Painting for Beginners - First Steps and Tips

Posted by faessi1 on June 15th, 2019

Painting pictures can have its pitfalls. But if you find the beginning, the process runs by itself. In order for you to find this introduction, we have created an information portal for all art enthusiasts and prospective artists on the subject of learning to paint. We want to give you the most important tips right at the beginning:

• Not too top-heavy: Learning to paint is an intuitive thing. Just paint straight on.
• Always start again from the beginning: Don't bite into a picture, but start a new work if you can't get any further. By studying the works you have already created, you will be able to see more quickly what you are satisfied with and what you can improve.
• As simple as possible: When you start learning to paint, don't worry too much about technical subtleties, but clear your head to be able to be creative carefree.
• Be modest: Your first painting will not be a masterpiece. This should also not be the goal for your introduction to painting. Painting for beginners also means getting better and better with small steps.
• Learn to paint step by step: Start with simple motifs and learn the basic techniques. Only then do you dare to tackle more complicated and challenging subjects. Painting is also a craft, and this must be learned.

Find more information about painting on malen-lernen.org

Simple painting techniques for beginners

Draw

• Drawing is the basis for many painting techniques.
• Getting started is relatively easy and motivating
• With pencil and crayons you can already create great works of art
• You can use the drawing perfectly in the Mixed Media area
   

Acrylic painting

The acrylic painting is meanwhile very widespread. And for good reason. With acrylic paints you can paint almost everything: Transparent paint applications as with watercolour painting, as well as thick layers of filler as with the Impasto. Acrylic paints can easily be diluted with water. These dry up waterproof and with the right primer you can paint with acrylic paints on almost any surface.

The fast drying time can also be a disadvantage. While you have a lot of time when painting with oil paints, you have to take the time factor into account when painting with acrylic paints.

In contrast to oil painting, acrylic paints are much more colourful and luminous. Among other things, they are very suitable for abstract and striking figurative motifs. If you want to paint with realistic colour tones and fine colour transitions, oil painting is more suitable.

Oil painting

Oil painting is a traditional painting technique. It is regarded as the supreme discipline in painting. Working with oil paint is rather a difficult subject - it smells a bit severe, leaves stains and is greasy. In addition, drying oil paintings takes a long time. In contrast to acrylic painting, the difficulty lies in the overpaintability of the colours. The basic technique in oil painting is relatively easy to learn, but if you really want to master oil painting, you need a lot of time and patience.

Watercolour painting

As the name suggests, water is an essential component. Watercolour painting could also be described as painting with colours with the aid of water. Most gum arabic is used as a binding agent in addition to the colour pigments. This is water-soluble and almost transparent. This simple formula helps the watercolor paintings to high color brilliance and luminosity. In addition to the short drying time of the applied watercolor, watercolor painting is also relatively easy to learn and therefore ideal for the entry into the addiction to painting.

Pastel painting

Pastel painting combines aspects of painting with those of drawing. Either pure pigments, pastel chalks or pastel crayons are used. In pastel painting, hand-made paper is often used as the medium. It is important that the base is rough so that the pigments can adhere to the surface.

Apply pastel chalk to the painting surface and then blur it with your fingers or a paper wiper, also known as a torchon. The great thing about pastel colours is that you can mix them very well on the paper to achieve soft colour transitions. Pastel pictures are relatively touch-sensitive and should be hung behind glass.

Painting with pastel is also very suitable for beginners, especially in realistic painting this technique is very popular.