PAINTING WITH ACRYLICS: PART 1 Brenda Hoddinott Y05 ADVANCED: CREATING IN COLOR This is the first in a series of six lessons that takes you through the process of learning how to paint with acrylics. This lesson is divided into the following four sections: Introduction Basic Painting Supplies Planning Your Painting Five Simple Steps to Set up for Painting This project is recommended for artists from age 12 to adult with good drawing skills, as well as students of home schooling, academic, and recreational fine art educators. 8 PAGES 9 ILLUSTRATIONS Published by Drawspace.com, Halifax, NS, Canada (June, 2009)
- 2 - INTRODUCTION I ve painted with oils since 1988. However, I m becoming increasingly concerned about the toxicity of the various chemicals used in their manufacture. In addition, I m not fond of the smell of the oils and mediums, the clean-up, or the long drying times. So, I ve decided to teach myself to paint with acrylics. As I go through this process, I am going to share my learning with you. Having had very little experience with using acrylics, I plan to simply have fun. My subject for my painting is a tiny section of one of my oil paintings (Figure 501) that I modified into an abstract using Photoshop (Figure 502). Figure 501 I have no delusions that my acrylic painting will be anything but a learning tool. I ll start a real painting once I have conquered the basics! As you can see in Figure 502, I drew a grid on my reference photo in Photoshop before I printed it. However, I gave up on using a grid a few minutes into my preliminary drawing. I wanted to adjust most proportions and make several changes. Hence, freehand drawing worked perfectly! Figure 502 BASIC PAINTING SUPPLIES Just in case I dislike acrylics more than oils, I decided to learn on a tight budget. Paints were my biggest investment.
- 3 - When I painted in oils I used only primary colors (two different colors of yellow, blue, and red) as well as raw umber and white. As you can tell from the painting in Figure 501, these colors can be mixed together to create any color you can see or imagine. White is used more than any other color so, I bought a big tube. The base colors (Figure 503) that I have used for more than 20 years are: 1) White 2) Alizarin Crimson 3) Cadmium Red 4) Ultramarine Blue 5) Cerulean Blue 6) Yellow Ochre 7) Cadmium Yellow 8) Raw Umber Figure 503 As you can tell by the squished tubes, the paints are slightly used. I was well into the painting before I thought about sharing my learning process with you. Acrylic paints dry very quickly, so my next purchase was something I call a wet palette. This big plastic thing with a cover (Figure 504) prevents my mixed paints from drying too quickly. In addition to the wet palette, I also picked up a couple of packages of the special papers that fit inside. Figure 504 TIP! I learned a few tricks as I set up my wet palette. I first placed a sheet of the thick absorbent paper into the tray, and used a large brush to add just enough water to make it wet. Easy! However, the top sheet of thin paper was not as cooperative! As soon as the thin paper was placed on top of the thick paper, it began to wrinkle. I finally discovered that by spreading more water on top of the thin sheet, I could gently brush out all the wrinkles. Then, I simply poured out the extra water. On to something to use for mixing the paints! Since I really do not enjoy cleaning up, I went with disposable palette paper (Figure 505), which usually has about 40 sheets. I soon discovered that acrylic paints have to be mixed very quickly and then added to the wet palette. Otherwise, the paints will be dry before you get to use them. Some artists who work in acrylics spray a small amount of water on their palette to keep the paint wet as they mix their colors. This did not work for me the colors started running into one another and I soon had a palette full of mud.
