Unique Beginner Art Techniques

Love to paint?

Watched all the freebie tutorials and experimented with paints, mediums and brushes?

Ready for a new technique? This one is fun and easy!

TUTORIAL SEGMENT FROM FULL CLASS - HEARTBEAT

(Transcribed)

Beginning Art Tutorial Painting with Layered Acrylics Tutorial Segment

Okay, so it’s been a couple of hours and that has pretty much dried. So, I’m going to take just a little bit of gold on a small--this is just stained it’s actually clean--s small flat pallet knife. I’m just going to put it on my pallet knife like that. Now what I’m going to do is on some of these sections that are really raised, I’m going to call out that gold by adding just a few highlights. And I would say less is more on this depending on what you personally like. I always think with doing this sort of thing, just a little goes a long way to add to the interest of the painting versus too much.

I’m just picking up a little bit from my tube. You could use the ink, you can use a soft body acrylic for this, anything that will--you wouldn’t want to use a high flow or anything like that for this level, you want something that will really adhere to the texture that you have and not flow. Okay, so I think that’s about it. That’s about all I’m going to do with this.

Now, I do want this to dry very well, so I’m going to give this several hours or overnight. And as you see in the light, the metallic picks up differently. Metallics are interesting. I’ll just give you a little side note here. Sometimes I’ll photograph a final painting and it just looks like bits of yellow or regular gold. And then when you tilt it a little in the light, then you can actually see the shimmer. So, it’s always good to post photographs of your painting if you’re selling them or just to have the photograph of the painting that you do to add to your portfolio. And take photographs in various lights and at various angles so you do get all of the depth and the texture and the metallic or other various tones of the colors that you’ve used in your artwork. So, we’re going to let this dry and then we’re going to come back and add our final glaze.

—PAINTING HAS DRIED—

All right we’re back and that has fully dried and what we’re going to do is we’re going to finish this canvas and we’re going to put a pretty final glaze on it for a sort of semi-glossy lustrous finish. So, when your canvas if fully dried, at least a day or two, this is a good time to do this. And this is a pre-varnish finish, so if you wanted to go ahead and put an archival varnish on your painting you would let this next coat of glaze dry at least for 24-48 hours and then come back and varnish.

—PRE-VARNISH STEP—

If you are going to put a varnish on your painting, what we’re doing is we’re mixing up a satin and gloss glaze for this layer, so it’s going to have a little bit of a semi-gloss. You would then wan to use a semi-gloss or satin finish of varnish. If you used a matte varnish over that, then you could negate any of the gloss effects obviously. I’m using a small or a medium size flat brush, damp, just a little bit of water I dabbed off on a paper towel. I’m dipping into my glaze mixture here. Again, this is half and half gloss and satin glaze, acrylic glazing medium.

I’m going to get a good amount on my brush and I’m just going to start by going back and forth like this from edge to edge. And I’m working in small sections. Now what I’m doing is I’m going down the entire painting all the way off the edge like this. And I’m going to go back and touch my edges just like this because edges will often get forgotten as you kind of flick off like this. You see, I’m not quite getting the edge and  you’ll find that your edges are dry after you finish your layer like this sometimes. So, you really want to go around it in a multitude of ways to make sure that you’ve got a good final coat on. Otherwise you’ll just end up doing more coats. 

I’m working now from the mid-section up and I’m doing the same thing. Two different directions going around my edges to make sure that everything has been gotten. And you could go all the way down like this just to keep all those brush strokes very, very uniform. Now I’m working the top section up and down, up and down, back and forth, around the edges. Swipe the edges like this because things will go off and they will drip onto the sides and then you’ll have drips and that does not create a very professional looking piece of art when you have drips all down the sides which I sometimes do.

All right. So, that is essentially the final glazed painting.  You can always go around the edges with a damp paper towel like this to catch those drips. I like to do that and then set it aside to dry for a good 48 hours. And then if you need another coat of that glaze for just a little more pop of gloss you can mix up another coat of the glaze. Or I like to just keep a jar of my glaze mixture going and mark it on top with what it is, so I always have it. Because I’ve use this quite frequently to finish off my paintings. It gives it a beautiful lustrous finish and a little bit of an extra protective layer and then I go ahead and varnish when it’s dry.

I would finish the sides of this painting off in white, personal. You could frame something like this with a thinner sided canvas if you’re working on a gallery or museum wrap, then you could finish the sides and just hang it on the wall as is.

