Jacksons Drawing Supplies

I’ve made it my life’s purpose to visit every Jacksons in WA! Only joking, I will visit just the ones in Perth.
As an avid art admirer, I am dumbfounded by the variety on offer at Jacksons. From inexpensive acrylics, to something for the more ambitious artists, Jacksons offers a huge choice.
I went a bit wild in this store and amassed a pile of arty things worth nearly $ 200. I asked if they gave discounts to poor struggling students, and they happily gave me 10% off after I flashed my uni id at them. Very awesome, very awesome indeed.

I was recommended this place by my cousin, who’s doing Visual Arts for her TER. It’s summer, so I have a hankering to pick up a new hobby and get in touch with my *~expressive~* side, but I don’t want to spend a fortune because a) I’m a student and b) artists are poor, duh!
I’m not exactly sure where to start upon entering this store! What on earth is Gesso, and do I need it for acrylic painting? I can’t for the life of me remember what sort of brushes to get either. Unfortunately, my bewildered looks didn’t gain me any sympathy from store staff. There were two in the shop, and one was with a customer, but the other just stood at the counter with a despondent look on her face.
Nevertheless, this store certainly takes me back to my high school days shopping for art supplies and makes me wish I’d ditched the communications degree and gone for a Bachelor of Fine Arts. They have everything here, all for cheap, cheap, cheap! I end up getting a few tubes of Chromacryl paint, a pre-​primed canvas and a few brushes.