Supports

Supports are the surface that you paint on. They can be canvasses, canvas boards, ply or hardboard with a primer painted on to prepare them for painting. When using acrylics you can sometimes use paper if the paint is to be thinned like water colour. When using a canvas or canvas board for acrylics it is helpful to lightly rub the surface with very fine sand paper before you start to paint as there is a finish to these that rejects thin acrylic initially. By sanding them slightly you break up the surface and it accepts the paint more easily. Don't rub too hard or you will get fluffy patches which are difficult to deal with.

If you think you are going to make a complete mess of the first few attempts I would suggest that you buy some hardboard and cut it into suitable sizes, sand the edges and apply acrylic gesso (available in art shops) in several coats allowing each coat to dry before applying the next. This way you will not be inhibited about making mistakes and it will cost you a fraction of the price. However, you will soon realise that canvas or canvas boards give you a texture that is very attractive in conjunction with oils and this is part of the seduction of oil painting.

When choosing canvasses I would suggest a medium grain (called universal in some catalogues) to begin with. There is a very coarse grained canvas called Herston Flax but this will be difficult for the beginner and extremely expensive. Fine grained canvas is for very detailed work and a bit fragile for the average beginner.