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At some time in our lives we all fancy having a go at painting or drawing. Some people find it so easy and are naturally talented. You may find they can draw and paint without ever having had a lesson. However, for others they are too frightened to even try!

Some people are fastidious and are not satisfied with anything they may produce. Others wade straight in, enjoying every moment, with very good results.

It is important that you have a hobby you can enjoy. You should feel that it is fun and not hard work. As you progress you will try different mediums and techniques experimenting and learning as you go. Some will be successful; some may fail in your eyes. Above all it should be an enjoyable experience.

Really we all need to make time for any hobby. This usually is something you can do to switch off if you like from our everyday stresses and strains. We can all do with a bit of time to ourselves. In this day and age this time is often hard to find but if we can it is really beneficial. A quiet place is ideal where you forget all about the time.

For others it may be a way of meeting new friends. If you join a local class, not only will you be learning, you can also discuss problems with your compatriots. This way you learn from each other. Sometimes your teacher may bring in things to show you, that you never would have thought of to give you different perspectives.

From time you to time you will find yourself wandering round art galleries looking at various types of work by other artists. Usually artists probably bend towards a certain type of subject. You may see a whole collection of portraits (hard to do), or still life or coastal scenes.

Personally I like to go from one thing to another, you learn as you go along. Painting is something you need to be in the mood for, although if you are stressed it can be soothing. It is gratifying when you paint from your imagination and see what transpires; but you may just stop and sketch something roughly on your travels, or even copy something that grabs you.

What wonderful tools are available for our work in the art supply shops now. You can have a field day. Such a great amount of choice in prices to fit the average person’s pocket. I really think that oil paints are a good investment for a beginner as no matter what goes wrong it is possible to scrape paint off with a palette knife and start afresh. However apart from this there are numerous other choices from pastels, acrylics, crayons, to pens and inks.

Enjoy painting with oils but you do need to bear in mind they take quite sometime to dry and can gather dust in the process. Canvas you will find is great for acrylics as it dries fairly fast. Bright colors stretch across it making it fun yet totally satisfying.

If you feel confident enough to give acrylics as gifts this is easy as they do not need to be framed. The paint can be applied straight from the tube with the added advantage of it drying very quickly or you may dilute it.