I'm not really sure I have anything to add other than moral support and a curiosity towards the answers others might provide as well. I recently started to paint at a friend's party and it was a huge amount of fun... would love to do more of, if I also knew what I was doing.
Practice, patience and ambition. I'm almost in the same boat as you right now but with something else. I decided I want to write a book. I've never done something like this before, but I'm going for it. So I say just paint away and see where it takes you. There's plenty of common painting theory videos on YouTube for begginers which should help you a lot to learn the basics.
to answer your paint question. Liquiltex is a good affordable acrylic paint that you can get in a pack of 5 with yellow, red, blue, white and black. Would have to mix your own colors or you could spend more on and buy all the secondary colors etc.
I say just for for it, man!... and that rockyyaknow said, haha.
I would start with one type of paint and some cheap canvasses from the Dollar Store. 'Round hurr we can buy cheapy little white canvasses in various sizes from various "dollar" stores. You can also get relatively cheap ones at Wal-Mart.
Once you start putting the paint to the canvas you'll figure it out. And it'll be slow. Are you good at drawing? That's a good start.
Also, like others have said, The Joy of Painting was awesome.
I have no idea if it actually helps with painting, but the show is amazing.
The paint makes a huge difference. Cheap paints don't mix well and the pigments are incredibly weak. You also want a buttery texture not watery. The following are great in order from cheapest to most expensive.
Liquitex basics
Grumbacher
Windsor and newton
Liquitex
Golden
And brushes. If you have cheap brushes your paint will spread horribly.
I paint abstract a lot. I will post some of my stuff but I am just an amateur really. The good thing with abstract is that it is extremely forgiving. http://lionheart8190.deviantart.com/gallery/
I'm not a painter but just mucking around with my daughter I feel I understand it a little better than I did as a kid. As a kid I would basically try and use the brush like a pencil; draw with paint essentially. Kind of like... the blue goes here and the red goes here. I now understand that it's more like layers, and that you are often painting on top of what you did before.
I would honestly suggest getting some coloured construction paper, a child's watercolour paint set, and start with that. I did paintings of cartoon characters or stuffed animals for my daughter. The point is, if I was doing a pink and white penguin on coloured paper, I got the best results when I did a thin coat of white in the silhouette of the animal, then painted the pink parts on top of the white, filled in more white on the white parts like the belly, and then painted the black parts like the eyes on top of that. Layers.
I know it probably sounds silly but the point is to get you thinking in layers and applying paint on top of paint at a really rudimentary level so that you can grasp what you're doing
You definitely need to be thinking in layers. Fortunately for abstract art, like i said, it is much more forgiving. You don't even really need to have a set design in your head.
You can have a general idea and just put brush to canvas and see where it takes you.
If you were doing incredibly detailed paintings, then yes you have to have a set plan and attack the painting strategically. But not with abstract.
Learn your color wheel. Accent colors, opposites, blending etc.
Learn basic brush strokes and get comfortable holding the brush.
Learn what each brush is used for. IE Bright, filbert, flat, round etc. They all have a set purpose and are imperative for getting correct lines for your vision.
Another brush tip, try both long and short brushes and see which you prefer. I prefer the long brushes as i paint on a standing easel and the long brushes give you me a comfortable flow in my stroke.
also, you're going abstract? I'd recommend reading up a little history to get a feel for what the style really is. I believe I still have my art history textbook in pdf form somewhere if you're interested
I definitely agree that you need a good set of brushes. Get at least one brush that is like 3-4" wide (for big areas). Get 4-5 other sizes of brush, and I like to cut my own detail brush from a stiff bristled small brush...cut with scissors to make a sharp point.
I always have a large (Big Gulp) cup of water, and stick brushes in that after I use them, and a stack of napkins or paper towels, to wipe brushes clean as you go.
Comments
I sucked at painting/colours all I can remember from class is one always starts with the background and work forward, and pastels taste like shit.
This was the first thing that came to mind
The Joy of Painting was pretty much my only advice as well.
to answer your paint question. Liquiltex is a good affordable acrylic paint that you can get in a pack of 5 with yellow, red, blue, white and black. Would have to mix your own colors or you could spend more on and buy all the secondary colors etc.
That's how I feel about my above comment. I am reasonably talented in music and art so I figured I should be able to write something decent.
I would start with one type of paint and some cheap canvasses from the Dollar Store. 'Round hurr we can buy cheapy little white canvasses in various sizes from various "dollar" stores. You can also get relatively cheap ones at Wal-Mart.
Once you start putting the paint to the canvas you'll figure it out. And it'll be slow. Are you good at drawing? That's a good start.
Also, like others have said, The Joy of Painting was awesome.
I have no idea if it actually helps with painting, but the show is amazing.
Have fun!
Liquitex basics
Grumbacher
Windsor and newton
Liquitex
Golden
And brushes. If you have cheap brushes your paint will spread horribly.
I paint abstract a lot. I will post some of my stuff but I am just an amateur really. The good thing with abstract is that it is extremely forgiving.
http://lionheart8190.deviantart.com/gallery/
This was the first thing that came to mind
beat me to it
This was the first thing that came to mind
The Joy of Painting was pretty much my only advice as well.
Yes. If anything is going to get you pumped for painting it'll be Bob Ross. Makes that shit look easy.
I would honestly suggest getting some coloured construction paper, a child's watercolour paint set, and start with that. I did paintings of cartoon characters or stuffed animals for my daughter. The point is, if I was doing a pink and white penguin on coloured paper, I got the best results when I did a thin coat of white in the silhouette of the animal, then painted the pink parts on top of the white, filled in more white on the white parts like the belly, and then painted the black parts like the eyes on top of that. Layers.
I know it probably sounds silly but the point is to get you thinking in layers and applying paint on top of paint at a really rudimentary level so that you can grasp what you're doing
You definitely need to be thinking in layers. Fortunately for abstract art, like i said, it is much more forgiving. You don't even really need to have a set design in your head.
You can have a general idea and just put brush to canvas and see where it takes you.
If you were doing incredibly detailed paintings, then yes you have to have a set plan and attack the painting strategically. But not with abstract.
Learn your color wheel. Accent colors, opposites, blending etc.
Learn basic brush strokes and get comfortable holding the brush.
Learn what each brush is used for. IE Bright, filbert, flat, round etc. They all have a set purpose and are imperative for getting correct lines for your vision.
Another brush tip, try both long and short brushes and see which you prefer. I prefer the long brushes as i paint on a standing easel and the long brushes give you me a comfortable flow in my stroke.
I wish you luck man.
I definitely agree that you need a good set of brushes. Get at least one brush that is like 3-4" wide (for big areas). Get 4-5 other sizes of brush, and I like to cut my own detail brush from a stiff bristled small brush...cut with scissors to make a sharp point.
I always have a large (Big Gulp) cup of water, and stick brushes in that after I use them, and a stack of napkins or paper towels, to wipe brushes clean as you go.
Have fun!
Hurm.
Hurm.
I was waiting for someone to quote that