Unleashing your inner creativity is not only a therapeutic way to spend your free time but provides several health benefits as well. Keeping your mind and body in shape is essential throughout our entire lives, but it becomes even more important as we grow older.
Painting is not only an entertaining hobby that sharpens your mind but it also helps you to heal from emotions that come to the surface, as well as relieve stress. Creating something beautiful from your mind and with your own hands can be extremely satisfying and will leave you feeling accomplished and optimistic.
Mental and physical health benefits of painting
Promotes stress relief: When experiencing times of stress or anxiety it is always a good idea to find an emotional release to let go of any undesirable feelings. Creating something beautiful with paint will stimulate your creative mind and allows you to focus on a task and let go of any stress.
Extends creative growth: Naturally, painting is a fantastic way to improve your creativity and allows you to see tangible improvements when you practise. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your hard work pay off.
Strengthening your memory: Painting is an amazing way to sharpen your mind - when you copy or visualise an image, it boosts your memory skills. Individuals that take up creative hobbies such as writing or drawing have less chance of developing memory loss illnesses as they get older.
Enhances your problem-solving and motor skills: Creating art requires critical thinking. You often use problem-solving through the creative process, from choosing colours to calculating angles. Plus, it helps you think outside the box, which will help you in other endeavours in your life. Motor skills like handling a paintbrush increase mobility in the hands and fingers, which help to create mental shortcuts that the brain implements in everyday life.
Stimulates an optimistic attitude: When we see or create something attractive, it not only helps generate a happy mood but also provides a relaxed, safe environment. When painting, you can explore your own creativity and foster a more optimistic approach to life.
Helps with emotional healing and growth: An artist releases their emotions through artwork which can also help you to evaluate and understand factors that contribute to your mood. Experimenting with different painting styles will allow you to understand what triggers feelings such as happiness, sadness, love or anger. Painting is often seen as a type of healing through abstract emotional expression.
The best painting kits for adults
We've put together a list of the best painting kits for adults, from acrylic paint, oil paint to watercolour paint, so you can get your creative juices flowing. We have even included some gorgeous paint-by-numbers sets if you are a bit daunted by the idea of a blank canvas.
Best painting kits for adults
1 of 11Acrylic Paint Set 28 PCS --H&B Painting Kit
The best value acrylic paint setGet crafty with this 28 piece painting set. It features everything from paint tubes, painting brushes and a palette so you can get started on your creative venture.
2 of 11Royal & Langnickel 'Essentials' Watercolour Art Set
The best watercolour paint set for adultsThis watercolour paint set offers a full spectrum of paints perfect for colour mixing so you can create your masterpiece. The box contains 12 12ml tubes of watercolour paints, a watercolour artist guide booklet, seven brushes, a watercolour pad, a plastic palette and knife, one stylus, one graphite pencil, an eraser, sponge and one six-well palette.
3 of 11Large Studio Oil Painting Set
The best oil paint set for adultsPacked with oil paints and accessories, this set features all the necessities to begin your painting venture. It comes with a myriad of colours with 15 50ml oil paint tubes, three brushes, three metal pallette knives, one refined rectified turpentine, an oil gloss varnish, a wooden palette and a metal dipper.
4 of 11MEEDEN Acrylic Painting Set- Acrylic Painting Kit
The best acrylic paint set with an easelThis durable sketch box easel will make your painting projects a breeze. Plus the desk easel switches to a wood box with four adjustable compartments to store your art supplies. The painting set comes with 24 12ml acrylic paints, 12 paint brushes and other handy art supplies to fuel your hobby.
5 of 11Crafts 4 All Acrylic Paint Set
The best acrylic paints for beginners If you are looking to start painting are feeling daunted by all the paintings kits out there then this painting set is a great place to start. It comes with three brushes and comes in either a 12-piece or 24-peice set. All you need is a good quality sketch pad and let your creative juice flow.
£8.99
6 of 11MEEDEN 72Pcs Acrylic Painting Set
The best extensive painting set for adultsLooking to go all-in on your hobby and get the works? This 72 piece painting set has everything you need to turn your spare room into an art studio. It features an acrylic paint set with 48 vibrant paints in a 22ml paint tube, ten paintbrushes in its own case, three 12 inch canvas panels and a 14-inch canvas, an acrylic paint pad with 15 sheets, a wood palette with a plastic knife set, a gift box and a portable table easel to create your works of art.
7 of 11YXQSED Frameless Paint by Numbers Kits for Adults
The best landscape inspired paint-by-numbers set for adultsLooking for a weekend creative project that doubles as beautiful wall art? This paint-by-numbers kit comes in many different designs, from a stunning hot air balloon scene to the canals of Venice.
8 of 11WONZOM [Without Frame Diy Oil Painting
The best animal-inspired paint-by-numbers set for adultsPaint yourself an animal kingdom with this DIY oil painting kit. The pre-printed textured canvas has everything you need to complete the paintings, including one pre-printed linen canvas (without frame), a set of acrylic paints, three nylon brushes, and a reference image to show you how the final painting should look. If you want to hang your masterpiece on the wall, then this set contains two wall hooks and two screws.
9 of 11Paint by Number Kit- MATISSE Art, Paint Together
The best art inspired paint-by-numbers set for adultsThis Matisse inspired paint-by-number kit has plenty of designs to choose from and will make a beautiful decoration for your room. The kit comes with a high-quality linen canvas with numbered instructions, a set of paint, three paintbrushes in various sizes and a paint tray.
10 of 11docrafts Artiste Country Cottage Paint By Numbers Kit
The best paint-by-numbers set for beginners This sweet and simple paint by numbers set has everything you need to get started straight out of the box. It comes with a canvas, seven acrylic paint pots and a brush. So you can paint this beautiful country cottage piece.
11 of 11Luscious Leaf Painting By Numbers Kit
The best simple paint-by-numbers set for adultsIf you are looking for a therapeutic activity, then this paint-by-numbers kit with a Monstera Deliciosa leaf design will provide you with hours of fun.
What kind of paint should I buy?
Oil paints: Out of the three, oil paint is the easiest form of paint to work with. Since oil paint dries the slowest you have lots of time to fix any smudges or other mistakes you make while painting.
Acrylic paint: Thanks to the relatively rapid drying process and the fact that you don't have to do much after painting on the canvas like with oil, acrylic paint is one of the easiest paints to work with. This paint dries relatively fast, but you will have much more room for corrections, unlike watercolours. Plus, acrylic paint can be applied in layers, so you can amend any area of the painting you don't like.
Watercolour paints: This form of painting is the most challenging, as there is little room for mistakes. As watercolours dry fast, they are not that malleable once they dry. However, watercolours don’t require you to add many different layers of paint to get the effect you want and will allow you to create more detail in less time.