There's a major difference between painting on canvas and painting on other surfaces. The tautly stretched, wood and nail or staple-supported canvas and quality texture of the fabric itself is superior to wood, paper and canvas board. You will notice that there is a "give" to the canvas, so you must remember not to bear down hard with your brush or palette knife. Once you begin using stretched canvas, you will want to stay with the material for all of your wall-mounted paintings.
Instructions
1. Prepare a container to wash out your brushes as you paint. Make sure to have a glass container for oil paint cleaner such as turpentine, and a water bucket (any material) for acrylics. Keep a rag nearby for wiping cleaned paintbrushes.
2. Lightly sketch with a pencil, or paintbrush and thin line of paint, the outline of a picture you wish to paint on the canvas.
3. Squeeze paint on palette paper or palette in colors you desire for the background. For example, for a sunset painting you will want cadmium orange, cadmium yellow and burnt umber to start with.
4. Set your canvas on a tabletop or full-length easel. Take a wide brush and begin to load paint into its bottom edge, and begin to paint the background.
5. As you paint, you will notice if you need to add more liquid to your paint medium. Your paint should flow smoothly with your brush or knife. Simply add the correct material to your paint on the palette.
6. Continue filling in the areas of your painting. Remember to step back and observe your work. If using oil paint, set the canvas in a warm room and allow to dry between layers of work.
