might pull the colors out of the canvas. You can also purchase certain varnishes and sprays to protect your painting.
