Painting on numbers is a great hobby, creativity and meditation all in one package. Painting itself is one of the most important ways of knowing the world around us, and its importance for the development of a creative personality is difficult to overestimate. Develops thinking, memory, concentration, visual perception and observation in us. Coloring relieves stress after a long day of work and allows you to get rid of everyday worries and throw yourself into the world of dreams, filling the evenings with creative moods. Make the most of the coloring process, as it is difficult to imagine a calmer activity than painting. The process of coloring paintings on numbers is extremely simple – apply with a brush on certain numbered areas of the specific paintings of the image, whose numbers are indicated on the bottles.
So it’s time to answer the most frequently asked questions about numbered paintings:
What are numbered paintings?
Painting by numbers is a fairly young hobby that has come to us quite recently, although it has been around for more than half a century. Painting sets were first invented in 1951 by Max Klein and artist Dan Robbins. These people were looking for a way to allow anyone to paint a complete picture without special artistic skills and knowledge. It is noteworthy that their ideas were based on the principles of teaching painting adopted by Leonardo Da Vinci, who applied numbered outlines on his canvases, after which his students filled these outlines with the appropriate colors. In modern numbered paintings, the meaning is similar and consists in painting certain numbered areas of the canvas with specific acrylic paints. Almost every painting has its own author, meaning that the coloring canvases are reproductions of famous and less popular masters of painting. Moreover, the sets of paintings on numbers allow you to paint a real image by yourself, which will be extremely similar to the original.
How to start painting paintings by numbers?
The painting process is as follows: take paint number 1 from the set and paint over all the areas on the canvas marked with number 1. Then take paint number 2 and so on. Most often, drawing sets use from 22 to 28 colors of paint, which will have to be used in the coloring process. As a result, you will get a real work of art, a kind of little masterpiece! In this case, it is not necessary to start painting areas of the canvas according to the serial number. You can start by painting on wide backgrounds using the largest brush in the set. Then move on to the smaller, more graceful details of the image, but with a smaller brush. In fact, the choice of where to start coloring depends only on your imagination and desire. You will definitely love both the process and the result!
What’s included in the numbered painting sets?
The coloring kit contains everything you need at once: a canvas on a frame with numbered contours applied on it, several brushes (usually three pieces – wide, medium and small), the numbered paints needed for coloring, a check sheet and a stand for canvas. In addition, our online store www.paintingbynumber.uk always offers gifts to its customers, such as small palettes or varnishes, which will add even more positive emotions to the painting process. You do not need additional purchases for the coloring process.
Who can paint by numbers and is this activity suitable for children?
The sets of paintings on numbers on our website www.paintingbynumber.uk are suitable not only for adults but also for children (both boys and girls). However, because the child will need perseverance and the ability to focus on the coloring process, we recommend these sets to children from the age of five. Painting will allow them to acquire the basic skills of creation and will help them develop their imagination. An older artist will like complex paintings that require more patience, concentration and precision. That’s why adults have loved this activity of meditation, because almost every one of us dreams of feeling like an artist and painting a picture with our own hands. Painting on numbers is the perfect end of a work day, relieving stress and rewarding you with positive emotions, so there’s no age limit!
Is it worth covering the painting with a varnish after you finish it?
The finished numbered painting can (though not necessarily) be covered with varnish – glossy or, for example, matte, depending on the effect you want to give at the end. Not long ago, we did a varnish experiment on our site and collected your feedback after. All participants used brushes for applying the varnish, to be comfortable and safe for the surrounding objects. However, one of the competitors used a hairspray to simulate a cloud of varnish, spraying a part of the surface of the painting. After seeing the result, we were convinced opponents of the use of acrylic varnish spray packaging, so we recommend that you apply it only with brushes. Furthermore, we deliberately suggest that you use only glossy or semi-gloss varnishes. According to the general opinion of the participants and our team, all the paintings on the numbers after varnishing remained in their range of colors in terms of warmth and palette, and the fears related to excessive brightness were not confirmed. By the way, one of the participants in our test successfully used the varnish to dilute the thickened paint.
Which theme to choose for beginners?
It is worth choosing based on your wishes and preferences, because you can paint any model from our catalog of paintings on numbers. We have prepared many categories for you: landscapes, cities, portraits, flowers, etc. Feel free to paint anything you want! If you are concerned that the creative process will be very difficult, then we recommend that you choose something from the “simple” section. The sets with the lowest number of colors and complex contours for coloring are collected here.
However, don’t be afraid to try medium and difficult paintings right away, because each of you is a novice artist who is ready to create his/her own masterpiece! The medium level will require a lot more perseverance on your part. Such painting sets are full of small details that will often require resistance from you when painting, but in addition, the set will also include large areas and simple.
Sophisticated painting sets are recommended for art lovers and introverts, as they require maximum concentration from you throughout the process, but at the same time, they will give you a lot of pleasure in the coloring process!
The slightest movement of the brush out of contour will lead to staining over the unplanned part of the canvas and subsequent repainting with the desired color. By the way, it is very easy to repaint the wrong areas, you just have to wait a few minutes and you can paint over the applied layer of paint.
What are the paints made of?
Our painting kits contain completely harmless and non-toxic water-based acrylic paints. They are manufactured in the Paintboy factory under a strict quality control. One of the undeniable advantages of acrylic is that it is not afraid of relatively high temperatures and is sufficiently resistant to ultraviolet radiation. In other words, they is not afraid of sunlight and do not burn in the sunlight. While the main component of synthetic paints is synthetic latex, acrylic paint contains an aqueous “solvent” of polymers. To be more precise, these are water-soluble plastic dispersions, therefore, when dry, such a coating forms a durable protective film with protective and decorative functions. Therefore, the application of acrylic on the canvas gives it additional durability.
How do you protect your paint from drying out?
After purchasing a set of painting by numbers, do not store it near heaters and don’t allow sudden temperature changes. After painting – always seal the containers with paint and do not leave them in the sun. But even if left untreated, the paints will not dry out, they may simply suffer from temperature fluctuations, which will adversely affect their properties (they will become denser after a certain period of time). All manufacturers of numbered paints recommend to not delay the painting process, but even if you have suddenly postponed the painting process for a month and then found the paints thickened – don’t despair! Just add a few drops of water or varnish from the painting kit to the paint tube and mix well. After that, the paints will become suitable for later use. By the way, we also recommend adding varnish if a certain color finishes and there are still unpainted areas with this number on the canvas.