Painting for Beginners and Essential Art Know-How

No-one is born with a paint brush in their hand, everyone learned from scratch at some stage. This list of commonly asked questions will help you get started on your creative journey as an artist.

Want to start painting but not sure what paint to use? Here's help on deciding how to choose between the most popular types of paint used.

What you need to do and know to start painting for the very first time.

A look at the different ways you can create a painting, with a photo showing an example of each.

Ultimately the degree to which you plan out a painting depends on your personality, some people find it essential and others a hindrance. But regardless of how detailed you like to plan (or not), there are several decisions that have to be made before you to start to paint.

Not every painting is destined to be a masterpiece, but some are doomed to failure right from the start. here are five ways to ruin a painting...

If you look after it well, a paint brush can last a long time, but it's very easy to ruin it too. Don't do these things!

If you hold a paint palette correctly it's far less tiring on your arm and hand.

Find out what fine art painting technique was used to create the various effects and styles of painting shown in this visual index.

A collection of free art worksheets to use to complete various painting tutorials and exercises.

Discover what it means to paint in an expressive or painterly style, and then learn how to do it yourself.

What many people mean when they say they'd like to learn to paint, is they'd like to learn to paint realism. To create a painting where the subject looks like it does in real life, or "real". It's only when you're up close you see the skillful manipulation of color, tone, and perspective to create the illusion of reality.

The sphere is one of the basic shapes that creates the illusion of reality in a painting. Find out how to paint a sphere, not just a flat circle.

See how to paint a great background for a portrait in this sequence of photos.

A look at painting on colored grounds rather than white, why you might do this and what the options are for ground colors.

It's essential to have accurate ellipses on any cylindrical objects in a painting for them to appear real. Here are some tips on how to achieve accurate ellipses.

Setting up a still life for painting isn't a matter of throwing few objects onto a table top and then starting. For a successful still life, you want to put some thought into the choices available to you.

An explanation of the seven steps to a successful painting, by Canadian artist Brian Simons. Though this method of painting may seem quite simple and unsophisticated, it works.

Take a peek inside the studios of various painters in this photo gallery of artist's studios.

Find out where you can obtain free reference photos that you can use in your paintings.

Find out what the 'small print' on a paint tube label means.

A tutorial on what negative space in a painting is, how and why to use it, and why it's so useful.

An introduction to using a painting knife rather than a brush, including selecting a suitable knife to get you started.

Discover the range of marks or effects you can produce using a knife rather than a brush.

When you pick up an artist's paint brush for the first time, chances are you'll hold it in your hand in the same way you would a pencil or pen, with your fingers close to the ferrule. If you never hold a brush in any other way, you'll be limiting the range of marks you create with a brush.

This hub of all my articles on glazing will help you on your way to using glazes successfully in your paintings.

This hub of all my articles on painting shadows articles will help you on your way to realistic and convincing shadows.

There are a lot of myths about what it takes to be an artist, starting with the one about talent.

A look at what Painting by Numbers involves, and why I think it's a helpful technique for beginners.

If you want to get into an art gallery, you'll need a body of work showing you have a style and enough paintings.

What are the advantages of painting on hardboard and how do you prepare it?

Negative space isn't the place your mind retreats to when a painting isn't going well. Negative space is the space between objects or parts of an object, or around it. Studying this can have a surprisingly positive effect on a painting.

What color is glass, and how do you paint it? There's no simple answer as glass is influenced by what's around it. You need to observe very carefully.

If you dream of painting on a big canvas but feel intimidated, here are some tips to help you turn a vast expanse of a big, white canvas into a painting.

Tips on how to avoid mistakes commonly made in paintings, from the Canadan artist Brian Simons, who works in acrylics.

A short video painting demonstration showing how to paint using a knife instead of a brush.

How do you set out the colors on your painting palette? Share a photo of how you do it here, and tell us why.

Why you get those little bits of wood or plastic with a canvas.

If you want to sell lots of paintings, what subjects should you be painting? Here's the result of a survey.

Tips from artists on how you too can develop a personal, identifiable painting style.

When painting, one decision that must be made at composition stage, is where the light is going to come from as this influences the shadows, contrasts, and colours. So what are the choices?

Not all shadows are equal. There are in fact two very different kinds of shadows that occur in any subject -- cast shadows and form shadows. Identifying these and approaching them differently, rather than just painting a generic ‘shadow’, will enhance any painting.

Trees are not cardboard cutouts with brown trunks and leaves that are simply green if it's summer, red if it's autumn, or absent if it's winter.

Asking the deceptively simply question: "What makes painting a good work of art?" started a fascinating debate on the Painting Forum. Here are the highlights of the discussion.

These tips will help you learn how to paint gorgeous, realistic-looking clouds.

What to expect when you take a painting to a professional framer to have it framed.

How to light your canvas when painting indoors and out-of-doors, under sunlight, 'normal' light, and artificial light.

What's the point of painting in a photorealistic style? Why not just take a photograph?

Most of the safety issues with art materials ought to be common sense, but here are some safety tips to keep in mind when painting.

Tips on setting up a clean cut still life to work from. How to control the clutter surrounding the object.

Thought processes when looking at reflections in a potential still life. How to control the reflections in the object.

How to use a large box to make a stage for your still life set up.

Find out how to load (artspeak for "get") a paint onto a brush without it being too little or too much.

Find out how much detail should you put into your initial pencil sketch for a painting on canvas.

This list of summer activities will help you find a way to pass the time this summer. Whether you want to start a new hobby or delve deeper into the pastime you already love, this guide to summer activities will help you get there.

Tips and advice on how to decide when a painting is finished, or whether you should keep working on it.

If you're an absolute beginner when it comes to painting and art, knowing simply that you'd love to give it a try, then this is the place to start to learn.