A great painter is always learning new techniques to improve their work. If you are new to painting, it can be an intimidating prospect. There are the actual materials, brush care, colors and choices to make, and a whole load of things you never thought about. In this post we’ll be listing 5 tips to improve your painting skills which are important for you on how to paint like a pro.
Getting better at painting doesn’t just come only with practice. You need to understand the skills you are working on to improve your paintings. This post compiles various critical skills and tips that will help you understand the painting process better. Practice these once you have a solid understanding of the concepts covered and you will notice an improvement in your paintings! In fact, there are various art-related tips and tricks to help you improve your skills, no matter what level of skill you’re at. You may learn a new technique to apply or refine some techniques that you already know.
No matter who you are, take your painting mastery to the next level by checking out these 5 tips to improve your painting skills:
1. Enroll for painting course or have at least one tutor or guide.
Being prepared and knowing what steps to take while painting can make the process a lot easier. However, if you’re just starting out, it might be difficult judging the steps or knowing exactly how to start, progress and finish. You may have taken a course in the past, or you self taught and built on your own talent. Yet, you may need to embark on other training, learn new tricks, see what other people are doing, go pro. No man is an island. Learning from others helps you improve on your own skill and give more perspective to your work.
2. Use the right tools for the job
There are several tools used in painting, and knowing how to use, keep and maintain them can have a good effect on your art. Before you start painting, make sure that you have all the proper tools for the job. If you plan on using a primer, follow the right procedures in applying. Not applying primer as instructed could result in poor adhesion of your paint or even peeling paint later down the line. Also, make sure that your brushes are clean (always wash them after use), that you have enough paint on a palette and that there’s enough water in your water container (ensure not to mix water with oil paints!). If you don’t know how to mix colors together, you may need an instruction manual, use online tutorials and continuous mixing practice can help you learn how to do it properly.
3. Create harmony between colors
When choosing colors for your work of art, make sure that they fit together nicely and that they don't clash with each other. Doing this will create harmony between them and will make your painting look more professional. You should know all about color combinations and how to mix them. The color wheel is a great painter’s guide.
4. Decide a style for your painting and stick to it
Think of your painting style as a signature. When you walk into a room, people can immediately tell if the painting was done by Ifeanyi Arinze, Chéri Samba or Julie Mehretu. The same goes for your style of painting. Paintings should flow, whether in 2D or 3D. When you paint and look at it from different angles and perspectives, you will find that your painting has a focal point, and a central theme. This focal point is what draws people in and keeps them looking at your work.
5. Grow your painting skills by experimenting
Experimentation is the key to developing your painting skills. Good painters are not afraid to try new techniques or use different materials or mediums. It is through experimenting that you will learn new techniques and improve your painting capabilities. Experimentation is the fastest way to improve your skills and make your painting unique. Learning from other painters and finding new techniques is an important part of the creative process, but you should also try out new things to see how they work. Trying something new can be risky, but if you never challenge your work, you’ll never discover
something new, or how far you can actually go with your painting.
Conclusion
Although there are countless factors that influence the ability to paint like a professional, above are five things you’ll need to consider or implement if you truly want to improve on your painting. They will help you become more creative and execute more detailed works. Painting is a difficult skill, and learning how isn’t that easy. But if you work hard at it, you can use the tips above to improve your skills and paint like a pro!
We hope that you find these 5 Tips To Improve Your Painting Skills useful. To make the most out of them, try putting everything into action at once and see what happens. Experiment a lot and have fun, then keep an eye on the results. If it’s also something you can do right away, consider gaining more knowledge and learning new techniques through enrolling for paint classes and courses. Finally, there isn’t much sense in copying a painting exactly–your work will only improve if you’re constantly pushing yourself to develop new techniques and styles, so don’t be afraid to take chances!