It ' s actually not that bad . You seem to be paying attention to the basics which is most important . The best advice I can give is to keep practicing . The more you paint the better you will get . Don ' t be afraid to make mistakes . Mistakes help you learn what not to do . Another thing I do is to paint the same thing three times in a row . It enables you to go back and redo what you don ' t like . I really recommend you give it a shot . It works wonders for me . As for brushes , look for anything with natural bristles . I use cheap walmart brushes quite often . 1 , 2 and 3 s . The Ross brand stuff works the best , but it does go expensive . I find acceptable deals on ebay . You can cheap on brushes an canvas , but you can ' t use bad paint . Walmart paint is greasy and thin . The more expensive paints perform better . Winton is a favorite of mine . Just keep on painting . You ' ll get there .