How to begin with painting ?

[wim]

I'd like to begin with learning how to paint, but I'm not sure what I should start with. Gouache, oil paint or even aquarel maybe ?
I just want to get accustomed to using a brush before I try the real stuff, so to speak :) I'm also looking for some good books on the subject, so feel free to post your favorites...
Thanks.

[Carl Dobsky]

If you just want to get use to how a brush works, any of those media would be good to start with- even bush and ink.
But the way I see it, if there is any media that you eventually really want to be working in- well, you might as well dive into it now.
There's a book by David Leffel on oil painting that would be good to look at if you want to try oils--Sorry I can't recall the title offhand. Also Harold Speed wrote a decent one.

[DSillustration]

every good painting starts off with a great drawing.

as for mediums,
oils are very versatile (but i'm biased), and imo can imitate most other mediums.

there are a lot of good painting tutorials on this site.
here was one i made a while ago for oil paints:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45901

[loomer]

I'm also all about the oil paints. I think the book Carl is talking about is called Oil Painting Secrets from a Master. I think it's pretty good...I don't think there is one book that is going to teach you everything. Get a few. Another really informative (but pricey $$$) is Richard Shmid's Everything I know about Alla Prima (i think that's the name). I like that one too...a little more in depth. Both these guys also sell DVD's of instructional painting.

You can read all the books you can, and watch every instructional video in existence, but you really just have to dive in and get started. It's truly a medium where the better you get, the more there is to learn. That's why I love oil painting. Truth be told...I learned the majority of what I know by going to museums and staring at Rembrandt, Tieplo, Velazquez - you get the point. If theres a good museum nearby..make it your second home.
good luck

[wim]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I won't be doing much oil-painting yet though, I need all my spare time for drawing. But I was thinking : when I feel like painting, I might as well (try to) do it correctly, instead of just slapping it on the paper without knowing anything about it...

DSillustration - thanks for the link, that painting is beautiful.
I have one question about your tutorial, if I may. When you mount the board onto foam core, I suppose some kind of glue is needed, but I read somewhere that waterbased glues should be avoided. Is that true, and what would be a good alternative ?

[DSillustration]

i use "acid-free artist's tape" to tape the edges all the way around.
dont glue it.
humidity will sometimes cause the foamcore to warp, and you will never get it off.
with tape, you can easily strip it, and re-mount it again if needed.

[Phaethon]

Maybe try acrylic? Or cheap watercolor, even. The learning curve isn't as steep as for the - let's face it - more expensive mediums. That's my opinion, at least.

[CaptainInsano]

I'm no expert like DSIllustration, but I find oil painting to be the most forgiving. The paint stays relatively fresh and wet for days, depending on how much solvent was in the mix, allowing you to go back and correct things. And if you're like me and tend have to start from scratch, that's nothing a papertowel and some turpentine can't correct. Give it a good once over with a turpentine paper whip, and you got a fresh clean canvas again.

Gouche, watercolor, and arcylics are so... .permanent and unforgiving.

[waronmars]

I think what medium you use is up to personal preference, they all have their own nuances that you will learn as you paint with them. As for how to learn, pick up the brush, dip in paint, put on canvas, repeat.

[wim]

I'm looking for some cheap surface to learn painting with oils. I'd like something smooth (like Strathmore illustration board, as DSillustration mentioned in his "Moon Called"-tutorial), but that's probably rather expensive for a beginner.
Any good alternatives ?

[nofingers]

strathmore illustration board is good, the two sided stuff right, yeah, i think its 5 bucks for a 15 by 20. If you are planning to do a bunch of practice "throw-away" paintings, canvas panels might be a good choice, especially since they take up little space, and are inexpensive. Make sure to keep the paitings a good size too, painting in a small area is very frustrating for me. I think that doing a solid drawing before hand is usually a good idea. You can either draw directly on the illustration board, or Another method is to draw on good drawing paper, make a copy, the mount the copy onto the board.

acrylics - i learned with acrylics, and i think i can handle them pretty well, but a lot of people dont like the fact that they dry quickly, but I always figure that i can paint on top of it and no big deal. Clean up is relatively easy as well

oils - clean up is more of a hassle, but you can acheive some beautiful effects, and nice color depth. Drying time is quite long, and thus frustrates people, althouhg mistakes are super easy to fix

watercolors - one of my favorite mediums, and definitely the least forgiving, pretty much every stroke is there forever, unless you work it out fast.

encaustic, alkyds, tempera - ive never used them

[DavePalumbo]

here was one i made a while ago for oil paints

I never saw this before, so let me give a long overdue thumbs-up! Dos Santos foolishly giving away his secrets! Muahahahahaha! (though I know he kept the real black magic to himself)

[markwagner]

Mediums and what to use are one conversation and externally focused and important - they are technical and should be addresses in time.

I am more interested in the internal conversation and the creative spirit of the artist. I recommend grabbing anything and throwing yourself into the fire. What I have learned is that I learn from my process, I learn from my mediums by making lots of messes and mistakes. So instead of reading about how to drive a car, you get in and drive - and not just some place where you can only drive 15 mph, go out on a retired airforce base and get out on the landing strip and see what the car and you can do together - not killing yourself or wrecking - but not playing it safe. Or a big parking lot with snow on the ground.

Loud music helps, having a safe place (studio) to work, a place where it's "sacred" and yours. One of my secrets - I have a painted circle on my studio floors (safe) for over 20 years. Keep showing up in your studio, have play time where you have NO agenda and other times where you practice where you are weak - for most artists it's drawing things that are real and understanding light and form.

There are 2 books I recommend.
• Art & Fear - Bayles and Orland
• The Courage to Create - Rollo May

~M

[egerie]

markwagner , thanks for those refs. That's what I'm struggling with at the moment.

wim : The others are right, each artist has a different appreciation for each medium. I love acrylics *because* they dry fast... Which explains why I have trouble with oils :)
As for working with paints, you'll quickly learn that there is a discrepancy with mixed and dry paint. I had an interesting (but challenging) exercise when in college which the main goal was to learn our 7 contrasts. By the end of it, I realised it was also forcing us to learn how to mix our paints properly and anticipate the value/tone shift that happends with acrylics. If you’re interested in knowing more, don’t hesitate.

DSillustration : I'm glad the thread got stickified. But I wish it would be unlocked so I can rate it. It sure would profit from having a better coverage (HINT WINK NUDGE TO MODS)!

[wim]

I have a problem with my brushes, particularly the hairs. When I'm done using them, I remove the paint with white spirit and I was told (by our teacher) to clean them with soap and cold water directly after that, to keep them supple.
When dry, the hairs of my two bigger brushes (synthetic) are very hard and stiff, I can't bend them in the least (let alone paint with them). The smaller brushes don't seem to have this problem.
What am I doing wrong here ?