But you don’t need to know how to draw in order to paint. All you need is the desire to create and the discipline to practice and develop your technique. You’ll make plenty of mistakes, but that’s part of the learning process. Ultimately, the creation of art is what’s important, not the road you take to get there. Many artists recommend using acrylics if you’re new to painting because they dry quickly, mix and clean up with water, and they’re easy to paint out and hide mistakes. Acrylics can also be used on just about any surface, so you can paint on paper, canvas, or board. There are two basic types of paint: student-quality and artist-quality. Student-quality paints are cheaper and may not be as rich in hue as more expensive paints. They have less pigment and more extender or filler. That said, there’s no reason to spend the extra money on artist-quality paints when you’re just starting out. If you don’t want to mix all your colors, also get an earth brown (burnt sienna or burnt umber), a golden earth brown (golden ocher), and a green (phthalo green). Acrylic paint can be painted on paper, card, wood, or canvas, with or without a primer being used first. Watercolor can be painted on paper, card, or special watercolor canvas. A support for oil paint needs to be primed first; otherwise, the oil in the paint will eventually rot the paper or threads of the canvas. You can buy pads of paper primed for oil paper, which is perfect for doing studies or if your storage space is limited. As acrylic paints dry rapidly, you can’t squeeze out a whole row of colors on a traditional wooden palette and expect them still to be good an hour later. You’ll need to use a water-retaining palette, or only squeeze out paint as you need it. A painting takes as long as it takes. But remember, you’re not under any deadline to finish, either. Don’t rush, and be patient with yourself, especially when you’re beginning. If you took the photo, you own the rights to that image and can reproduce it. But if you took a photograph of a person or group of people, you may need their permission to reproduce their likeness in a painting (and may need to split the profits with them). But if you want to paint an image taken by someone else (a photo from a fashion magazine, for example) and then sell that painting, you would have to get permission from the person or agency that owns the rights to that image.
