Depending on what you're looking for or what kind of art you're thingking about, there are some pretty nice all around programs out there. Here's a few that I have used (all of the ones listed are free):
I haven't used this one a whole lot, but more and more people I know are using it and absolutely loving it. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be free, but I think it is now. The learning curve
This one is mainly for digital painting (as you might guess) and I found it to be useful as well as having an extremely low learning curve.
This one's more for editing and stuff, like Photoshop, but it can function decently well for digital art as well. It doesn't really have very good, if any tablet support, so if that's an issue for you, then you might not want it. The learning curve is pretty average, it's simple enough, but sometimes it feels a tab bit clunky.
This is a really nice one, although it is meant for pixel art and animations, but it's one of the best of it's kind. This is about $20, but the free version is fully funtional and the only limits are not being able to export to .GIF (which if you're animating, kinda sucks). GraphicsGale does have a bit of a learning curve, but it's mainly just getting comfortable with the layout and function of the tools.
and don't hate me for this one... but
Ok, I know this program has gotten a bad rap, but if you use it with some care, you can do alot mor with it than people give it credit for. Free of course and probably has the lowest possible learning curve of any PC art program! This is probably my favorite program for simplicity and necessary functionality. There are, however, some hidden features that aren't officially explained, but these can be easily found out online. With a few of these features and some basic art techniques, you can make some great art and/or pixel art.
These are just some of the ones I've liked the most, but there are plenty more free programs (alot of which I haven't used)
But if you want some tips or some general program usage help, just hit me up!
My Skype: Tosmatobeef