The art of applying color or pigment to a solid surface is known as “painting”. It is a skill that is perfected by creativity and regular practice. Painting is not limited to a certain form rather it is extremely vast in nature. The forms of painting which are practiced the most include landscape or still life painting, symbolism, emotive, photographic, drawing, gestural and paintings depicted for political work and society conditions and welfare.

The term “painting” is descriptive of both action and the result. The major portion of the history of painting is mostly covered by Western and Eastern spiritual motifs and ideas.

Commonly it is done with the help of a brush of various sizes however various paintings are also made with the help of sponges, knives, airbrushes etc. all of which is a resultant of a man’s creative mindset. Normally, paintings are naturalistic or representational in nature.

Paintings are made on various surfaces for best details and descriptions of the art. Most common surfaces on which paintings are made include paper, walls, canvas, glass, wood, clay, and leaf. It is not necessary that the whole or major part of the painting is to be covered with paints only. Various other materials such as paper, clay, gold leaf etc are often used apart from the paints.

Paintings were always given nice recognition because of their attractiveness and have been loved by people since ancient times. The Mona Lisa, by Leonardo Da Vinci, is by far one of the most recognizable paintings in the world.

WAYS OF PAINTING

There are various ways of painting to let out the creativity on a certain surface chosen by the painter. However, the way of to do it often vary from surface to surface because of different behavior of each way which includes drying time, pigmentation, intensity, brightness, miscibility etc. The most popular ways include:

OIL PAINTING

ACRYLIC PAINTING

WATERCOLOR PAINTING

HOT WAX PAINTING

SPRAY PAINTING

DIGITAL PAINTING

HOW TO PAINT

Painting is a skill that can be mastered with practice. It is a wonderful way to let out one’s emotions and thoughts on a surface of the painter’s choice. However, it is quite essential to get yourself familiarized with the concept of “How To Paint”. Now, let’s get started!

1. Think and decide what sort of painting you would like to make. Do you want to make a watercolor painting? Is it going to be an acrylic one? Or is it going to be a digital one? It is quite essential to understand all types of paintings that you can make and then choose and decide the most suitable one as per your needs.

2. Once you are done with deciding the surface at which you would like to embrace your thoughts upon, it’s time to get things in place to get that done. You will now have to hit the market to get the right type of paints and materials that you would like to use in your painting. If it is going to be a watercolor painting then you got to purchase watercolor paints, if it’s going to be an acrylic painting then you need to go for acrylic paints and so on. Apart from just the paints, there are various other materials which you can use in your painting to even make it more graceful such as special beads, feathers etc.

3. Once you are done with the paints and other materials you would like to use in your painting then it is the time to choose the type of brushes you would like to paint with. It is essential that you use all the sort of brushes required to make the painting. There is always another way around to handle those tweaky parts in the painting with an inappropriate brush but it is the biggest mistake that many painters do make. A slight mistake is enough to ruin your whole painting.

4. Now, everything is set up and it’s the perfect time to make the masterpiece. But before you proceed with that you need to familiarize yourself with the color wheel in order to create new unique colors to use in your painting to make it more gorgeous. With the help of color wheel, you will get to know what color will be formed if you mix 2 or more colors at once. By mixing colors you can also make some cool tints. Add a small amount of white color to any combination made with the help of the color wheel to make a tint.

5. At this point, you are done with all the essentials required at the fundamental base to make our glorious painting. In order to start our masterpiece, we need to make a basic outlay roughly first and then on the canvas with light lines and then darkening them up to make a complete and clear border. If you are making still life painting then make sure you have proper space between you and the object in order to focus on the object properly and lay its replica on the canvas. Proper alignment of the object is one of the most important things in still life painting. In case, you are making a painting based on your thoughts then make sure you have made a nice rough sketch for it before the actual painting.

6. Once the sketch is made properly, it’s now time to fill it with awesome colors and tints. Start up with basic painting and try to make a texture in the painting to make it more realistic and attractive. The texture is made with the help of continuous different brush strokes in different directions. There is quite a misconception roaming around that painting/coloring should be done along with a same line which is quite incorrect if you are trying to make texture. With continuous repetition of texture, the painting will have a sort of moving effect which will make it look highly attractive and realistic.

7. You need to make sure that the layout of your painting looks quite balanced and even. The composition of the painting is also very important in order to make it look complete in all aspects. Composition in a painting is basically the placement of objects and figures. It is also very important to make the composition of additional materials used look balanced with respect to the painting made.

8. At this point, you should be proud of yourself because you just have made a great masterpiece which is going to steal a lot of hearts. Just in order to add icing on the cake make sure you finalize your painting with a proper clean up and a verification check to make sure everything is proper, the composition is perfect, texture and moving effect is there and most importantly there is an even balance of the paint applied at every place.

PAINTING TIPS AND TRICKS

Making a beautiful masterpiece is never an easy job to do and requires somewhat close to perfect skills for doing it. However, there are always some great tips and tricks to make the job easier which also help in enhancing what you are doing. Here are various painting tips and tricks that are proven to be beneficial:

• Make ample amount of space for yourself and the painting you are making and choose a place where you can obtain maximum focus. A place with maximum silence is one of the best places where a masterpiece can be made.

• Once you have chosen the place where you can make the painting at your best focus, then it’s time to hit the store to get the supplies. Make sure you only purchase top quality stuff if you are serious about making a masterpiece. The thing with medium or low-quality stuff is that they are not much durable and have a lot of bad aspects which can prove to be harmful later on.

• Get it well cleared in your mind which sort of paint you want to use for your painting and what sort of additional materials you would like to use if any. Once decided and started then there is no turning back unless and until if you wish to start-up from scratch.

• Be sure of the subject you are willing to make the painting upon. A rough sketch of the subject is always helpful no matter if you are a beginner or a pro.

• Fast drying and glossy paints are of one of the best options you can go for because these paints make your paintings look more realistic, provide better texture and moving effect and are often less messy than other sorts of paints.

• Never ever use a single type of brush. It is a must that you use all the types of brush you need in order to give the best finishing to the painting and to handle those tweaky areas, corners, and minor points well.

• Always follow one golden rule in painting which is “DO NOT RUSH”. Make the painting slow covering each and every point as beautifully as possible. If you will hurry then chances are that you will spoil all of your efforts in just one instance. Take as much time as you need to complete what you have started.

• Every mind is unique therefore it is pretty good if you remain open to new ideas. Take advice from all who give it to you and try to use their idea on your imagination as a base to make a wonderful masterpiece.

• Take viewpoints from each and everyone. It is very much possible that you will miss some points which other can point out. So, at the time of finalization of your work gather viewpoints for your painting from as many people as possible.

• At the finalization of your painting make sure that the composition of the painting is well-balanced and clean up the painting with a dry cloth to remove any unnecessary dust or dirt or any spilled paint etc.

• Another thing that you should remember that the masterpiece you just made might need touch-ups from time to time due to natural reasons.

You should always remember that painting is a skill which can be perfected only with practice. So, practice regularly if you want to become a legend from a novice in this skill. It needs time to get perfected and is not a thing that you can learn in just one day. If the upbringing will be right of this skill then you will surely become a great painter so it is better to learn this skill under proper guidance from a well experienced and a proven mentor.

Thank you Hobbiesphere for contributing this excellent informational article.