As I plan for a painting, I often look at other’s works that I admire and see how they approach a particular subject. I’ll search on Pinterest or on Instagram and grab some ideas. For example, a couple of summers ago, I visited a local farm and they had numerous fields of sunflowers. I took lots of pictures because I wanted to paint them. To help me understand how to capture these gorgeous fields of color, I looked on Pinterest and pinned some painted landscapes I liked. I made notes on how the artist showed distance, how they overlapped the flowers, how they used color and composition and so on. I took three of them and made a folder so I could reference them as...
Acrylics are wonderful to paint with because of its' versatility, durability, vibrant colors and ease of use. It's a great choice for the novice to the professional painter. I love how they dry quicker and allow for so much layering of colors. I also like how acrylics can be mixed with a lot of different art mediums, like colored pencil, charcoal, paper and so on, creating some spectacular and original works. However, it does have some disadvantages, such as drying too quickly at the worst time. It can be a real pain when you're wanting to blend colors in larger areas of your canvas and find the paint has already set. So, here are some tips below that I've found...
WHAT DO I DO WITH THE BACKGROUND? Have you ever gotten to a point where you just can’t decide on a background? Should you add more details, use one color or two or even create some abstract design back there? Here are some ideas for you when deciding on what to do in your background. KEEP IT SIMPLE Keep the background simple. Do not add too many details in the background, because having too much “stuff” will distract from the focal point. The focal point area should always be the most detailed while the outer edges are softer and more blurred. Your viewer will want to focus on the more detailed part and give the eye a resting spot. COLOR CHOICES Use only...
Here are a couple of questions from acrylic painters who struggle with color: “I get so frustrated when color mixing and it doesn’t turn out what’s in my mind’s eye. How am I ever going to get it right without wasting paint?” “Is there an existing resource somewhere for how to mix specific paint colors?” “How do I know what color’s work best with each other?” Can you relate? I sometimes have these same issues even after painting for years and years. Here are some tips that have helped me: COLOR MIXING KNOW-HOW: If you want a great resources for helping you mix the color you want, here is a wonderful book: Color Mixing Recipes for Oil & Acrylic: Mixing recipes...
