Acrylic Painting Techniques

The acrylic painting medium is a fairly new addition to the various painting mediums available to today's artists. It has been around since the 1950's and has been continually under development and refinement ever since.

Acrylic paint is highly favored amongst artists because of its wonderful versatility. It can be applied thickly as an impasto having rich texture or in washes mimicking the characteristics of watercolor.

Another likable characteristic of acrylic paint is its permanence. Acrylic paint is not susceptible to yellowing or hardening with age. With acrylic paint, the artist does not need to be concerned with the order the paint is applied or other special techniques that ensure the paint film remains free from cracking. So it can be said that acrylic paint is much easier to use than oil paint.

Yet another characteristic that invites new artists to this medium is its fast drying time. Since acrylic paint dries so quickly, colors can be applied and overlaid quicker than with oil painting.

There are however a few downsides to the quick drying time of acrylic paints:

1) The paint will not remain workable for very long, so you have to work quickly.

2) The fast drying time of acrylics can also ruin brushes if the brushes are not cleaned immediately.

3) Acrylic paint is not the best medium for direct painting outdoors, especially on a bright sunny day. Whatever paint you put out on your palette will begin to dry quickly and form a skin over the surface of the paint making it very difficult to work with.

Watercolor Effects

Acrylic paint works wonderfully as a transparent medium, similar to watercolor. Acrylics do have an advantage over watercolors. You can lay out a number of thin washes over one another without fear of disturbing the colors underneath. You must wait for one layer to dry completely before applying another of course. Once each layer dries it becomes insoluble in water. The only disadvantage to using acrylics as a watercolor medium is the difficulty in modifying the color. Once acrylic paint begins to dry it becomes rather difficult to work with. One of the biggest problems is the tendency for washes to dry with unwanted hard edges. You can avoid this problem in one of two ways. You can either dampen the paper before the paint is applied or you can use an additional brush dampened with water. Use one brush to apply the paint and immediately soften the edge with the other brush that has been dampened with the water.

Blending Opaque Colors

With watercolor effects, the acrylic paint is applied in transparent washes. With the opaque technique the paint layers are non-transparent. Blending opaque acrylic colors can be a bit tricky as you are kind of pressed for time. It is important therefore to only work on areas that you know you will have enough time to blend. To blend two colors, first paint a block of each color side by side on your support. Where the two colors join paint down that line with a clean damp brush to soften the edges. To blend the colors even further, move the blending brush from side to side or up and down, until the desired blending is achieved.

Sgraffito Technique

Sgraffito is a scratching technique. It got its name from the Italian word graffiare which literally means to scratch. Just as the name implies it involves scratching into the surface of the wet paint which reveals either the ground or layer of dry color underneath. There are a number of different tools that can be used for this technique. Tools like screwdrivers or the sharpened end of an old paintbrush handle should suffice. It really depends on the support you are using. For instance, a screwdriver may not be the best tool if you are using a panel as a support. The hard metal may damage the panel, so you would need to use a softer tool.

Using a Squeegee

A regular squeegee that you can purchase at any hardware or auto store can create some interesting effects when used with acrylic paint. First you would squeeze out some paint blobs directly along one edge of your support. You can layout whatever colors you wish. Then with one fluid motion you would drag the paint across the support with your squeegee, which will smear and mix the paint and create some very unique and interesting designs. You may need to alter your squeegee a bit as the rubber blade that comes with most squeegees may not be rigid enough to drag the paint. You can remove the rubber blade and in its place glue in a regular wooden ruler. This will give you a flat sturdy edge to manipulate the paint.

I hope you have enjoyed this article on acrylic painting techniques. Take some time today to experiment with these techniques and have fun. Happy Painting!

Ralph Serpe is webmaster and founder of Creative Spotlite, a free arts and crafts community. For more free art lessons like this, visit: http://www.creativespotlite.com today. Visit our blog, http://www.artinstructionblog.com as well for even more free art instruction.

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10 Simple Acrylic Painting Tips | Do's & Dont's, Be a Better Painter

Acrylic Paints are Different From Oil Painting

Acrylic paint comes in a tube, just like oil paint. However, since acrylic paint is water-based meaning it dissolves in water instead of oil-based meaning you need to dissolve it in oil or turpentine, it's much easier to clean up after. You can soak your brushes and clean your hands in plain tap water, instead of smelly and flammable chemicals.

Another advantage to acrylic paint is that it dries much faster than oil paint usually
overnight. If you're working on a painting that needs to be done on time, that's
important. Acrylic paint was developed as a water-based alternative to traditional oil
paints.

Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry.
Depending on how much the paint is diluted with water, the finished painting can
resemble a watercolor or an oil painting.

Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint containing pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer
resin. Different from oil painting as watercolor is different from oil painting. There are
techniques, which are available only to acrylic painters, and there are also restrictions,
which are unique to acrylic painting.

Acrylic paints can achieve an oil-paint-like effect, and do so in much less time. Applied
to look like oil paints, acrylics are somewhat limited due to the superior color range of
oil paints, and the fact that acrylic dry to a shiny, smooth.

Acrylics paints are sometimes used in place of watercolors because acrylics dry closer
to the desired color slightly darker, usually, while watercolors dry lighter and often
unpredictably, especially for beginning artists.

Roger King has been writing articles on decorative interior painting for several years, and has been helping people find and review the best value for interior painting solutions.

Visit his web site www.decorativeinteriorpainting.com for free tips and guides for your next painting project

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Acrylic Painting Basics

Today I am going to talk primarily about working with acrylics. Now, I would guess that oils are much like acrylics - at least in the way I like to apply them and in the end result I like to achieve. I know that they can be applied more like watercolors, too, but that's not how I prefer to use them. I will say right off that what I like most about the acrylics is also what I like least. They do dry very quickly and since patience isn't one of my virtues, that's what I like about them. However, on warm days, or if I want to paint outside, they really dry too quickly. But, I keep a spray bottle of water handy to wet them on the palette and I have found that some of the mediums you can buy really slow down the drying time, too. Plus, I like the look of the gloss medium added to the paints in many situations. Over the last couple of years I have started to use one of the "stay wet" palettes that can be purchased in most art supply stores or from catalogs, and they really do work wonderfully in the studio for extending the life of the acrylics you already have on your palette.

I don't buy any one brand of acrylic paint over the other, but do prefer some colors in one brand over another. For example, Sap Green in Liquitex is a lot different than Sap Green in the Dick Blick brand. I'm not sure why. I don't usually get the student grade paints in ANY brand, however. I like working with a limited palette, mixing my own colors, starting with an underpainting and using the color wheel when deciding on colors for my paintings. I think all of these will make wonderful starting places for topics in the future.

As far as painting surfaces go, I like to experiment there, too. I've tried a lot of different canvas types, and sometimes I gesso them myself, even if it says its already been done. I do like the portrait grade canvas better, especially when I am doing people, as it is much smoother. I also like painting on gessoed hardboard and even Pastelbord, which has recently become a personal favorite of mine! This is a rather unusual surface, but one you acrylic painters really should try if you haven't yet!

For examples of this fantastically versatile medium visit http://www.hughbanksart.com/ to view pieces done on the various surfaces discussed in this article.

Well, this is a start. I've enjoyed discussing acrylics in this very basic way and look forward to breaking down the different elements in more detail in the future.

Debbie Hughbanks
http://www.hughbanksart.com/

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4 Cool Acrylic Painting Texture Techniques ( Easy )

Vincent Van Gogh, the Tragic Story of a Brilliant Painter

Twelve years after his tragic suicide, Vincent's work was discovered by a Parisian art dealer. Until then, no one, except for those who knew him personally, had ever even heard the name. Today, large sums of money are exchanged for his work.

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Vincent was born in the Dutch village of Zundert, in the south of the Netherlands. He studied theology and became a preacher in the Methodist Church. He also worked for several different art dealers in The Hague, London and Paris. Only in 1880 does he start painting, first traditional and very "Dutch", reflecting the Dutch rainy climate with many dark brown colors.

In 1886 Vincent moves to Paris, and two years later to Arles, on the Mediterranean, near Marseille. On the 20th of October of that year, Vincent's friend Gauguin joins him in Arles. Vincent's art becomes lighter in color, showing the Mediterranean sunlight in it.

Two months after Gauguin comes to Arles, Vincent has a schizophrenic episode and cuts a piece of his own ear off. The years following, Vincent starts to get very sick, and he eventually kills himself in 1890. His brother, Theo van Gogh, who had supported Vincent all of his life, dies seven months after Vincent, possibly from grief.

Van Gogh never sold a painting in his life. Today, his paintings are the most expensively sold in the world, and are admired around the globe in many museums and private collections. He also is celebrated as the forerunner of the expressionist movement.

Written by Duco Sminia

Featured artist: Vincent van Gogh [http://vincentvangogh.dusmart.com].

Research done by Irene Sminia.

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