by Harold Sink

Created on: January 05, 2010

Watercolor, Oil or Acrylic: Deciding What’s Best for Beginners

Choosing the right media for a beginner artist may not be as easy as it seems.  Some say that oils are more difficult and should be for the mature artists, while other argue that watercolor is harder and takes time to learn.  But if there is one thing that is certain, most beginning painters tend to lean towards acrylics.  Maybe it could be due to the fact that acrylics are now cheaper than oils or watercolors.  Whatever the case may be, many newcomers to painting choose acrylics.

“How does he know this?” you may ask.  Having worked in art retail for sometime now, it has been apparent that the majority of newbie painters are choosing acrylic.  It is not any easier to clean up than watercolor or oil, nor is it any easier to use.  It is a mindset of beginners to think that acrylic should be first on the list of paints to learn to use.  Personally, watercolor should be the first choice as it is the most difficult thus once mastered making the other two much easier to deal with.

Whichever you choose, try to sway your way of thinking over to watercolor paints.  You can start with inexpensive paints to get you accustomed to mixing colors.  There are many books and color wheels available to choose from.  Depending on the style of watercolor painting you want to do, try to use as little water in the paints so that you do not over saturate your paper.  A sealable palette will keep your mixed paints wet longer so that you may come back to them to reuse.

When purchasing watercolor paints, try to avoid the tray type unless they have more pigmentation in them than filler.  You will know this by the price you are paying for them.  As for brushes, a #2, 4, 6 and maybe an 8 in rounds along with ¼”, ½” and ¾” wash brush are all you will need at first.  Later on you may want some of the others.  Use good quality watercolor paper even when you first start.  Tape it down with acid free tape.

As mentioned, watercolor IS the most difficult.  Most people tend to take the easy route in most things, but with art you want to do the reverse in the case of painting.  With watercolor you learn to control the water when you are painting more opaque paintings.  Less water is needed on hot pressed paper and vice versa with cold pressed.  Take your time and learn from

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