Are you dying to learn to paint but wondering what you need?

There’s no need to worry, Absolute beginners Don’t need a lot to begin.
We’ll look at the bare essentials that will launch you on your journey as an artist and see how you can add to your art materials as you progress.
It’s easy to find yourself putting things off because you don’t know what to buy first and don’t want to make a mistake or waste your hard-earned money. I’ve done it myself!
I needed to make my bag super-light to go on a plane without hold luggage but I wanted to take some color art materials with me. I thought of water color pencils, but had never used them before. I worried that I would choose the wrong colors and kept putting it off. In the end I simply bought a few, tried them out and added some more color once I understood how they work and what could be done using them.
The biggest mistake you can make is to hold back!
And don’t be afraid to try things out – discover your preferences.
The main thing is to get started and paint. Keep painting and you will learn and grow. No amount of reading and watching is a substitute for hands-on experience. By all means do that too, but if you take lessons in any form, be sure to follow along and DO what you see or read. While you’re at it, break the rules and experiment. Whatever mess you make is still a valuable learning experience.
If the lack of a simple shopping list is preventing you from getting going with painting, read the notes below and refer to the checklist at the end. You will be able to follow my [link to the category coming] acrylic painting for beginners step by step instructions as soon as you have just a few art materials so do come back whenever you are ready to get started painting.
Although we are focusing mainly on acrylics here, these colour recommendations apply equally to watercolours and oils.
When using oil paints, you will need the appropriate thinners and painting mediums, rather than water.
Now let’s see what you need.
Skip to content