Regardless of the reasons you want to start painting, it’s a good decision. Painting is known to help with stress management, it makes a person start thinking creatively, improves memory, enhances motor skills and encourages a positive attitude. Plus, it can be a lucrative endeavour. A lot of people that started painting as a hobby eventually build a professional career. So, without further ado, gather the painting essentials and spill your emotions on the substrate.
A Painting Substrate

The simplest out of all types of substrates is the plain spiral bound visual diary in which an artist can sketch and create initial versions of paintings. Most of them work only with dry sketch media but you can also find sketchbooks with paper sheets that are great for watercolours too.
An upgrade from the basic sketchbooks are the diverse canvases which are actually the most common choice for painting among those who take art seriously. Canvases come in different sizes and can be made from different materials, although usually they’re made from linen or cotton. Cotton makes for environmentally-friendly canvases that are a dream for splashing paint on.
Many of the famous masterpieces we know today are actually painted on cotton canvas which only testifies about the quality and the durability. Prioritising quality when investing in the range of art materials is the single most important thing when it comes to creating priceless art.
Now, aside from the classic canvas substrate, you can try to paint on a wooden painting board too. Wooden boards are even considered to be better for painting than canvas is because canvas with time makes the paint crack and alters the whole painting a little bit. Wood on the other hand is strong and doesn’t warp with time even if you put a ton of paint on it. The surface of the wooden board is usually plywood and you can paint on it with or without using a primer first.
Then again, you can disregard the usual art materials and use something rather unconventional like a glass surface, metal, cloth – anything that matches your artistic visions, without restrictions. Glass and metal can be as good for painting just like canvas is. And maybe precisely the unorthodox approach will lead you to an amazing creation of art you weren’t even aware you can make.
Brush Sets and Pencils

Once you have the painting substrate covered, you’re going to need something to apply the paint with and create the painting in the first place – a whole bunch of paintbrushes and pencils. The number of diverse paint brushes available for you to buy might blow your mind, but each and everyone has a purpose. For instance, you have special brushes for painting with acrylic paint. Usually, the acrylic sets include round brushes of different sizes, flat brushes, a filbert brush and an angle brush.
The watercolour brushes are a bit softer and retain their original shape. They allow the artist to create detailed paintings using precise strokes and add multiple layers of colour to achieve depth. They’re suitable both for beginners and professional artist that know exactly what they’re doing. Same as the acrylic set, the watercolour set of brushes contains liner, round, flat and mop brushes in different sizes.
And of course, let’s not forget the brush set for oil painting. They come neatly packed in a zip case and are perfect if you intend to travel and take your painting equipment with you. But if you want to keep it simple you can always stick to the regular pencils and art supplies. The best colour pencils make for mind-blowing paintings.
Art Medium of Your Choosing

Acrylic paints are the most popular choice when it comes to painting mediums. They are easy to use, have a nice texture and can be watered-down according to needs. It’s actually a very versatile paint that dries off rather fast and becomes water-resistant when it’s completely dry. Acrylic paint is paint suspended in acrylic emulsion hence the name. In fact, acrylic paint was supposed to mimic the characteristics of oil paint and allow artists to paint without breathing in toxic vapour in the process. Oil paints started having negative effects on the health of artists therefore an improvement was more than necessary. Nowadays, you can find diverse acrylic paints in art supply stores.
Watercolours, on the other hand, come in diverse shades, can easily be mixed up and make for amazing translucent, layered paintings. One must use water to paint with watercolours (but that can easily be figured out from the name) and professional watercolours painting look like a pure dream.
However, you don’t have to limit yourself to using only what’s considered to be the “usual”. Instead of painting with acrylics and watercolours, you can experiment with charcoal, pastels, graphite, ink and markers. Most of the time the boulder your approach is the better the results.
Diverse Painting Accessories

To make your painting job a lot easier are the many painting accessories. You never know how much you need them until you start using them and realize how useful they are and sometimes even crucial for the painting process to go smoothly. Among the essentials is the palette where you can put the paint you’re going to use and mix colours according to your needs. It’s usually made of durable plastic or aluminium, it’s easy to clean and super easy to use. Then, you’re going to need a paint dipper too. It’s perfect for controlling the amount of medium added to the canvas.
An artist’s apron is a must-have art supply if you don’t want your clothes ruined from paint stains. It’s one size fits all, has a pocket in the front for storage and it’s the most convenient thing to wear while painting. Next, to ensure the longevity of the paintbrushes you’re also going to need a brush washer made from stainless steel as well as a protective case. The brush washer is an easy and convenient way to clean and dry your brushes, a must-have accessory for every artist.
And lastly, along with the paintbrushes, an artist should have palette knives too. They help a lot in applying paint onto the canvas and implementing the impasto technique for achieving a 3D-like effect. They are made from stainless steel and come in diverse shapes.