Learning to paint on your own can be frustrating if you don’t have the right help and guidance. Even professional artists started with no clue how to paint, and if they mastered it, you can too! Here’s everything you need to get started!
Step 1) Start with Acrylics
Firstly, beginners are always better off learning to paint with acrylics. Not just because they’re cheaper to buy than others, but they dry quicker, and you’re far less likely to smudge your painting as you learn new techniques.
Step 2) Try Paint by Numbers Kits
If you haven’t already, dabble with a paint by number kit and focus on having fun while you learn how to paint. With numbered sections and the right amount of acrylic paint, all you have to do is follow the step-by-step guide and find the matching numbered paint for each bit. You’ll pick up some new expert techniques as you go, and your end piece should look just like the reference picture included in the kit!
Step 3) Buy Basic Painting Tools
Next, try not to over-complicate your painting equipment. Just go for the essentials and take yourself back to basics! No matter what you read on the internet, beginners only need simple tools to start with – you’re only learning, so there’s no need to pressure yourself. Most craft stores sell beginner painting kits that come with everything you need to learn how to paint.
Better yet, they usually come with a beginner price tag too. There’s no point spending hundreds of dollars on painting equipment yet, as you may decide it’s not something you’d like to keep doing.
Step 4) Practice Makes Perfect
As a wise fellow once said, practice always makes perfect. The more time you invest in something, the better you will become at that thing. It works the same with everything in life, especially with painting. Having the patience to practice and then practice some more is key, even if you mess up and have to start over! You just have to keep pushing through and, more importantly, enjoy practicing how to paint. The more you enjoy it, the more you’ll want to put effort into making it perfect!
Step 5) Have Faith!
Lastly, have faith in yourself and trust that you’ll get there. As a beginner, it’s easy to think that a small mistake will ruin everything and that there’s no point in pushing through. You can’t help but think you’ll only make the same mistake twice. We’ve all been there! But, it doesn’t matter if you mess up once, twice, or even three times, as you’re only learning. And it helps to have faith in yourself and trust that, after many attempts, you’ll get it right. And when you do, you’ll feel proud of yourself.
Remember, even professional artists make mistakes. They hide them well, and some even go on to embrace mistakes by making them part of their masterpiece. For example, Banksy planned to destroy one of his paintings by installing a shredder to the bottom of its frame. He quickly decided this was a horrible mistake after seeing the beauty in his work.
But, this only added more uniqueness to his work and the painting later sold for $25.4 million. This was $24 million more than the original selling price! The point is, sometimes mistakes can lead us to greater things. You never know what your future holds.
