Painting is a blind man's profession. He paints not what he sees, but what he feels, what he tells himself about what he has seen. To me, a painter, if not the most useful, is the least harmful member of our society. See Dada , photography , readymade , and Surrealism . The painting has a life of its own.
Painting is an attempt to come to terms with life.
There are as many solutions as there are human beings. Encyclopedia Britannica's article on painting . Here is information on stretching canvas, preparing grounds, brushes, palette knives, palettes, drawing, colors, types of paint and how to control them. Chalkboard comes from the College of Art at Southern Arkansas University. Yahoo's links to painting sites .