ACRYLIC COLOURS
Updated: Feb 4, 2022
First appearing in the 1940s, these fast-drying paints are now used by many modern painters in every painting genre. It is not an old medium like watercolors and oil paintings, rather it is comparatively modern, when oil and watercolors date back to western history and the renaissance respectively, acrylic has emerged over the past century. Despite being new, it has attracted a lot of artists due to its versatility, durability, and immediacy as well as its ability to be used on multiple surfaces. It provides a wealth of creative potential due to its wide array of uses and approaches.
They burst into the artistic scenes at a time when artists were exploring with movements and different forms of art and acrylics provided a common medium for all of those and these very reasons made artists like Andy Warhol, Robert Motherwell, Larry Poons, and Helen Frankenthaler attracted to the acrylics.
They might have been late to enter the scene, but have had a marked influence on the 20th-century art movements. Their versatility unlocks unlimited creative gateways, some of which are still being explored today.
Acrylic Sunrise painting tutorial for beginners. something that you'd like to know more about!
In this blog, we will be talking about the different tips and tricks that one can use while
working with watercolors!
Dries fast
Since acrylic paints dry quite fast, it gets a little frustrating to blend them, hence always keep a spray bottle ready to mist your paints and prevent them from drying.
Never add too much water as that will make the paint wetter and it will start running on the canvas. Also, it is better to use a spray bottle with a fine mist sprayer as it prevents large water drops from making your painting runny.
Paint larger areas first
Another thing you can do is to paint larger areas first and details later as that will save paint. Since you are now coloring larger areas first, you won’t need to add more and more paint again and again. You can also use a thin wash of water on the canvas before you actually start painting.
How to paint Abstract Acrylic Painting? Click here to know more!
Mixing colors
Learn to mix colors! It will help you create your own colors and shades and will also save you money. Start by buying the three primary colors; red, blue and yellow and white & black. Once you learn how to make different colors from them, you can move on using earthy tones such as burnt umber, ochre yellow, and so on and as you go along, you will definitely figure out more colors and then you can buy more!
Taking care of your brushes
It is a must to clean your brushes with mild soap and water as soon as you are done painting since dry paint is next to impossible to get out of brushes.
Always keep your brushes with bristles facing up as keeping them face down can make them splayed and bent. They should also be kept in clean and dry containers. This can also happen if you keep them in water for long periods of time.
Sunrise Acrylic Painting Click here to know more!
Analyze
Step back from your canvas from time to time and have a good look at it from various angles. This will help you get a better and different perspective and you will be able to see your overall composition and analyze if everything goes well together!
Not happy with your work?
It might happen that you are not satisfied with your work or you have made a mistake, then worry not! Since acrylics dry quickly, one can just wait for the paint to dry and either give the whole canvas a coat or two of white paint and start over. If there are some minute mistakes, one can just paint over them and correct them after the first coat of paint is fully dry.
Acrylics are great mediums for beginners and do not burn a hole in your pocket, are quick-drying, versatile, and forgiving. You can also practice on almost anything since acrylics can be used on varying surfaces and once you get the hang of it, you can easily bring out your inner Vinci, Van Gogh, or even Rembrandt, using a brilliant medium these artists never knew about.
let's talk about the top 6 acrylic color techniques for beginners
People usually just pick up a brush and start painting, but that is not how you work with acrylic colors. You use a technique in your painting and there are tons of techniques under acrylic colors that you can work with and some of them are mentioned below.
DRYBRUSH
If you apply paint on a canvas straight out of its tube using a dry brush, you’ll see a very strong stroke of the brush on the canvas which will make your lines uneven. This happens because you haven’t used any water to soften the edges. And using a dry brush technique will definitely give you a purposeful “painterly effect”.
WASHING
If you add enough water to the paint, its density starts reducing and it acts a bit like watercolors. This diluted paint can be used to paint translucent surfaces but unlike watercolor, this paint will set permanently. You can also try mixing the wash and the dry brush technique to get the desired results.
https://youtu.be/B_hxwZJm4fk. Click here to know more!
SPLATTERING
This is one of the most fun techniques when it comes to acrylic colors. Just start out with a wet brush and take some paint on it. Then just splatter or flick it on the surface you are painting on. this gives an interesting effect to the painting and is often used to create abstract landscapes and stars in galaxy prints or just to add some texture to the surface.
https://youtu.be/2NtOcYQJMYs. Click here to know more!
PALETTE KNIFE
Applying paint with the help of a palette knife instantly makes your work look ‘painterly’. It can easily be done by beginners as well so there’s no need to fret. If you make a mistake, you can easily correct it with another stroke of the knife. Just simply take a little paint on the knife and apply it to the surface and you will definitely get the hang of it soon. Not only a knife, but you can also easily choose other household objects to work with as well!
https://youtu.be/g1sbl3KiSL0. Click here to know more!
DETAILING
If you are more into sharp and realistic details, you will need a very fine brush to paint them. If this realism is your jam, then give this technique a try. But mastering this technique lays a lot of groundwork and you will need to get better and better with time.
https://youtu.be/j_eANSex_I8. Click here to know more!
LAYERING
Layering is exactly as it sounds, you just keep adding layers of paint one on the other. Work your way up from the bottom. You can start by adding big blocks of color, maybe as washes, and then keep adding more color according to the piece you are working on and how refined you want it to be.
https://youtu.be/a_BixiI8PzQ. Click here to know more!
It does not matter if you are an amateur or a seasoned acrylic painter, what matters is how much you practice. Since practicing your skill helps you perfect your skill and technique.
TELL US IN THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW HOW THESE TECHNIQUES AND TIPS HELPED YOU!
Wishing you a 'creative escape' ahead!