Can you Self-Learn Painting?

By Aneesah Davids | 8 October 2025

When I finally picked up a paintbrush, it wasn’t during a quiet sabbatical or a carefully planned career break. I’d just left my job as a biochemist after years in the corporate world, a life full of lab reports, deadlines and long, tiring hours. Painting was something I’d always wanted to learn, but science and office life left little space for anything beyond work and family. Ten years ago, with a mixture of excitement and nerves, I decided it was time.

 

I didn’t sign up for formal classes or a degree. Instead, I taught myself. Those early sessions were all messy: muddy colours, wobbly brushstrokes, canvases balanced on the kitchen table. But every attempt built confidence and I quickly realised that learning to paint is far more about curiosity and practice than credentials.

 

Five years later my son arrived and life became even busier, but the habit of painting was already part of me. Some days I still feel a flicker of guilt when I set up at the easel instead of folding laundry, but that’s exactly when you have to keep going. For me, painting is a quiet rebellion against the idea that every moment must be productive. It’s a small, powerful reminder that you deserve time just for yourself, even when the day is full of chores.

 

Why Teaching Yourself Works

If you’ve ever thought “I’d love to paint, but I’ve left it too late,” please let me assure you: you haven’t. Art doesn’t have an age limit. In fact, starting later can be an advantage. By the time I began, I’d experienced enough of life’s twists; career shifts, uncertainty, loss... to appreciate the calm that painting brings.

 

Self-learning gives you freedom. You choose the pace, the subjects and the techniques. There’s no pressure to produce a masterpiece for critique. Instead, you follow your own curiosity. One evening you might play with mixing colours; another day you might work on your favourite landscape just to see how the colours work together.

 

Gathering the Basics

You don’t need a studio or a mountain of supplies. To start with oils (the medium I love most) you only need:

• A small set of student-grade oil paints (a primary palette of red, blue, yellow plus white and burnt umber is plenty).

• Two or three decent brushes, a flat, a round  and a filbert.

• A surface to paint on: pre-stretched canvases, even canvas boards or sheets.

• Odourless mineral spirits or a non-toxic solvent for cleaning brushes and a simple palette for mixing.

 

That’s it. Resist the temptation to buy everything in the art shop. Limiting materials at first forces you to learn how colours mix and how brushes behave, which is far more valuable than an overflowing cupboard.

 

Your First Projects

When I was starting, I found it helpful to paint subjects I truly love - my pets, captivating landscapes or anything that keeps you engaged.

 

Here are a few easy ideas that work well for my beginners today:

• Monochrome paintings: Choose a single colour plus white and paint something simple like a mug or a piece of fruit. You’ll focus on light and shadow rather than juggling a dozen hues.

• Value study: Paint an object using only burnt umber and white to understand contrast and form.

• Colour mixing chart: Not glamorous, but educational. Create swatches from every combination of your limited palette. It’s the best way to learn how oils blend.

 

There are plenty of free step-by-step tutorials on YouTube and in beginner books. Search for “alla prima oil painting for beginners” or “limited palette exercises” and you’ll find approachable guides that match your pace.

 

Making Time When Life Is Full

The hardest part of self-learning isn’t technique but consistency. Life will always try to fill your evenings with other tasks. Here’s what helped me:

• Small sessions count. A focused twenty minutes is better than waiting for a perfect three-hour block.

• Set up a corner. Even a fold-up table with your paints laid out means you can begin without fuss.

• Let go of guilt. Remind yourself that creative time isn’t selfish. It makes you more centred, which benefits the people you care for.

I still have weeks when laundry wins and the brushes stay dry. That’s normal. What matters is returning to the easel when you can.

 

What You Gain Beyond the Canvas

Over the last decade, painting has carried me through career changes, motherhood and all the quiet uncertainties that come with them. It’s given me a way to slow down, to process feelings I can’t put into words and to create something beautiful out of an ordinary day.

 

If you’re facing a big life change such as retirement, relocation, a shift in relationships, painting can become both anchor and outlet. You don’t need to aim for gallery walls. The simple act of mixing colour and watching it change your canvas is enough to remind you that you’re capable of growth and reinvention.

 

Take Your First Stroke

So yes, you absolutely can teach yourself to paint. Start small. Pick up a brush, mix a colour and see what happens. Ten years ago I was a biochemist who had never so much as cleaned an oil brush; today I’m a working artist who helps beginners find their own creative voice.

 

You don’t have to wait for the perfect time and you certainly don’t need anyone’s permission. Your first painting might feel clumsy, but it will also be uniquely yours, a quiet declaration that it’s never too late to begin.