So, this is it for this tutorial, I hope you enjoyed it. I really enjoy seeing your creations and any questions you have for any snags along the way. Please feel free to reach out and comment on this. Suggestions are always welcome. And let me know what you thought and join me for another tutorial. Thank you so much.

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How to Create an Oil-Like Finish on Acrylic Painting

How to Paint with Acrylics: Creating a Large Neutral Artwork

CLASS SEGMENT:

HOW TO ADD A POP OF COLOR TO YOUR ART

Fixing a Trouble Spot in your Painting

MATERIALS USED

PAINTING: BLISS

MATERIALS LIST:

-See my free techniques tutorials for more info on brushes, mediums-

-Gallery-wrapped canvas (24" x 36")

-Acrylic Glazing Mediums: Satin and Gloss

-Flat brushes

-Utility/blending brushes

-Tissue paper (white)

-Texture paste or gel (the one I use)

-Sponges

-Paper towel

-Acrylic paints: Pthalo Blue/Green Indigo Blue Payne's Grey Turquoise Black or Black Acrylic Ink Titanium White -Water / spray bottle

MY RECOMMENDED PAINTING TABLE

My favorite and recommended painting surface: A utility table like this one:

*Links to my favorite items above - affiliate links in which I may earn a small commission :)

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How to Layer with Acrylic Paint (Create Transparent Layers)

One the the very best things I did for my painting was to discover, and USE, mediums!

If you’ve taken any of my courses/tutorials, you know I use these frequenetly to build textures as well as create transparencies with acrylic paints.

Acrylics are great.

However, they can be pasty, thick, plastic-y and not that appealing when now laid down properly.

One of the reasons people love watercolors is because they are washy and transparent.

One of the reason people oils is because they are soft and blended (usually).

This is one thing that acrylics, left on their own, are not: Washy, soft, blended

That’s where the wonderful world of mediums comes in!

For example, the painting shown below, was created with a series of blues. A bit of white, a drop of cream, but mostly all blues. Yet it looks layered and varied and not just, well, blue.

CREATING TRANSPARENCIES WITH ACYLICS

It’s as easy as using the right mediums and simple application techniques!

I’ll go over a few step I took to create this painting. If you would like to learn to create the entire painting, join my step-by-step tutorial BLISS

SOME OF THE COLOR USED: Partial list

FLUID ACRYLICS WERE USED, EXCEPT FOR THE WHITE



PTHALO BLUE

PRUSSIAN BLUE

TITANIUM WHITE

PTHALO TURQUOISE


SOME OF THE MEDIUMS USED:

I like various brands, but these are links to the exact brands/items I use

Acrylic SATIN Glaze Medium

Acrylic GLOSS Glaze Medium

Always coat your canvas in a coat or two of TITANIUM WHITE. I like the brand linked above. It’s inexpensive and works great, especially when used to coat a canvas!

Then I laid down a texture. I let this dry.

I started layering blues, using the acrylic glaze to mix them in various strengths before application. I let them DRY THOROUGHLY between layers (key!).

HOW TO FIX A TROUBLE SPOT IN ACRYLIC ART PAINTING
This is a section of this course; I ran into a trouble spot and I show you how I worked it out

SEE THE FULL COURSE

General mixtures: SATIN ACRYLIC GLAZE

1/2 glaze : 1/8 pigment = very light transparencies

1/2 glaze: : 1/4 pigment = deeper transparencies (and so on)

For gloss glazes, you can use the ratio above or add just a little gloss to the satin glaze mixture to give it a little glossy luster. If you want a LOT of gloss, just omit the satin and use gloss glaze alone!

I used each layers in a small section of the canvas, giving sections a “pop” of the color.

When done, I gave it a layers of my glazing “final” coat:

3/4 Satin glaze + 1/4 Gloss glaze + a little water (just a tablespoon or two)

Mix well and apply over the full dry painting with a flat brush. Let dry.

Varnish.

My favorite way to varnish a large canvas is with a spray varnish - outside! This stuff works great but it needs to be used in a very well ventilated area, or outside!

My favorite varnish is Winsor & Newton Satin Spray Varnish

I apply one coat horizontally across canvas. Cover all spots well. Let dry.

Turn canvas and then apply another coat so the varnish hits vertically and horizontally.

Let dry really well.

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For more tutorials and step-by-step “paint it yourself” artworks,
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BEST HOBBIES FOR BRAIN STIMULATION AFTER 50

Best Hobbies to Stimulate/Keep Brain Healthy Over 50

With Alzheimer’s, dementia, and brain fog on the rise in people over age 50, it is critical to find ways to stimulate the brain and keep it healthy.

