Let's face it, using paint sucks. A lot of work, few options, and low quality make you get what you pay for: nothing. Here, I have found a better image editor that is easy to use and learn: GIMP2!
Linky:
http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
Gimp 2 is FREE and is my preferred image editor. It has a lot of options and lets you do anything from stretch or shrink picture, to add filters! You can do a lot with GIMP and it is, really, one of the best image editors you can get without paying for. Check it out, and let me know what you think. Fair Winds!
The Good Doctor.