Painting: A New Hobby

Painting: A New Hobby

In today’s world of hustle and bustle, it’s important to find an outlet to help you cope with the mounting stress of everyday obligations. Acquiring a new hobby, amongst its other benefits, will help you do just that.

Considering a new pastime or a hobby to keep your mind in tune? Painting could be an ideal option for an escape from a stress filled life. Don’t let the fact that you never held a brush in your life deflect your from painting. Bear in mind that even the already accomplished artists had to learn at some point.

This guide will help you get started.

What Type of Paint to Use

Watercolors, pastel, acrylic, oils or water-mixable oils are the types of paint that are most commonly used. None is better or significantly easier to master than the other. Which one you should use will ultimately depend on your personality, how patient you’ll be waiting for the paint to dry or whether you have any allergies.

We suggest that you start with acrylics because they can be used on just about any surface, like paper, canvas, or board. Acrylics also dry quickly, mix and clean up with water, and it’s easy to paint out and hide mistakes.

Thick layers of paint can create a beautiful 3D effect, and because they can be dissolved in water, it’s easy to wipe it off surfaces and wash it out of clothing.

Which Types of Brushes to Get

Pay attention to two things when choosing a brush:

  • the shape of the bristles – round (with a pointed cylindrical tip), flat, and filbert (like a flat brush that comes to a point)
  • the material of the bristles – sable (mink), synthetic, synthetic mix, hog, or squirrel hair.

Synthetic or synthetic mix with a flat tip is the best for acrylic painting. Also bear in mind to be meticulous when cleaning your brushes because if the acrylic paint dries in a brush, it can be a real hassle to clean out.

What Other Supplies do You Need

As far as the other supplies, you will need a pallet, containers full of water (two is good – one for washing your brush and getting the color out and the other for wetting your paints), a rag and an old shirt or apron to wear.

Now that you have all the necessities, it’s time to start painting!

How to Start?

Start by drawing an outline of the object. Try to view the object as a culmination of several shapes put together. It’s always best to work from the back to the front. This will help you layer the objects.

Because you’re working on a flat surface, you need to create depth, overlap shapes and make things further away smaller while things close to the viewer should be larger so as to give an illusion of distance.

To make a painting look touchable, you need to create texture by using different brush on the canvas. Short, quick brush strokes will add fur-like texture while long, flowing brush strokes will make things look softer and longer.

What is Your Goal

Deciding what types of paintings you want to create may be the tricky part. First, start off with painting a bowl of fruit or a stack of books and soon enough you’ll be able to paint more elaborate objects such as pet portraits or capture a sunrise moment. In no time, you’ll find your own style and trademark.

With painting, not only will you gain a new sense of purpose and escape into a calm world of colors but you will also get a chance share your masterpieces with your loved ones as it can be a perfect birthday or Christmas present.