The best hobbies to stimulate your brain and keep it healthy over age 50 include:

1. Physical exercise

2. Puzzles

3. Learning a language

4. Playing an instrument

5. Owning a pet

6. Learning a new creative hobby

7. Meditating

8. Reading

Science has proven that there are plenty of hobbies to keep your mind sharp – choose one or two that sound the most appealing to you. It shouldn’t be a chore to stimulate and keep your brain healthy over 50. Let’s talk more about how each of the above hobbies change the brain for the better.

Physical Exercise

Research has shown that consistent physical exercise benefits brain health and mood. Exercise is linked to a lower risk of dementia.

This study examines the effects of physical activity on cognition. It concludes that after a bout of physical exercise, subjects show improved executive functions, better moods, and decreased stress levels.

Regular physical activity seems to improve blood flow to the brain. Other research suggests that exercise facilitates cell functions by generating oxygen and delaying the onset of dementia. Exercise reduces inflammation and stimulates brain cell growth in the brain, promoting the release of essential chemicals and the healthy function of blood vessels. 

Other health associations: Diabetes, cholesterol, and high blood pressure are linked to dementia, Alzheimer’s, and brain fog, so that may be largely why regular movement is so important to brain health. Physical exercise also wards against depression, another condition that is linked to Alzheimer’s. An overall sense of well-being is connected to having a healthier brain.

Tip: You don’t have to make a major lifestyle change to start working out. Don’t rush to the gym and make a commitment; you’re not sure if you can keep. Add 15 minutes of stretching, walking, weightlifting, or yoga to your day. You can get your exercise in at work or at home – a little bit every day will make a difference.

Puzzles

Two publications in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry report that puzzles like Sudoku keep brains young. These studies show that older people who engage in Sudoku and similar puzzle games demonstrate problem-solving skills and short-term memories of someone 8 years younger than their actual age! 

Based on this recent study, the more frequently that over-50s engage in puzzle games, the better their brains function. 

Side note: Research on puzzle games show correlation with, not definite, causation of better brain health. However, what better way to protect your brain than by testing and using it?

Other puzzle possibilities include crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, and riddles.

Tip: Word puzzles keep the brain even younger than number puzzles do! 

On a related note: Brain fog and dementia has weighing heavily on the mind of doctors, researchers, and scientists. They’ve created millions of brain training games to encourage healthy brain function, and they’re right at your fingertips!

What are brain training games? They are challenges that push various mental capacities, specifically designed to strengthen your brain function and ward off brain fog. 

The phrase “use it or lose it” seems to be true in brain health. Brain training games are developed to allow you to “exercise” these parts of the brain that might slow down as you age.

Programs: Look up BrainHQ or Lumosity, who are well-established brain-game experts.

Learning a New Creative Hobby

Activities like learning how to paint or sculpt appear to have positive effects on the brain. Creative activities, like learning to paint with acrylics, are often associated with relaxation and working with the areas of your brain that stimulate your senses in new ways and help reduce cognitive decline.

Bolster your new hobbies with including friends and family to join you. You could plan for a brain or body-challenging activity (like taking a painting class or learning a new skill like cake decorating). That way, you double your brain-boosting benefits!

Research shows that emotional support that comes from socialization helps produce BDNF, which is a molecule that repairs the brain and helps the brain forge new connections. Add this to a creative fun project and increase both socialization (a brain-booster as we age) and work you brain in new and different ways!

Tip: If you’d like to expand your social circle online, try joining a group on social media to share photos of your creative efforts and get fun feedback from others who are in the same mind-set!

Meditating

A study published in Neurolmage showed that for one year of meditation in subjects over 50, the subjects got one month and 22 days off the age of the brain. Now those are some precise results!

The practice of meditation increases cell production and synapse formation, keeping your brain buzzing. The overall results of the study showed that regular meditators had brains that were about 7 and ½ years younger than their non-meditating counterparts. 

How to start: Repeat, refocus, and recenter. Pick a mantra or phrase that centers you or betters you. Take just a few minutes each day to repeat the mantra to yourself, continually refocusing on the same thought. Center yourself and enjoy the present moment.

Tip: Just 25 minutes of mindfulness meditation each day can boost cognitive abilities, emotional responses, and recurrent thinking patterns. Meditation isn’t all hype – it can be life (and brain) changing.

Playing an Instrument

Triangle or trombone, it doesn’t matter which instrument you choose! Learning or practicing an instrument strengthens the nerve fibers in the brain. Playing an instrument specifically impacts the corpus callosum, which serves as the bridge that connects the left and right brains.

