Whether you’re inspired by classic paintings like van Gogh’s The Starry Night or Monet’s Water Lilies, or a vibrant spray-painted mural in a city street, learning to paint in whatever medium suits you is a great way to show off your creative flair. But, if you’ve never painted before, or are only familiar with the basics, how do you know which paint types are best for which project? Our expert guide to the best mediums and paint supplies for almost any masterpiece will help kickstart your creativity.

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Why Acrylic Paints are Great for Beginners

Colourful tubes of acrylic paint lined up at the bottom of the image. A paint palette with scribbles of paint are displayed on a canvas, with paintbrushes of different shapes and sizes lined up next to them. 

Acrylic paints are versatile and quick drying, making them one of the most popular paint types for a beginner to experiment with.  “Acrylic paint has a low toxicity, and when it dries it becomes water resistant, making it ideal for adding more layers of paint onto,” says collage artist Alice Lindstrom, whose art has been commissioned by the likes of Disney and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. “Its fast drying time makes it easy to work with and, with the addition of either water or other paint mediums, it can be used to make different textures like translucent washes or thicker, opaque layers.”

Don’t worry about getting stuck on what medium to use when painting with acrylic paint as it works on just about any surface. “Play around with painting on canvas, paper, board, or anything you have on hand. Have fun experimenting and getting a feel for it,” says Alice. “There’s an array of products designed to mix with acrylic paint to extend its applications, such as glazing mediums to enhance translucency. It really lends itself to experimentation.”

Pop on an apron, add paint to a palette and get your paint brushes at the ready, before preparing the surface with gesso – a white paint mixture used to coat or “prime” rigid surfaces such as wooden panels, which ensures paint doesn’t soak through, especially when using acrylic paints. “Priming the surface helps the overall finish of a painting, enhancing the vibrancy of colour,” says Alice. 

‍SEE ALSO: Essential Art Supplies for Students to add to their Kit‍

What You'll Need 

‍How Easy Is It to Use Oil Paint?

Palette knives of different shapes are lined up vertically on a canvas next to paint brushes, painting supplies and a row of oil paint tubes.

‍Oil paints are slow-drying and non-water soluble, so you have more time to work with them to add depth and detail to your design. The key, says artist and teacher Sarah McDonald, known for her richly textured oil landscapes, is to continually move the oil paint around with a brush or palette knives. 

“You can keep working them, [moving] the paint around for longer than acrylic paint,” she says. “Oil paints are thicker, richer and more luscious. [They’re] fabulous for blending colours and achieving smooth transitions of shades because they stay wetter for longer.”

Oil painting is better suited to the patient painter as oils require a bit of prep work. 

“Canvas, linen, board and timber surfaces can all be used, but use a primer to prepare,” says Sarah. 

And while you can layer these paint types over dried acrylic paint, you can’t do the opposite.  “Oil paint is brilliant for the ‘glazing' technique, where you add mediums to the paint to create thinner, glossy layers. When using an Impasto technique or a palette knife, oil paint is thick and rich and will hold its texture,” explains Sarah.

When using oil paints, always do so in a well-ventilated space due to the strong smell and its solvents. Sarah suggests using odourless solvents and safe gels that are easier on the nose to clean brushes. 

Hot Tip: Want to add a bit of shimmer to your oil painting? Add pearlescent pigments to your paints (which also work wonderfully with acrylic paints).

Did You Know?

Used by van Goh, impasto is an Italian word for “mixture”. In Impasto technique, paint is thickly laid on a surface to create texture, making brush stocks or palette knife marks visible.

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Your Guide to Using Watercolour Paint

A rainbow of watercolour paints in a palette alongside brushes and a watercolour pad on a canvas with paper towel. 

Grab your travel-friendly palette, some brushes and a pad of watercolour paper and let your imagination run wild in a world of colour. “Watercolour is different to many other mediums in that you have to loosen your control, flow with it and let it do its magic, with you as its guide,” says artist and watercolour specialist Kylie Didelot. “It has a delicate lightness to it that allows for its semi-translucent nature to shine through. Going heavier with the paint can reveal another bold side that pops while still retaining its translucency.”

Start playing with watercolour paint in two ways: with a wet brush on wet paper (a great place to start to blend colours for the background of the piece) or wet brush on dry paper (a technique used to add in the details once the background is dry). And with no priming needed, it's down to choosing a nice thick piece of paper (between 180 and 300gsm to help hold the weight of the water), before letting your creativity loose. Kylie recommends working quickly – and not scrimping on water!

Covering up mistakes can be tricky with this paint type but they’re not impossible to fix. 

“Quickly blot the paint away [with paper towel] and let the paper completely dry, then come back to it and try painting over the top,” says Kylie.

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SEE ALSO: How to Create a Watercolour Painting of Your House

All You Need to Know About Gouache Paint

Paint brushes lined up vertically on a canvas that features blobs and scribbles of blue, red, yellow and green paint, with a row of gouache paint tubes beneath it.

Gouache paint is vibrant and heavily pigmented, with a creamy texture that produces an opaque and matte finish. Interestingly, gouache paint can be reactivated with water even after it has dried (unlike watercolour paint), so you can use your paint brushes to blend and adjust your art and add layers.

“Gouache paint is great for achieving a bold colour and for working fast, plus there are no solvents needed,” Sarah says. “Unlike watercolour, you can put down a layer, let it dry and then add another layer on top.”

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SEE ALSO: 5 Beautiful DIY Canvas Painting Ideas for Your Home

How to Use Spray Paint for Art

A can of black spray paint lying on a canvas alongside leaf stencils, masking tape, painter’s mask and protective eyewear.

Spray paint may be favoured by large-scale muralists but it’s a fun medium for hobbyists to experiment with, too. “With practice, you can pretty much do anything with spray paint,” says educator and street artist Leah Grant, whose colourful murals and work brighten up many corners of South Australia including in Adelaide where her Benches of Hope projects are raising awareness about gender-based violence. “I love how quickly it dries, so you can layer it up fast, and it's easy to go big with spray paint and create a lot of impact and scale.” 

Her big tips when using spray paint? Shake your can well and less is more. Safety is also key due to the strong paint fumes, so make sure you wear protective eyewear, a painter’s mask and gloves, as well as using spray paint outside.

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SEE ALSO: Celebrating the Creative Process with Ketones6000

‍What Can I Use Fabric Paint on?

Orange, blue, yellow, pink and green Kadink Puffy Fabric Paint in a row.

‍‍Creating a one-of-a-kind artwork on fabric is as satisfying as it is statement making. Start with choosing your fabric: cotton and linen are great options, while synthetic fabrics aren’t ideal due to the chemicals used to make them. Using material scraps can be a great place to begin while you get a feel for your paints and tools. 

Before creating your masterpiece, fabric should be washed, dried and pressed. It may help to attach the fabric tightly to a surface too, or use a fabric hoop for smaller pieces. Once you’ve created your showstopper, allow 24 hours for it to dry before 'setting' it with some heat by flipping your fabric over with the art-side down and, using low to medium heat, running an iron over the painted areas.

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SEE ALSO: Pour Painting for Beginners