So, you’ve decided to take up painting. Great! But before you can channel your inner Van Gogh, it’s important to know what tools you will need to get started on your first foray into this form of art making.
For the purposes of this blog, I will be focusing on acrylic painting. Not only do I find it significantly less complicated than say, oil painting (and therefore, perfect for anyone just starting) it is also very cost effective in terms of mediums. Instead of several, and often highly toxic, mediums and solvents, you can begin acrylic painting with little more than some (non-toxic) paint, brushes, water, and a surface for your masterpiece.
Even so, walking into an art store can be a bit daunting with so many options to choose from in terms of paint, brushes, and canvases. Below I’ve provided a quick guide to the materials you will need to get started painting right away (and make the most of the tutorials presented here). This list is in no way exhaustive, and if you do decide to continue painting, you’ll find your stock of supplies will steadily grow and change as your needs and skills evolve. But, if you’d like to get started today, here’s what you’ll need:
Choosing Paint
First things first, get yourself some paint. I purchase the majority of my art supplies from either Michaels or Blick, but any retailer will do as long as they carry the right brands.
When I began painting at the ripe age of seven, I used Liquitex brand acrylic paint almost exclusively. Even now, I have several half-used tubes laying around. They are readily available for purchase in-store and online and come in both student and professional grade. To keep it simple, I’ll be referring to Liquitex brand paints.
Keep in mind, however, the colors themselves matter more than the brand, at least in the beginning, and if you find products from Golden or Windsor Newton for example that are more in your price range, they will work just as well. The prices of paint also vary wildly depending on the actual pigment used, so look out for sales and special deals online or in-store.
To get started, you really only need a handful of colors. Essential are primary colors (red, blue, yellow) as well as black and white. Having one or two brown shades is also helpful. But many secondary colors (purple, orange, green) can be mixed and are unnecessary to purchase right away. Eventually you will find it necessary to buy specific hues to achieve certain colors that can’t be mixed from basic shades, but focus on just the essentials when getting started. Here is a list of colors I find most useful:
- Titanium White
- Ivory Black
- Ultramarine Blue
- Phthlo Blue
- Cadmium Red (Medium)
- Quinacridone Magenta
- Cadmium Yellow (Medium)
- Burnt Umber
All of these colors are available under the Liquitex “Basics” line of student-grade paints and are roughly $7.70 each. You can most definitely start with “Basics” paints to get started, but keep in mind these will be much more transparent than the soft or heavy body artist grade paints. Student-grade paint contains much more fillers than higher-grade acrylics and I personally find them pretty frustrating to use since they require many more layers (and much more paint) to achieve an opaque surface. They are however, much cheaper. If you can afford heavy body paints, it is entirely worth it and makes learning to paint a less frustrating process, but if you are still deciding how much you want to invest in painting, student-grade paint may be the way to go.
Brushes
As with paint, acrylic brushes range in quality from cheap synthetics to costly natural fiber brushes. Personally, I feel the brush quality matters less than paint quality, and you can achieve great results with low-cost brushes. That being said, I am OBSESSED with paint brushes and spend an obscene amount of time in the brush isle. A sable hair brush is a beautiful thing, but can cost upwards of $100 for a single brush (yikes). Hence why even after twenty years of painting, the most expensive brush I own is probably in the $12 range.
For just starting out, you can find sets of brushes (like this one, for example) that are very inexpensive but get the job done. They may not last incredibly long, but they are definitely usable. The most important thing is to make sure they are appropriate for acrylic painting (which will be indicated on the package). At the lower range of the spectrum, many sets will say they are good for oil or acrylic. Just be sure you do not purchase watercolor brushes. These are much less sturdy and cannot hold acrylic paint, and they will drive you crazy.
To make things easier for yourself, try to purchase a good range of brush sizes, anywhere from size 0-20. (You don’t need every size, maybe around 8-10 brushes total, or a set with a good range) Also, an inexpensive chip brush for quickly covering a large surface is very useful. The most important brush types to have early on are round brushes and flat brushes, but you may get a few others if you’re feeling fancy. Below are examples of different brush types.
Canvases
Now that you have some brushes and paints, you need something to paint on. Though you can paint on a range of surfaces, I’d stick first with a traditional canvas. These also range in quality, but starting out almost any old canvas will do. They come in a wide variety of sizes from coaster size to several feet. Starting out, I’d stick to small to mid-size, anywhere from 9” to 20.” I suggest getting a pack of some small 9” x 12” canvases to practice on, and a 16” x 20” to hammer out your first full painting. Save the paint, time, and frustration of a Pollock size canvas for when you’ve gotten a few pieces under your belt.
Other Supplies (or everything you’d want if money were no object)
So, those are the most essential items you’ll need, but there a few other things you may want at the ready before you start painting. You can buy most of these at art supply stores, but likely you will have a lot of them already at home. You’ll need:
- Something to hold water: ie.) A mason jar or even a red solo cup, whatevz
- Something to spray water: A spray bottle to spritz your paint is very useful as acrylic is quick drying and some water will keep it from drying out while you’re working
- Something to hold paint (a palette): A piece of cardboard can act as a palette, or even wax paper if you are desperate. I tend to use inexpensive palette paper which you can rip off the pad and dispose of once you’re done.
- Something to wipe paint from brushes: I use rags, but paper towels work too.
- An easel (or something to hold your painting up): I know several people who are happy to sit cross-legged on the floor and just lean their canvases against a wall, but if you would like to be a bit more comfortable, consider investing in an easel. You don’t need anything fancy and can buy a relatively inexpensive collapsible easel at art supply stores, or an even cheaper table easel. Twenty years on and I’m still using the easel my dad made me out of scrape wood for my ninth birthday (and I’d take it over a fancy easel any day)
So there you have it, everything you’ll need to get started. Now go out and paint.
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