Painting

Painting is the application of tinted or colored pigments to a surface. It can be done for practical reasons, such as to protect the surface behind it or to create a uniform surface in a room, or for artistic reasons such as traditional paintings on canvas.

Types

A common example of a still life is a painting of a bowl of fruit.

Portraits are posed pictures of people. Or not necessarily posed.

Landscapes are outdoor environments encompassing things like trees, sky, mountains, or oceans.

Media

Oil paints are traditional, and have deep translucent colors. Egg-based tempera paints go way back, and have softer colors. Acrylic paints are easy to work with and clean up, and they perform well. Watercolors are easy and relatively safe for children to use, and capable of supporting sophisticated works of art as well, especially in some paintings from the Far East.

For painting houses, Latex paint is usually the way to go. Latex enamel paint is slightly harder but smells bad, and oil paint is a pain to clean up and smells even worse. Latex cleans up with water.