Painting With acrylics: A Simple Demonstration for Beginners

16 Pages·2016·4.5 MB·English

Painting With acrylics:
A Simple
Demonstration
for Beginners
An excerpt from Painted Blossoms by Carrie Schmitt

Contents
4 Acrylic Painting for Beginners: Art Supplies and Tools
8 Color Basics
10 Painting With Acrylic for Beginners: A Demonstration
16 Additional Resources
Art Supplies and Tools
Find art supplies that fit your unique style by experi- myself up for success, which meant paying a little extra
menting with different sizes, shapes, brands and prod- for quality paint that would encourage me instead of
ucts. Each time I go to the art store, I pick one new frustrate me. Give yourself as many tools as you can to
item to play with while creating. have a positive experience.
Below is a list of general art supplies used in this When selecting colors, step outside your comfort
book. Before each exercise is a list of what you will zone. Some of my favorite colors to use while painting
need for that specific project. are ones I would never choose to wear or decorate my
home with such as fluorescents. However, in a painting
CAnvAS the effect they have on other colors is striking.
Try a variety of shapes and sizes to discover what you
like best. I always have several canvases in my studio PAletteS
so I can continue to paint while one is drying or just to You can hold your paint on a variety of surfaces. I usu-
move on if I need a break from a painting in progress. ally use palette paper, which is easy and requires no
You might discover that you paint differently on a large cleanup. Instead of throwing used sheets away, I use
canvas versus a small one. Usually, painting large feels them for craft projects or wrapping paper and even
the most natural and easiest for me. frame them sometimes. They are works of art, too.
The different sizes I use in this book are listed I have also used old cookie trays and old thrift shop
before each project. plates. I hang these on my walls when I am finished
using them.
ACryliC P Aint
I like to have a variety of colors that represent the
color wheel—versions of red, orange, yellow, green,
blue, purple, white and black. Heavy body acrylics are
thicker in texture, while fluid acrylics are thinner. I
often use the heavy body acrylics for flowers and fluid
acrylics for stems and when I use a spray bottle to
make the paint run.
When I began painting, I used a cheaper student-
grade version, but I found that I wasn’t happy with the
results. I realized if I was going to paint, I wanted to set
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BruSheS
Experiment and start with a variety.
I use all different shapes and sizes,
including flat and round, as well as
foam brushes.
MArk-MAking toolS
Bubble wrap
Food and beverage container lids
Masking tape
Scraping tools (I use palette knives,
straightened paper clips or anything
pointy that I can find but not too
sharp to pierce the canvas.)
Shish kebab skewers
Stamps
Stencils
Stickers
Get creative and see what you
can find around your house that can
make a print or mark with paint.
CollAge MA teriAlS
Chalkboard markers
Chalkboard stickers or chalkboard paint
Gel medium (glossy)
Old book pages
Photographs
Pressed flowers
Scrapbook or decorative papers
Vintage wallpaper scraps
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MeASuring toolS StenCil-MAking toolS StAMP-MAking toolS
Pencil Craft knife Rubber carving block
Protractor Manila folders Rubber stamp carving tool
Ruler Sharpie pen
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MiSCellAneouS
Camera Paper towels
There is so much beauty in the process of paint- To dry brushes and for general cleanup.
ing whether it is the stages of your painting, the
palette, the brush jar, your smeared hands or the Social media
unexpected drips of color. I love documenting the A great place to find inspiration, information and
painting process in its glorious mess. It is a story support from the vibrant online art community!
worth capturing. Join me and the Flower Tribe on Pinterest, Insta-
gram, Facebook and other social media websites.
Embossing gun or hair dryer
To dry your wet canvas more quickly. Just be care- Spray bottle for water
ful not to hold it too close to the canvas. Essential for making streaks, drips and surprises
on the canvas.
Journal
For sketching, writing and participating in the Water jars
reflective exercises in this book. I also keep a small I usually set out at least three jars of water: one to
portable bag in my car with a sketchbook, water- wash brushes with cool colors (blues, greens), one
color pencils, markers and pens to take when I to wash brushes with warm colors (reds, yellows,
am out in case inspiration strikes or I find some oranges) and one to wash neutral colors (light
unexpected free time. tones, white).
Objects of inspiration Wet rag
Magazine covers I use a wet rag to wipe any wet paint away that I
Photographs do not like on the canvas and to wash my fingers
Fabric after finger painting.
Natural objects such as flowers, shells, rocks,
sticks, feathers, etc.
Whatever catches your eye
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Color Basics and Color Secrets
Color is such an important design element to me that it
deserves its own special page. A basic understanding of the Where i Find
color wheel is helpful, but most of what I have learned over Color inSPirAtion
the years is from playful experimentation. For the projects in
Ï Botanical Gardens. Grab your camera and
this book, you will only have to know some basic information.
sketchbook and enjoy the transformative
This is an oversimplification of color theory, which is the power of nature. The colors, textures and
fascinating subject of many books if you are interested in aromas are not only inspiring but thera-
peutic as well. Even in the winter, I visit
learning more! We are going to take a playful approach to
greenhouses and botanical gardens just to
color rather than a technical one.
get a rush from the sights and smells of the
flora and fauna.
Color Mixing WArM ColorS
Ï Wedding Bouquets. Floral designers
Red + Yellow = Orange Reds
create captivating bouquets of color that
Yellow + Blue = Green Oranges provide a lovely palette for you to begin
Red + Blue = Purple Yellows your painting. (Pinterest is an amazing
source for wedding bouquet images. I
have my own Flower Inspiration Board just
CoMPleMent Ary Cool ColorS
for these subjects.)
ColorS Blues
Red and Green Greens Ï Magazines. Home decor magazines are my
favorite. The designers spend a lot of time
Blue and Orange Purples
making sure their covers are appealing with
Yellow and Purple
eye-catching color palettes.

I like to use color to create contrast by pairing the following Ï A Child’s Spontaneity. My five-year-old
has no color theory training, but she is
opposites next to each other:
a master with color. She usually helps
Ï Complementary colors Ï Warm and cool me start my paintings. If you don’t have
Ï Light and dark Ï Bright and dull a child on hand, paint in the mindset of
a child with complete abandon and no
awareness of anything other than that
moment. It’s hard to do but so rewarding.
Confession: I have no training in color theory. If you are like
me and didn’t go to art school, you might feel intimidated by
Color tiPS
what you think you don’t know. Luckily, those of us who did
not receive a formal art education have allies: experimenta- Ï If I create a color that I like, I create a color
swatch that almost looks like a math equa-
tion, fortuitous accidents and observation of color palettes
tion so that I can remember what I mixed.
found in art, fabric, textiles, photography and nature.
Blue +yellow + gray = this cool color.
Most of the time my color choices are completely ran-
dom, but sometimes I use the following methods as a starting Ï If you are mixing colors or creating layers
that look too muddy and dull, separate
point. I stay open to wherever the painting leads and have no
your warm and cool colors. Also, let the
resistance when it comes to changing direction with color.
paint dry at that point before continuing to
work on the next layer of the painting.
Ï Colors are relational—they look completely
different depending on what other colors
they are paired with, so be playful and sur-
prise yourself.
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Photo by Larey McDaniel
Color is all. When color is right, form is right. Color is everything.
—Marc Chagall—
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