Painting With Acrylics - The Basics

You've been to the art shop and you have bought your set of acrylic paint and you are ready to paint. Before you start let's go over some basics.

Here are the main differences between acrylic and watercolor;
Acrylic paint is resin based, it dries very quickly and when it is dry it is completely waterproof (Watercolor is never waterproof). Acrylic paint can be used like oil paints and painted impasto (that is so thick that you can see the brush strokes). Acrylic paint can be layered like oils but because of the drying time it can be layered much more quickly (oil paint can take days to dry, acrylics will dry in minutes). In theory you can paint a canvas black, let it dry and then paint it white again! In practice the paints are never completely opaque and some of the color underneath will come through. You can dilute acrylics with acrylic medium. This is a clear resin formula which will slow the drying time of your acrylics and "bulk" them allowing impasto work more easily (and cheaply).

Here are some of the similarities;
You can dilute acrylics with water to produce washes in much the same way you would with watercolor. Some people paint with acrylics much as they would with watercolor, that is to say first starting with a very pale wash for sky or distant landscape and then gradually working in washes of increasing color density for the foreground and detail. You can apply glazes with acrylics in the same way as watercolor. A glaze is the application of a semi translucent layer of paint which will allow the color underneath to shine through in varying degrees according to the light. This is one of the most exiting ways paint can be used, glazing as a technique was very popular with the neo-romantic movement with artists such as Gabriel Dante Rossetti. Layers of paint of increasing translucency was applied to areas of the face and skin which allowed the skin tones to glow in the light.

Some useful tips on the use of acrylics;
As mentioned above glazing is a very exiting technique to really make your paintings stand out and give the color a particular intensity. To do this you will need to know which of your colors are opaque and which are translucent. Some acrylics have a coding system on the colors, for example "T" for translucent and "O" for opaque. In practice you don't need to be told this, you can squeeze a little of your paint onto your white palette. If the paint is translucent it will look like jelly, you will be able to see through it, if it is opaque it will look more like a blob of wet plasticine, it's as simple as that, although obviously mastering subtle glazing technique can take many years.

The other useful thing to bear in mind is you will either need a way to keep your acrylic paint wet or you should only use in small amounts. Ways to keep acrylics useable on the palette include special paper like blotting paper you wet first with water and then mix your acrylics on top of it. Other artists will spray water on their palette at regular intervals. For myself I like to work fast and when it's getting a bit dry I wash the palette and start again from scratch.

Never, ever let acrylic dry on the brush! When painting with acrylic keep your brushes in water. When you have finished using them wash them carefully with cold water and washing up liquid, rinse them and dry them upright, shaping the bristles into points.

I hope you have found this brief guide useful, feel free to browse the website below and you will see some of my work.

Mark Robb is a practising artist based in Haworth. If you have enjoyed the article above then he invites you to browse the website http://firstforart.com/ where you will find all kinds of art materials, art prints and further advice and tips to help you become a better artist.

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Early Van Gogh Painting

In the period 1883 - 1886, Van Gogh lived in Nuenen and Antwerp. It was at this time that he started painting using oil colors. The paintings by Van Gogh at this time were what you could call socially conscious. He focused on showing the life and plight of the rural population and how this life in many ways contrasted with that of the urban population. It was a fairly productive period for Vincent, in which he completed more than 200 paintings. However, with his focus on dark earthy tones, the paintings were not in the fashion of the times. As mentioned by his brother Theo, the art collectors of Paris were more interested in the bright modern paintings of the impressionists, rather than somber earthy tones and realistic peasant depictions that he produced.

However, the paintings of this early period are not without merit. A number of the works produced at this time are also today considered among the master pieces of Van Gogh. Among them we find "The Potato Eater", probably his first truly major work and a good example of the realistic depictions of rural peasants that were his main subjects. The painting depicts just such a group of peasants as they sit down in the evening for some food. Both the depiction and the coloring are realistic and quite sobering. It is one of dark earthy tones, ugly faces and little joy. Most of the paintings during this period displayed similar sober scenes and motives, including his landscapes. As such, it is not hard to see why there can have been some trouble selling these works in a Paris fascinated by the bright art of impressionism.

The famous self-portrait "Still Life with Straw Hat and Pipe" was also produced at this time. While not exactly an explosion of colors, it is more in line with the later style of Van Gogh, including the very visible brush strokes that became his trademark. A last painting that deserve mention from this period, as much for its out of character feel as for its motive, is "Skull of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette." Apparently made as a comment upon the traditional teaching methods of art schools, the painting is very unlike most Van Gogh pieces in its choice of a fictive motive. Its elegant sarcasm has however also won it many fans as an usual but brilliant Van Gogh painting.

This phase of dark colors and somber depictions ended once Vincent went to Paris in 1886 and get inspired by the styles of the impressionists there. However, for those interested in looking into the early realistic mastery of Vincent Van Gogh, many of these works can today be found at the Van Gogh Museum in The Netherlands.

To see a online gallery of hand painted oil painting reproductions from all the great artists please check out the site which has a wide selection of Van Gogh Reproductions.

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How to Get Better With Watercolors - 5 Tips

All watercolor artists would like to improve their paintings. Here are five tips to help you to do so:

1. Plan your white spaces ahead of time. This is important when painting with watercolor. Unlike oil painting, where whites are added as a last step, watercolor whites must be planned for and "saved." This can be accomplished by either painting around them, or by using a masking fluid to block out the sections of your painting you want to remain white.

2. Know your color wheel. Having a basic knowledge of primary, secondary and tertiary colors, and their relationships to one another will help you to know where to place them in your painting for the best effect. Knowing which colors are each other's compliment will give your watercolors balance and appeal. Complimentary colors are located directly opposite one another on the color wheel. For example, red is the compliment of green, and yellow is the compliment of violet. Placing complimentary colors adjacent to each other is pleasing to the eye.

3. Use a full range of values. Using a full range of values will help give your watercolor paintings depth and make your whites pop. Make a "back and white" sample using a row of ten empty squares you have drawn on your watercolor paper; leave the first block white, and paint the last square nearly black (I never use black in a watercolor. Indigo Blue works well, or a mixture of Alizarin Crimson and Winsor Green.) Now mix combinations to make the various shades of "gray" in between. using this wide range of values will help you to improve your watercolor paintings.

4. Avoid making a muddy mixture. Knowing which watercolors are transparent and which are not, will help you to avoid mixing a muddy brown. There are many colors which are transparent such as Rose Madder Genuine and Cobalt Blue. When combined these make a lovely transparent violet. Other blues and reds with more opaque qualities will make a "duller" violet, and if a third color is added, the possibility of a muddy brown exists. So study by practicing using a wide variety of colors to determine their degree of transparency.

5. Last, but not least, be yourself! Don't try to imitate other artists' styles. Paint the way You paint, and your own style will evolve. You will come to have a favorite palette and your watercolors will reflect this. Don't let others tell you are painting too "tightly" or too loosely. Be yourself and paint in a way which feels most natural to you!

Sue Doucette, Author/Artist

I have been painting with watercolor for many years and am happy to share with you what I have learned along the way. I write a monthly page of tips for fellow watercolorists which I post on my website. Please visit http://www.CapeCodWatercolor.com/Hints-For-Painters.html.

To see more watercolor paintings, visit http://www.CapeCodWatercolor.com/portfolio

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