Creating your first canvas painting can be a daunting task. There are so many things to consider; which canvas to use, whether to use oil or acrylic paints, and what type of brush to use. The best thing to do is to experiment and find what works best for you.
There are a number of different canvases to choose from. You can choose between stretch canvases, rolled canvases, canvas boards, and canvas mats. Each one works better for different styles or different types of paint. The best thing to do is to work out which style you prefer, and the paint you use, and then choose which canvas to use based on that. The canvas greatly affects how your canvas painting turns out, making it a very important aspect to consider.
Choosing between oil or acrylic paints is a simple task for the more experienced canvas art painters; however, if you are new to canvas painting, you may struggle to make the decision. It is important that you recognize the difference between the two, in order for you to choose the one most suited to your style or preferences. Acrylic paints dry extremely quickly; this can cause trouble to the inexperienced, as any mistakes may become permanent. Acrylic paints work best for shorter projects, due to the speed that it dries. Another positive side of acrylic paints is that they are incredibly easy to clean up afterward. The brushes wash up quickly and cleanly.
Oil paints work better for longer projects; they take a great deal longer to dry. This makes it possible to alter any mistakes and to go back and add more detail at a later time. However, the brushes used for oil paintings must be cleaned extremely well. Failure to do this may result in the bristles losing their shape.
The important thing to note with canvas paintings is that you need to experiment. Try out all the different techniques, materials, and paint. Find out what works best for you, and then master it.