Friday, February 6, 2015

Painting with Acrylic Paints



You will need some basics to start painting with acrylics.
  • A set of acrylic colors to include the basics: red, blue, yellow, white and burnt umber are fairly basic. You can add colors as you paint more. Starting with a limited palate will help teach you how to mix different hues.
  • Start with two or three different brushes: A round bristle brush, a flat edge brush and a rigger for detail. You will want to add different size brushes to your collection as you progress
  • A pad of paper palettes that you can throw out after using.
  • A small table easel
  • Canvas, canvas board, gessoed masonite
  • Lots of paper towels
  • A spray bottle to keep the paints from drying out
Properties of Acrylic Paints
Acrylic paints are extremely versatile and work on a variety of surfaces.
Acrylics dry very fast, so you keep your spray bottle handy to give an occasional spritz. There is one product on the market called Golden Open Acrylics. These Stays wet longer allowing more time for blending.
Since Acrylic is a water-based paint, you can use it like watercolors, and make transparent washes. You add more water to the paints and you have a watercolor effect. There are many mediums available to use with acrylics to create different surfaces and textures, to slow the drying time, and create a gloss or matte finish. Just keep experimenting while you learn how to paint with acrylics.
Care of Acrylic Paints
You can keep acrylic paint usable for a few days. You can give the paints a good spraying with water and cover with a wet towel. You can put your palette of paints in fridge overnight, but make sure the paints are well covered.
Make sure to the cap securely to keep the paint fresh.

No comments:

Post a Comment