Oil painting is a great way to express your personality and individuality. It’s also an excellent choice for beginners, because it’s quite forgiving and if you make a mistake, you can pretty easily fix it by painting over it or clean it with a solvent.

In order to paint well, you need talent, right? Well, talent is certainly not a bad thing, but it won’t make you a master artist. You also need know-how. You need to learn and understand the basics and work your way up. It’s a learning process that takes time and commitment. Remember, no one was ever born with the knowledge how to paint.

I think that every beginner painter should take some kind of lessons. Internet, books, DVDs – all are fine, as long as you get acquainted with the basics – composition, lighting, perspective, brushwork techniques, color theory, and so on. All this may sound a bit daunting at first, but with a step-by-step approach it’s really not that hard.

The knowledge is, of course, extremely important, but in the end practice is what will help you the most. The best way to learn it is by doing it. Practice makes perfect. So now that you have the basic know-how, all you need is the equipment and a place to work.

A place to work should be quiet, with good lighting and ventilation. As for equipment, you’ll need an easel (adjustable easel is a great thing so that you don’t strain your back), canvas, brushes (go for the quality here), oil paints, thinner, palette, and palette knife to mix the colors. Painting clothes are also recommendable, because it usually gets quite messy.

When you are starting out, you shouldn’t go overboard on the supplies. Just go for the basics and remember, you don’t have to spend a fortune. It’s OK to go for a lesser quality when you’re learning and experimenting. But do choose quality when it comes to brushes. Cheap brushes can be a huge headache.

Learning painting is definitely not as daunting as many people might think. Of course, it does take time and effort and it won’t be mastered overnight, but it’s definitely worth it.

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