The Art of Painting Still Life in Acrylic : Master techniques for painting stunning still lifes in acrylic
Designed for beginners and intermediate artists, The Art of Painting Still Life in Acrylic offers valuable drawing and painting techniques, as well as inspirational artwork that’s sure to motivate artists of all skill levels. The Art of Painting Still Life in Acrylic opens with a guide to essential information on the necessary tools and materials for both sketching and painting, including pencils, paints and brushes, palettes, supports, and mediums. In addition to learning about basic drawing and painting techniques and color theory, readers will learn how to create compelling compositions, achieve depth, and render realistic textures. This new title in the Collector’s Series features a large variety of stunning still lifes, from lovely florals to tasty treats. Packed with beautiful illustrations and expert instruction, The Art of Painting Still Life in Acrylic is a comprehensive and indispensable resource for all aspiring painters.
Introduction
Traditional Still Life
Light Shadow Color
Everyday Inspiration
Realism Detail
About the Artists
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Varvara Harmon is an award-winning multimedia artist who works with oil, acrylic, watercolor, silk paintings, and ink and pencil drawings. Her work has been juried into national and international exhibitions and is in private collections around the world. Varvara’s work has been published in International Artist and American Artist magazines, as well as in The Best of America Oil Artists book in 2009 and The Best of World Landscape Artists in 2012. Varvara is a member of the International Guild of Realism, Oil Painters of America, and Landscape Artists International. Varvara is currently represented at several art galleries across the Northeast and teaches workshops and classes in acrylic, watercolor, and oil.
Janice Robertson has received many awards, including three bronze medals in the Federation of Canadian Artists 2000 Signature Members show, the Margaret and William Foley Award at the 2001 Adirondacks National Exhibition of Watercolors in New York, and the Foreign Award in the 2004 Houston Watercolor Society exhibition. Janice holds senior Signature membership in the Federation of Canadian Artists, Landscape Artists International, the Northwest Watercolor Society, and Artists for Conservation. She is a contributing author to Walter Foster’s The Art of Painting in Acrylic.
Elizabeth Mayville is professional artist and illustrator living and working in Michigan. Since earning her BFA in 2006, she has become increasingly interested in the idea of “home” and all the seemingly small bits of life that bring us comfort and a sense of stability.
Tracy Meola is a professional artist who specializes in still-life acrylic paintings. As a child, Tracy loved crayons and coloring books and eventually graduated to sketchpads and pencils. She majored in Advertising and Illustration at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, but she still considers herself self-taught because, lacking confidence, she left college and entered the business world, leaving art behind. Ten years passed before she picked up a paintbrush, but her love of painting was instantly restored. Life experience gave her the confidence she previously lacked, and in 1991, she began painting and teaching professionally. Tracy paints with acrylics using her own adapted technique of lightly applying multiple layers of paint with the use of water, which provides the soft blended look in her artwork. Tracy chooses elements for her still-life paintings that have texture and light, which is why many of her paintings are of glass or candles. She wants her artwork to give others a sense of home, peace, joy, and nostalgia.
Make Beautiful Rosettes That Look Good Enough to Eat (Using Cake Decorating Supplies!)
This site is usually all about acrylic pouring, but today we are venturing beyond pouring and into what else you can do with acrylic paint. Acrylics are an incredibly versatile medium that can be used in a range of applications, from resin work to heavy texture mimicking oil paint. One of my favorite applications is with a palette knife or piping bag to create flowers and roses.
- Heavy body acrylic paint
- Heavy gel medium (Liquitex or Golden)
- Palette knives
- Canvas or Panel
- Pastry piping bags and tips
Technique
I highly recommend viewing the accompanied video for these techniques, as the instructions could be confusing without a visual.
This technique is probably one of the more challenging ones we have tackled, but with some practice, anyone can achieve textured flowers. I have a background as a pastry chef, so my cake decorating skills come in handy here. The great thing about this is once your acrylic is thickened in this way, you can truly use it in a variety of ways—not just to create flowers.
First, take roughly equal parts pouring medium and heavy body paints and mix thoroughly with a palette knife or spoon. The medium appears white and may alter the color of your paint, but rest assured it will dry transparent and all your color will return. For flowers, I like to mix white and shades of pink and rose.
Next, fill a piping bag with your choice of pastry tip—a star tip works very well for roses. I like to mix a few colors in the bag, so that as I pipe the flowers the colors blend together. Once your bag is filled, test out shapes of flowers, textures, and designs you can make with each pastry tip.
To do a rose, start with a star tip in a filled pastry bag. Begin in the middle of where you want your rose to be, hold firmly with one hand on the bag, and rotate the whole bag in a circular fashion while squeezing with equal pressure.
This may sound confusing, but the more you practice, the easier the rose shape becomes. If the rose is too challenging, use your thickened paint and tips to add abstract texture to one of your acrylic pours.
Another way to create flowers is with a palette knife or a baking knife. Put about a dime size amount of paint down and, using your palette knife, gently pull the round of paint to the center. Do this in a circle with five rounds to create a cherry or almond blossom.
Again, you can use your knife and paint on other paintings to create texture; this technique doesn’t have to just be used for flowers. I like to use this thickened paint to add texture to my waves on a beach pour.
Final Tips
- Only use heavy-body acrylic paint. High-flow acrylic or fluid acrylic will thin the medium too much, and it won’t hold the structure.
- Consider using a wood artist panel, since the amount of paint could cause sagging on a normal canvas.
- Once you use your pastry tips for paint, do not use them for food.
- You don’t have to worry about the paint cracking when drying, even at this thickness, as the medium keeps it together.
The uses with thickened acrylic are endless, so break out your cake decorating tools and see what you can create!!
Ann is a wife, mom to 5 kids, and pastry chef turned full time artist. In 2017 she was diagnosed with Lyme disease and discovered painting as a new creative outlet. She went from having never painted to becoming a full time artist in less than a year.
Her art is inspired by the beauty and mystery of Hawaii, and she specializes in resin, acrylic, watercolor, and heavy texture. Discover more of her work, including timelapses and art to purchase, on her instagram @annupton.art . You can also check out Ann’s resin course that teaches the basics of resin and techniques she uses to make her beautiful art.
