how to start a painting: Use five easy steps to start any art painting

Q: What Do We Paint On?

Painting supports depend on the medium. Oil and acrylic are normally painted on canvas or panels. Stretched canvas is preferred, but students save money by painting on canvas boards. Prepared hardboards such as Gessobord have a smooth surface which is great for doing detailed paintings and portraits. Watercolor most often is painted on paper that has been treated to keep the colors and water from sinking into the paper. It may also be painted on canvas made especially for watercolor. My favorite is Aquabord , an archival hardboard.

Q: What Brushes Do We Use?

Use large brushes to start a painting , so we don't get bogged down in painting details. Save the small brushes for small areas and details later. Brushes are usually flat or round. Flat brushes cover more area, make straight lines and edges. Round brushes depending on the size are used for large or detail areas.

Learn how to start a painting with the steps to get ready for the actual process of painting.

Painting adds joy and accomplishment to our lives. Regardless of our background or skill level, we all can all experience the joy of creating art.

You can confidently use these steps to start painting the tutorials or your own beautiful creations.

Get started painting!

how to start a painting

Let this introductory guide help you with the steps to start a painting.

#1 Set a Time and Place

#2 Select Your Subject

#3 Get Your Materials Ready

#4 Choose Your Colors

#5 How to Start

Bonus: Painting a Landscape or a Close-up Painting.

#1 set the time and place

Set aside time to paint. Painters progress rapidly when they paint regularly.

Have a special place for painting.

If it's possible, have an area where you can leave your paintings things out. You'll be more likely to paint often when you have your own special painting space.

#2 select your subject

Start painting what you are familiar with.

Paint what you love.

What are you going to paint?

A good place to start painting is to paint something you see around you. We are familiar with our surroundings.

The best bet is to paint from life or use your own photos.

We do a better job of painting the things we know. You may have photos you took on your vacation, a photo of your pets or flowers, etc.

Photos from a postcard, calendar or a magazine are under copyright laws.

Do not paint them without giving credit to the photographer. Artist's paintings are also copyrighted.

We may go on line and find free images that have no copyright restrictions.

#3 get your materials ready

It's a good idea to keep a stock of supplies, so we can paint anytime.

Begin with the minimum of supplies; paint, palette, a few brushes and a surface to paint on. Try them out and then discover your preferences.

Get your paint and supplies ready to stat a painting.

Get you paint and brushes.

What Paint Will You Use?

Artist paints cost more, but they actually save money in the long-run. They cover better, so it takes less paint to get good, vibrant colors.

Student paints are less expensive because they have fewer color pigments. Winsor and Newton 'Cotman' student paints in all the mediums have more pigment that gives good color.

What Are the Popular Art Paints?

There are 3 different popular paints. They each have different qualities.

Acrylics are quick drying.
Oils offer a rich texture with longer drying times, ideal for blending and detailed color work.
Watercolors, known for their transparency, allow for intricate washes and subtle gradations.

Consider which medium aligns with your goals and interests. Each paint type has its own unique qualities, enabling you to develop a wide array of styles and techniques.

Find more details on selecting a medium.

What Do We Paint On?

Painting supports depend on the medium.

Oil and acrylic are normally painted on canvas or panels.

Stretched canvas is preferred, but students save money by painting on canvas boards.

Prepared hardboards such as Gessobord have a smooth surface which is great for doing detailed paintings and portraits.

Watercolor most often is painted on paper that has been treated to keep the colors and water from sinking into the paper.

It may also be painted on canvas made especially for watercolor. My favorite is Aquabord, an archival hardboard.

What Brushes Do We Use?

Use large brushes to start a painting, so we don't get bogged down in painting details. Save the small brushes for small areas and details later.

Brushes are usually flat or round.

Flat brushes cover more area, make straight lines and edges. Round brushes depending on the size are used for large or detail areas.

Do We Need a Palette?

A palette gives us a place to mix our colors. We may use fancy palettes.

To start out we can just use a Styrofoam plate, an old kitchen plate or a disposable paper palette.

