All that you absolutely need is paint and a prepared surface. A pallet and a knife to mix colors, brushes, paint thinner, and maybe some medium will make things easier.If the canvas that you have is one of those pre-stretched ones in the celephane or a canvas board from an artists' suply store/ hobby shop , it is most likely prepared and ready to go. It should have a layer of white on the surface (canvas is naturaly a greyish off-white). If you have unprepared canvas, you need an archival primer. Acrylic gesso is the safest and easiest to use. Chances are, your canvas is already gessoed and ready to go.