Learning to paint without going to art school and without previous experience can feel daunting. If you have a desire to learn how to paint and are looking for some general ideas about how to start, then you have come to the right place. This article covers five resources to help you begin your journey as a self-taught artist and to start thinking about the best practices as a self-taught painter.
DRAWING
Sketching a painting before getting started is essential if you want your painting to have symmetry and clarity, especially if you’re new to painting. It’s not the best idea to jump into a new painting without seeing where different elements will go or where to block certain colors. So, doing a 30-day drawing challenge to work on warm-ups and shapes, or sketching during the day, can help you become more comfortable with drawing if you’re a beginner. Having a steady drawing practice alongside your painting practice will help you develop important skills and basics that you will use often in the painting process.
RESOURCES
I think one of the best beginner resources for painting is those step-by-step tutorial books you can craft stores. They may not be in your preferred painting style or use the colors you prefer, but I’ve found them surprisingly easy to follow. Having the directions in writing and visually right in front of you makes it easy to see how and why you should do things in a certain way and in a certain order. As a beginner, these books can do a lot to help you understand blocking colors, creating values, or the basics of a specific style you want to learn.
YouTube is also great for painting resources. You can find endless tips and tutorials for different experience levels, different types of paintings like landscapes or portraits, and really specific studies to build a strong foundation. Don’t go crazy buying books on painting. Simply start with one or two books and/or one playlist on YouTube that focuses on one topic. Work through the painting resources you have gathered, and then move on to the next subject when you feel comfortable with your progress.
BEING BAD AT THINGS
You are going to make a lot of crappy paintings. It happens. You might get one really great painting out of like 8, and that is fine. Keep the good one around to remind yourself of what you’re capable of. You can even paint over the bad ones, or just hold onto them. You may look back at them one day and find that they’re not as bad as you initially thought. Being bad at things and struggling is just part of life, but if you keep working, you’ll find that progress starts to come easier.
Each time you challenge yourself to stick to what you’ve started, remind yourself of that big goal, and remember the reason why you started painting. It will make the bad days easier to stomach and the good days far more fun. Take a moment to feel proud of the effort you’ve put in so far and keep pushing forward one step at a time.
MAKING A ROUTINE
Making a routine is so important for sticking to any new hobby. For paining I made Fridays my obligatory “STUDIO DAY”. It doesn’t matter when I paint, I just need to take some time out of my day, get into a studio headspace, or an art class headspace, or a wine and sip headspace, and just get started. However, even with a routine, some days it is hard to sit down and paint. There are periods when I will take time away from my painting practice, like when I’m working a lot or if university is taking up my time. It’s best to do what you ought to do and come back to painting when the time is right.
BUT remember to stay inspired! On your “studio day” (if you want to call it that), take a quick look through your previous paintings, scroll on Pinterest for tutorials for when you’re ready to get back into it, or take yourself on a museum date to reinvigorate your motivation.
Have a routine, stick to it as best as you can, and try not to beat yourself up when you miss a painting day. If you get to a point where it’s been a month, or two months, or more, where you haven’t painted, try to just start again. Sit down and paint something you’ve already painted before; this will help to shake those cobwebs off and remind your inner artist what it feels like to be in that lovely space of painting and musing again.
STUDIES
Working on small parts of the painting process can be rewarding, and sometimes, I think it is a bit more fun than doing an entire painting. For example, if you want to learn about ocean scapes, it is important to break that down into smaller pieces. Take a day just to practice painting waves, then the beach, then rocks. Or if you want to paint cloudy skies, start learning about gradients, then clouds, then other parts like birds, moons, suns, or stars. If you want to paint portraits, learn to just paint an eye, then a mouth, then a nose, before painting an entire portrait. Little studies brought together allow you to isolate important parts of the painting process and hone those elements before bringing them together to create a bigger piece.
An important place to start when you initially decide you want to learn to paint is deciding what you want to paint. You’ll likely start your painting journey with multiple interests in mind, and eventually narrow those interests down to two or three things you enjoy painting the most. Make a list of what you want to learn, break up the different elements of those subjects, and just start small.
Recap
Let’s review. To begin your journey as a painter, first work on drawing. This is an important part of the painting process that will help you with clarity. Next, find resources that work for you, whether those are books, YouTube videos, or TikToks. It’s always good to have a guide through the process. Then, be prepared to fail and to succeed. You’re going to make a lot of bad paintings and a few really great ones. Enjoy those great ones. As for the bad ones, enjoy the time you spent working on something you love and acknowledge the effort you are putting forward.
Next, make a solid routine. Have your painting days set, and when you inevitably skip, don’t let that painting day become nonexistent. Keep reminding yourself, even on days when you don’t paint, that this is the day you paint. Last, decide what you want to paint and start working on those studies. Small pieces brought together make for really beautiful art, and often those smaller, focused pieces come out really well and are a joy to work on. I hope you enjoyed this article, and we’ll see you in the next one!
Explore more art resources here, or if you’re interested in landscape painting, check out this post on Landscape Painting for Beginners.