Don't spend a lot of money on supplies to start painting. Just get the bare minimum and concentrate more on learning how to use the paint.

More recommendations to start painting on a budget.

what size will your painting be?

Small paintings are quick!

When you are thinking about how to start a painting, decide how much time you are going to spend painting.

Small paintings are a good choice when your time is limited.

Painting smaller will still give us the satisfaction of a completed painting.

Large paintings will often take several sessions before the painting is complete, sometimes even weeks or months, depending on our time restraints.

Small things like hummingbirds or butterflies normally go into a small format.

Landscape, cityscape, and seascape paintings usually are painted larger.

#4 choose your colors

Color schemes create harmony.

It's a good idea to not use all the colors from our paint box in one painting.

A painting with too many colors is disconcerting. The viewer's eye doesn't know where to go.

There are so many beautiful colors, but two to five colors will create a harmonious painting.

Select a painting color scheme that will give cohesiveness and punch to your paintings.

Many additional colors can be mixed from the selected two to five colors.

The hummingbird painting was done with only four colors.

#5 how to start a painting

The best way how to start a painting is with a few sketches of the large shapes and values. The painting goes much smoother, when they are planned out ahead of time.

Do small sketches about the size of a postcard. Sketch the light and dark masses of the painting and how they will be arranged.

Pay close attention to the values and their shape. Values can create stunning paintings.

If your painting includes a lot of detail, draw the subject to scale.

drawings for oil paintings

The drawing for this oil painting was sketched directly on the canvas.

This drawing was done on the canvas.

Paint an outline of the composition on the canvas.

Do the outline with thinned yellow paint.

If you don't like a line, rub it out with a rag or a paper towel and paint it again.

Pale yellow lines are easy to paint over. The yellow will not show in the final painting.

If there will be a lot of detail in the painting, do a detail drawing on paper first. Then transfer the drawing to the canvas.

Do not use carbon paper to transfer drawings. Graphite paper is best.

drawings for watercolor

This drawing was done on paper first.

Do watercolor drawings on a separate piece of paper.

Transfer the drawing to your painting surface with graphite paper.

If you are good at drawing, you may lightly sketch the drawing directly on the watercolor painting surface.

Do the drawing without erasures, so you don't damage the watercolor surface.

Use a graphite pencil. A hard pencil is better to use, so there will not be extra graphite to show thru in the finished painting.

how to start a landscape painting

The logical of how to paint a landscape is to paint things behind or underneath first.

Paint from the background to the foreground.

Look at the painting below and imagine yourself painting it in the order of the numbers.

1. Paint the background things like the sky, distant hills or water. In this painting the sky was painted first.

2. Come forward and paint the middle ground items, the distant foliage. It is closer, so it overlaps the background sky.

3. Next, the water was painted before the buildings, boat and bushes because they rise up out of the water.

Paint from the background to closer things.

4. Then the buildings were painted. Note how the buildings overlap the foliage of step #2.

5. The boat and its reflection are painted on and into the water.

6. Paint the foreground foliage on the sides of the painting. They overlap the water.

7. Finish the details and make any corrections. The water and the foreground bushes were highlighted. The grasses were darkened at the base to indicate shadows.

Painting from back to front is a good way to start painting landscapes.

After we are more familiar with painting, we may approach each painting differently. For example, the sky may be the last thing to be painted.

It's up to the artist and each individual painting.

how to start painting close-up subjects

How do we paint closeup things like butterflies and people?

Paint the subject first. Then paint the background around the main subject.

When painting a portrait, I like to paint the subject first.

The butterfly was painted first.

Painting the background around the subject.

Then the background was painted.

This is my preferred method of painting a close-up subject. When the subject has been painted, then it's easier to see how to use values and color to contrast and highlight the subject.

Many artists do it the other way around. And, sometimes I do paint the background first and the subject second.

Either way is correct. It is just a matter of personal preference.

how to start a painting with 5 easy steps

Pick and time and place
Select your subject
Get the materials ready
Draw your subject
Select your color scheme

Enjoy painting with good light and ventilation in your home art studio.

get started painting - it's fun!

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