Using detail brushes also take a bit of practice. A light touch will give you a fine line. The harder you press the thicker the line.
acrylic painting
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Kelly, Ellsworth: Red Orange White Green Blue
Category: Arts & Culture
Related Topics: painting . (Show more)
acrylic painting, painting executed in the medium of synthetic acrylic resins. Acrylics dry rapidly, serve as a vehicle for any kind of pigment, and are capable of giving both the transparent brilliance of watercolour and the density of oil paint. They are considered to be less affected by heat and other destructive forces than is oil paint. They found favour among artists who were concerned about the health risks posed by the handling of oil paints and the inhalation of fumes associated with them. Because of all these desirable characteristics, acrylic paints became immediately popular with artists when they were first commercially promoted in the 1960s. Notable 20th-century artists who used acrylic paint include Pop artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, Op artist Bridget Riley, colour field artists Mark Rothko, Ellsworth Kelly, and Barnett Newman, and British artist David Hockney.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Naomi Blumberg.
Basic Acrylic Painting Techniques
Dry brushing is done like it says…with a dry brush. That means using straight paint with no water. It is used for highlighting or adding a hint of color to something.
Add a small amount of paint to your completely dry brush. Dab the brush gently on a paper towel to remove excess paint.
Lightly sweep or dab it over already-dried paint to add highlights or texture to things like tree trunks to give the illusion of snow or light.
Washing or Glazing
Acrylic paint can be watered down to create a thin, transparent wash of color. The effect is similar to watercolor and gives soft transparent layers of color that are useful for deepening shadows or slightly altering the color of the underpainting among other things.
You can use water to thin the paint or you can use a variety of glazing liquids available to give different effects. See my post on acrylic mediums.
Be careful when adding water to your paint. Too much water can cause the paint to lift off the surface. You just need to thin it to an inky consistency
A wash can be done over large areas to cover an entire canvas or it can be used in select areas to create shadows.
To get the best results from your wash or glaze use thin layers.
Unlike watercolor, thinned acrylic paint cannot be regenerated when dry and is permanent.
Stippling
Stippling is a technique similar to Pointillism, which is usually done with pencil or pen. Pointillism involves using tiny dots to create a shape or to shade particular areas.
This technique can also be done with paint and a brush.
Stippling is a great way to add texture and dimension to your painting. It is a useful technique for trees and bushes among other things.
The technique involves using a stiff brush dipped in paint and then lightly dabbed on the surface.
Hold your brush upright and use only the tips to produce tiny dots of color. Press more firmly to get larger blob like texture depending upon what you want to achieve.
You can use several different colors to give the illusion of depth and shadows. You can also do an entire painting using this technique.
