How to Paint With Acrylics
Painting is a fun pastime and can be a rewarding career. Acrylic paints are a good medium to use for painting. Acrylic paints have many advantages. They dry fast. They cover well. Acrylics can be used in washes or in impasto technique. Acrylics clean with water, not flammable paint thinners. Acrylics have minimal odor and no dangerous fumes.
To make a good painting you will want a good ground for your work. Canvas or canvas board work well with acrylic paints. You will also need an easel to support your work. Brushes are necessary, a palette knife, and a jar with water to clean your brushes. You will want some paper towels and a small table to hold your materials when you paint. You might want to place a drop cloth under your easel to protect the floor from splatters. A palette can be as simple as a paper plate. You should have good natural light from a window in your studio.
Once you get all your materials together it is time to begin. Before you set up your paints and easel you might want to think about composition of your painting. You may want to make several drawings to help you find a good design for your work. Paper is cheap, and a pencil drawing can save you a lot of trouble in visioning your painting. Depending on the composition you are going to paint, you may want to make an underdrawing on your canvas. A light outlining with a charcoal pencil can provide a good guide to you when you start to lay in colors. Spray your underdrawing with a fixative to keep it from smearing.
Squeeze your colors from the tube onto your palette. Use enough paint to cover your canvas. Take a brush and begin painting. Fill in areas of the same color. Mix paint on your palette or on the canvas. Acrylic paint dries fairly quickly, so if you want more time to work your paint mix in a retarding medium like Hyslo. If you work quickly your paintings will have a sense of immediacy. Do not mix all your colors together. Try to preserve a sense of contrast on the canvas. How you paint is your own business. What sells as art largely depends on what is in style and the fame of the artist.
When you are done with your painting mix some paint with a bit of medium until it is almost liquid and sign your work with a liner brush. Your signature is your trademark. You want to be sure people know who painted this masterpiece. Clean your brushes before the paint dries so you can use them another time. Let your painting dry on the easel for about a day so the paint will not be soft when you set your painting aside. The next day, run a knife along the edge of your painting where it is in contact with the easel so that the painting comes off without pulling any paint from the canvas. Now, take a good picture of your painting and post it on the Internet with a price. Try to sell your work, or, if you like it, frame it and put it up on display in your home.
Acrylics are a convenient and inexpensive medium in which to paint. You can get vibrant colors and good results without waiting endless time for a work to dry. If you are learning how to paint, there is probably not a better medium to use. Plan your paintings and sell them if possible. Your success as an artist depends not only on talent, but on how you market your work.