- 4 - However, it works for many artists, so it may work for you? Maybe I added too much water? If you d like to try this, you ll need a spray bottle filled with a little water. Anyway, I simply decided to mix my colors very quickly, which worked just fine for me. Figure 504 Unless you plan to use your fingers for the actual mixing (not a good idea), you may want to buy a palette knife. I ve tried many different types and shapes of palette knives over the years. (The plastic ones are simply awful.) My favorite is made of metal with a wooden handle and the shape is sort of an elongated diamond (Figure 505). I didn t want to ruin my good brushes (Figure 506), so I went to a local dollar store and picked up a few cheap brushes (Figure 507). These brushes came in a package of 6 (at less than 20c each, you don t really care if some brushes are ruined!) I was very surprised when I saw that they were almost as good as student quality brushes that cost much more (so, I bought 15 packages). Their ferrules had no seams, the handles were very securely attached, and the bristles did not fall out. Figure 505 Figure 506 Figure 507
- 5 - TIP! Stay away from brushes with a seam in the ferrule. These brushes are usually too poor quality to use for more than a few minutes. Also, they tend to shed, and sometimes the handle detaches completely from the ferrule. Also, brushes with really soft hair are almost useless when you paint with acrylics. You don t need lots of expensive brushes to learn to paint. Check out lesson R02 Oil Painting Brushes to get an idea of the different types and how they are used. Acrylic brushes are slightly different, but the basic shapes and uses are the same. Every artist has their favorite types of brushes; so, try out a few different brushes to find out which ones work best for you. The next step is to buy a canvas. The one I use in this project is 20 by 24 inches an ideal size for loose brushwork. I suggest that you go for a stretched canvas mounted on a frame, rather than canvas board. Most stretched canvas comes already primed and ready to use. When I began learning to paint, I used canvas board. Most of my early paintings were awful, anyway. However, I did a portrait of my son that somehow turned out fairly well. I regret now that I didn t use stretched canvas. The acid in the cheap canvas board has started disintegrating, and the painting is slowly being eaten away. PLANNING YOUR PAINTING When I paint in oils, I usually cover the canvas with a thin layer of brownish paint. However, this is not a serious painting, so I ll just jump right in and plan my painting! You can draw anything you want on your canvas. However, I do caution you against beginning a painting without a plan. If you are a total beginner, you may even prefer to draw a few random simple shapes. Remember, your first painting is not intended to be a masterpiece! Many artists do their underdrawings with a small brush and diluted paint. I prefer to use a pencil. Figure 508
- 6 - I used an HB grade of mechanical pencil to do my underdrawing on the canvas. I then sprayed it with a couple of thin coats of fixative. Finally, I painted the entire surface with a thin layer of Gesso and water. Just in case my painting turns out reasonably well, I don t want the graphite to eventually bleed through into the paint. TIP! If you d like to paint along with me, feel free to use the line drawing on page 7. You can draw a corresponding grid on your canvas (as long as your canvas is the same size as mine, of course). FIVE SIMPLE STEPS TO SET UP FOR PAINTING In this section, I break down the information in this lesson into five simple steps. STEP 1: Buy your supplies. Paints Wet palette Disposable palette sheets Palette knife Large soft brush Brushes for painting Canvas Mechanical pencil and HB leads Gesso Spray fixative STEP 2: Plan your painting, and then draw an outline of your subject on the canvas. Keep it simple! My subject is more complicated than it looks. However, if you wish to draw along with me, you can use my design (on the next page); you can either draw freehand or use a grid. If you use a grid, each square of a 24 by 20 inch canvas needs to be 2 by 2 inches. STEP 3: Use your large brush to gently brush away any excess graphite on the canvas. Make sure you wash the brush with mild soap and water when you are done. STEP 4: Spray your drawing with 2-3 thin coats of fixative. I use Windsor & Newton Artists Fixative, transparent, for pastel, charcoal, and pencil. Be careful not to inhale the fumes. I always use spray fixative outdoors. STEP 5: Apply a thin coat of Gesso (mixed with water) to the entire canvas. Use your large brush. You need to paint quickly because Gesso dries quickly. Don t use unmixed Gesso - you need to still be able to see your underdrawing clearly! TIP! You may want to experiment on a tiny section before you add Gesso to the entire canvas. The goal is to cover the canvas in such a way that you can still clearly see the faint lines of your drawing.
- 7 - Figure 509 In lesson Y06 Painting with Acrylics Part 2: Putting Brush to Canvas, you mix your colors and begin painting.
- 8 - Before you begin Part 2, complete each of the following lessons: R01 Primary and Secondary Colors R02 Oil Painting Brushes Y04 Values in Colors BRENDA HODDINOTT As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist (retired), and illustrator, Brenda Hoddinott utilizes diverse art media including her favorites: graphite and paint. Brenda is the author of Drawing for Dummies (Wiley Publishing, Inc., New York, NY) and The Complete Idiot s Guide to Drawing People (Winner of the Alpha-Penguin Book of the Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN). She is currently writing two books on classical drawing. My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the enjoyment aspects while gently introducing the technical and academic. Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter, the quest for knowledge also becomes enjoyable. >Brenda Hoddinott< Born in St. John s, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook. She developed strong drawing and painting skills through self-directed learning. During her twenty-five year career as a self-educated civilian forensic artist, various criminal investigation departments have employed Brenda s skills, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from Forensic Artists International. In 2003, Brenda retired from her careers as a forensic artist and teacher to work full time writing books and developing her website (Drawspace.com). This site is respected as a resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational facilities throughout the world.