Dollar Tree Paint Vs. Student Grade Paint
In this corner we have Dollar Tree paint versus two different brands of student grade paint. Let’s see how they stack up.
At the Dollar Tree I picked up two colors that I use a lot, yellow and turquoise. But, and this was a pretty big but, I didn’t read the labels closely. The yellow one was acrylic paint and the turquoise was tempera paint. You will see what happened with the tempera paint. (Hint – it was not pretty.)
I know! It’s tempting to try to get away with cheaper paint, but you know the old saying. “You get what you pay for.” That proved very true in this comparison test.
As much as I would like to only pay $1.25 for paint, it proved itself to be an unworthy opponent. The pigments were not good and it did not play well with other, more superior paints, (not that Artsmith is a high quality superior paint).
Buying moderately priced brushes and paints is the best place for beginners to get started. The proper tools make the learning much easier. It’s hard enough to learn how to manipulate the brush and the paint without having to fight them all the time.
If price is stopping you from learning how to paint, buy a tube of the primary colors, red, blue and yellow and a white. Then learn to mix colors with them. You will be better off in the end by starting there. You could add black from there, but you’ll need to remember a tiny bit of black goes a very long way.
Check out the Resources below for my suggestions on paint and brushes for beginners.
I have several of the brushes below that I love and use all the time. The only this is I wish they had longer handles. That being said I really like these brushes. Stay away from anything marked economy brushes or brush sets that have different colored handles. They are not a set of decent brushes, they are just a bunch of very cheap brushes thrown together to get you to buy. They will break your heart and waste your money.
If you’re going to buy individual brushes, I would purchase synthetic flats, sizes 2,4, 8, 10 and/or 12.
I offer instruction in several ways. I have a monthly membership where you receive new instruction every single month.
I also have a full course created specifically for beginners – Painting With Acrylics Academy.
They are both good options for beginners. I also have lots of free instructional information on this blog and on my You Tube Channel, Beginning Acrylic Teacher.
Happy Painting