I have both Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro. If you're only going to get one program, get Photoshop, and if you canm get Eye Candy and KPT 6 with it. Those who say Photoshop isn't a paint program only say that because they've failed to do the work required to master Photoshop's powerful paint features. It will do EVERYTHING except handle text well. The point is, if you're only going to get one image editing program, don't get one just for the painting features. Get a multifunction program which also happens to be the industry standard. Yes, it's got a large learning curve, and no, painting in it isn't easy. But you can do it, and you can also make custom brushes, and the number of plugins, both free and for pay, are unsyrpassed by any other program. It'll cost you, but with Photoshop you'll get the most bang for your buck.

Talent is God's gift to you. Using it is your gift to God.