My Favorite Materials for Acrylic Painting

Starting with acrylic painting is a great choice if you're new to art. Acrylics are water-based, fast-drying, and incredibly versatile. But what do you actually need to get going? Here's a simple guide with my personal favourites.

Acrylic Paints

I avoid the cheapest hobby paints, which are often too thin and low in pigment and in my personal opinion it's so much more fun painting with quality colours.

What I use:

Winsor & Newton Gallery – slightly thicker consistency, great for texture.

Tip: Start with a basic set of 5–6 colors (white, black, yellow, red, blue, brown). You can mix almost anything from these.

Painting Surfaces

You don't need expensive stretched canvases to begin with, but I personally love painting on large canvases.

Easy and accessible options:

Watercolor paper (300gsm or heavier) – inexpensive and perfect for practice. If you're painting on paper, try adding a layer of gesso first to prevent the paint from soaking in too fast.

Stretched canvas, regular or deep edge . I use deep edge canvas if I'm planning on not framing it and the regular when I add a frame to it for a beautiful sense of depth.

Brushes – Keep It Simple

You don't need a huge brush set – three or four is enough when starting out.

Recommended types:

Flat synthetic brush – for large areas and backgrounds.

Round synthetic brush – for details and outlines.

Fan brush – fun for creating textures like grass or fur.

Tip: Choose synthetic bristles – they're durable and made for acrylics.

Mediums & Extras – Optional, but Fun to Explore

You can start without any mediums, but they can enhance your painting experience. I only use water as medium.

Useful extras:

Water – for rinsing brushes and thinning paint.

Palette or plastic plate – for mixing colors.

Spray bottle – keeps your palette from drying too quickly.

Gesso (optional) – for priming your surfaces. Winsor & Newton canvases come pre-coated with gesso but if you want you can add an extra layer before painting.

Cleaning & Care

Acrylic paint dries fast – even on your brushes. Rinse your brushes right after use and try to avoid flushing the paint water down the sink, for environmental reasons. Put the paint water in a PET bottle and recycle as paint.

Store brushes upright with the bristles facing up.

Here's a simple shopping list to get you started:

✅ 5–6 tubes of acrylic paint
✅ 3 basic brushes (flat, round, fan)
✅ Paper or canvas boards
✅ A water container + mixing palette

Happy painting!💖