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Painting techniques: How to start with acrylics

by Lucia

 

A new installement of the painting techniqes series! In this short article we'll be talking about the first steps to take to start using acrylic painting. In particular we'll examine how to dilute the painting and how to lay the paint on the canvas.

 

To do acrylic painting, you take the pigments, add water, and use a brush
to apply the paint to the paper or canvas or whatever surface you want. It’s as simple as that.

 

Let's start painting!

 

Pour a small amount of acrylic color on your palette.

 

You will learn to quantify the exact amount after a while. Try to evaluate it as better as you can, so you don’t have to stop in the middle of your painting
to get some more.

 

(when you’re starting out, you may not know how much paint to mix, so mix a little bit more than you think you’ll need).

 

If you have to stop while you’re in the middle of a wash, the wash may dry and cause you to miss the opportune time to add paint while it’s still damp.

Do not overdo with the amount of color: once the acrylic is dryed you cannot use it anymore! Some artists spray the palette with water, so all the colors are damp and ready to use.

 

 

Painting techniques, Step 1

 

Place the pigment on the mixing area (in the central part of the palette) and add a
little water by dipping the hairs of the brush into the water container and bringing it
back to the mixing area. Add this brush load of water to your pigment in the mixing area.

 

Water dilutes the paint. You can get a wide range of value, light to dark, by the amount of water or white pigment you add to paint. You can adjust the color by adding more water or more pigments.

 

You can always remove water by touching with the tip of the brush a dry piece of cloth.

 

If you apply paint straight from the tube of paint onto your paper/canvas,the brush may pick up a chunk of pigment that can leave a streak of color behind. If you don't want streaks, pull the paint into the mixing area and add a little water and mix it until it’s smooth and chunk-free.

 

Swirl the water and paint together with the brush. You should have a nice mix of color with no lumps. Test the color by painting a brush stroke on a scrap of paper. Add more water/white if it’s thick and too dark. Add more pigment if the color is too pale. Consider also that the color it will be lighter, when dry.

 

Painting techniques, Step 2

 

Use a clean brush every time you change colors. Clean the brush by swirling it in your filled water container to remove any previous paint and change the water frequently.

 

Clean carefully (with soapy water) the brush when you are done painting otherwise the paint will dry on the hairs and you can as well throw the brush away.


Painting techniques, Step 3

 

painting techniques

 

Remember: art is fun. Have fun by enjoying the colors, how they interact, and the
results they yield. Now it's time to mess up some paper, water and color to make art.

 

If it's the first time you are using acrylic painting start painting smal rectangles of pure colors and try to dilute the pigment with water or with white pigment. See the difference in the effect!

 

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