Want to start painting?

There are a lot of people that enjoy the sound of painting but for some reason or another never try it. Things like our daily routine, jobs, family, work can sometimes stop us from trying new things, but it's important we all have something to let our mind relax and escape. For some that might be watching TV or sports...for me it's painting! So if you are wondering whether to try it or not please do!! You never know if you don't try it. There is tons of information online about oil painting,  but that's just the confusing thing! A lot of them say different things. Most are probably right one way or another, but not necessarily true if you just want to 'have a go'. So I have compiled a list of things you can buy to start oil painting. These are the very basics things you need and you will no doubt want to expand on if you enjoy it and want to carry on. Equipment: - Turpentine - Paintbrush (relative to the size of surface you're painting on) - Oil paint colours (see below for colour choices) - Primed canvas (can be bought from most art/stationery shops) - Kitchen roll/ Rag for wiping and cleaning brushes - Palette (can be a paper plate, sheet of glass, or anything you can find) - Washing up liquid for cleaning brushes (at the end of your painting day)

Only put out the colours you need so you don't waste any. The colours you need will depend much on what you want to paint. A good start of colours would be: Cad Red, Cad Yellow, French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, Lamp Black, Titanium White. These are definitely the very basics of colours and if you like oils then you will benefit from more but you can make a lot of secondary colours using these. If you know you won't need all of these just get the basics. You can also get good deals on a box of small tubes which last for a long time surprisingly. White seems to disappear quickly (you have been warned). Dip your brush in turpentine and gather some paint on your paintbrush. Spread it across your canvas. Get a feel for the paint, the texture. You may want to do a few layers to your painting so give it more texture and colour. You will hear different phrases such as fat over lean on the internet. All that means is that adding turpentine makes the paint dry faster, so it's better for the first layers of a painting to have more turpentine and the third/fourth layers to have less. That way the thicker oil paint on top won't crack because it takes a lot longer to fully dry. Don't worry too much about this rule when you are first experimenting, just have fun - there are no rules in art! The only thing I ask of you - please please please clean your poor brush at the end of the day. I've lost too many good brushes by being tired and lazy and leaving them till the next day, they die!