Okay, so you want to paint and you have some artistic talent. You do not know how to begin pursuing your artistic painting dreams, but would love to see your paintings on canvas and making you money. The first thing you need to do to be a quality painter is to draw. You can go to your local bookstore or order some books online that can teach you how to draw like a professional. With much practice and a few dollars spent on quality pencils and drawing tablets, you can learn shading, perspective, vanishing points, angles etc that will help you in your painting.
You have mastered drawing well enough to become a painter. The reason you need to be able to draw well before putting paint to canvas is that if you draw well enough on a canvas, you can simply color in your drawings with paint, like you used to color in coloring books with crayons. Alright, so you are now ready to begin painting. Quality brushes and paints are important. There are some things you will need to buy. You need a few different size brushes, various acrylic paints, especially the primary colors from which you can mix and make all the other colors. A large tube of white is also important as is black, but you can make your own black by mixing red, green, blue, all together. Acrylic paints are the easiest paints to work with and that is why a beginning painter needs to master acrylic before learning watercolor or oils. Acrylic paints are easily mixed with water and you will need either a glass or a small bucket to hold water in for cleaning your brushes and keeping your acrylic paints wet because acrylic paints dry quickly. You will also need a pallet, but a paper plate with aluminum foil over it works fantastically.
All you need to do to paint your first painting is to draw on your canvas with your pencils whatever you want to paint, then color in your sketch with your acrylic paints. You can try mixing your paints together with water to acquire the desired color and thickness on your canvas. It is also a good idea, to do an under-painting, which is a painting below another layer of painting which you can apply with glaze or simply a lighter shade of acrylic. The under-painting will give your paintings more of a professional look. It is also good to outline your paintings either with the opposite color on the color wheel for extra artistic effect or to simply outline your paintings in a darker color such as black. That choice is up to you. You may also order acrylic painting books or buy them from your local bookstore. These books will give you the rest of the necessary information to be a good acrylic painter and once you have mastered acrylic you can do the same with watercolor and oils in the future. Also, always be on the lookout for local artists who are willing to share their expertise or conduct classes to teach you.
In conclusion, you can learn to paint well without spending much money on courses or a bachelor's degree. Learn to draw and learn to paint with acrylic paints and you will be well on your way towards achieving your artistic dreams. All you need to do to make money from your paintings is to place them on online art auctions. Then people can bid on your work and you can have some extra income, and who knows, if you are very talented, maybe it can be the only income you need.