Canvases and paints...help?!

[JessdueJan]

My dad has always wanted to get into painting as a hobby...and now my mum has left Lord knows he is in need of something to take his mind of things , so ladies help. I had a quick glance in the range at their art stuff and they have so many different brands and types of paint I don't know where to start.
Any help much appreciated... What would be a good set up for him to have a mess around with while he's getting into it? xx

 

[Marie000]

I used to pain a little, and for paint, I don't think sets with tons of colors are worth it. It's so easy to mix them, just the basic colors will do (I usually had red, blue, yellow, green and lots of white - go with bright/dark rather than pale colors... it's easy to mix them with white and make them paler. I found black was not essential)
I like acrylic because it's easier to clean the brushes. I know some people prefer the look of oil paint though.
For brushes, I would avoid super cheap ones (so annoying to have to remove brush hair from your painting!) but he probably doesn't need super fancy ones to start. Get him a few brushes of different sizes.
For canvas, maybe get him a couple to get started, but he'll probably develop his preferences for sizes, etc.
A nice portable easel is useful too. Some have built-in storage too.

If it's within your budget, maybe find him a class?

 

[JessdueJan]

Excellent thank you
Mixing colours didn't even cross my mind I definitely would have bought him a pack with a million colours in so thanks for that advice xx

 

[Button#]

I would stick to magenta, yellow, cyan and white for colours and I agree acrylic is very versatile for starting out with. Also a sketch pad and pencils would be good for sketching ideas