This study published in 2012 showed that the corpus callosum in musicians was far larger than those in non-musicians. 

Playing an instrument relieves stress helps you feel accomplished, and improves your memory and creativity. 

Tip: You’re never too old to start playing a new instrument. Think of the instrument you’ve always wanted to learn and go for it. You could hire an in-person teacher, get online lessons, or teach yourself with some help from YouTube.

Learning a Language

Italian researchers proved in an Alzheimer’s study that learning a language helps us build cognitive reserve. Those extra connections help keep brain fog and dementia at bay. 

Dr. Thomas Bak found that young adults who proficiently speak two languages perform better on attention tests and have better concentration than those who speak only their native language. Bilingual young adults also showed the ability to ignore irrelevant stimuli and focus on the most important information. 

This attention mechanism is exactly what many Alzheimer’s drugs targets. If improving attention and concentration slows the progression of Alzheimer’s, learning a language is an ideal way to keep your brain young!

Tip: There are so many ways to learn a language nowadays. Google Duolingo, Busuu, Memrise, and BBC Languages. Find out which tools are right for you.

Owning a Pet

Establishing emotional bonds with a pet will activate your brain and boost your mental health. There is a reason why therapy animals are life-altering for so many people. 

Marwan Sabbagh, MD, explains that petting an animal decreases cortisol and boosts serotonin, which elevates mood and reduces blood pressure and heart rate. The calm and joy that pets can bring seems to go a long way in keeping the brain healthy. It activates many of the same parts of the brain that socializing does, fortifying you emotionally and mentally.

A lonely brain is an unhealthy one.

Tip: Choose the pet that makes sense for you. Dogs are excellent companions but are higher-maintenance than cats or guinea pigs. If you are interested in getting a dog, some of the best breeds for better mental health include golden retrievers, labs, poodles, and Pomeranians. 

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https://betterhealthwhileaging.net/brain-health-checklist-8-proven-things-healthy-aging/#:~:text=Stay%20physically%20active%20and%20exercise,a%20dementia%20such%20as%20Alzheimer's.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/senior-health/staying-sharp.aspx

https://interestingengineering.com/9-hobbies-and-activities-certain-to-boost-brain-power

https://www.livescience.com/46048-learning-new-language-brain.html#:~:text=Learning%20a%20new%20language%20may,and%20memory%20abilities%2C%20research%20suggests.&text=Learning%20a%20second%20language%20may,according%20to%20a%20new%20study.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-having-a-pet-of-any-kind-may-boost-your-mood-and-keep-your-brain-healthy/

Watercolor Effect with Acrylics - HOW TO

​For those of you looking for a quick art technique:

WATERCOLOR ACRYLICS

Acrylics that act like watercolors

This muted autumn abstract landscape looks like watercolor.

But...it's actually acrylics on canvas! How did I get the effect?

A layer of ABSORBENT GROUND. Let dry.

Then a layer of FIBER PASTE. Let dry.

This will give the canvas "tooth" and some nubby texture that a wash of acrylics will flow over like watercolors! I mixed the acrylics with some water (a small amount) plus acrylic glazing medium (SATIN).

You can build up layers of color (let dry in between).

Finish with a layer of glaze (use the same SATIN glaze). Let dry.

Varnish to protect.

It's one way to get a surface that will accept the acrylics like a watercolor, with a lot of flow and wash.

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SUPPLIES

What I used to create this exact painting:

ABSORBENT GROUND
https://amzn.to/3mSp3Ve

FIBER PASTE
https://amzn.to/364WcXZ

SATIN ACRYLIC GLAZING MEDIUM
https://amzn.to/3crZPbL

SMALL CANVAS
https://amzn.to/305T4ai

FLAT BRUSH
https://amzn.to/2G8O8uc
I used a different brush, but this one looks great!

*The affiliate links I include are of the exact products I used.

How Should I Seal An Acrylic Painting (Archival)?

Best Ways to Seal an Acrylic Painting 

Leaving the protection of an artist’s artwork up to chance is not a smart idea especially when considering acrylic paintings. These paintings are susceptible to dust, dirt, and other things that could ruin the painting. The best way to avoid ruining an acrylic painting is to apply sealant to your painting. 

The best ways to seal an acrylic painting is to use an acrylic resin varnish, acrylic polymer varnish, clear sealer, or mod podge, depending on the surface you are painting on. 

To avoid confusion, the word varnish can be used to refer to a traditional, oil-based finish or a general term for any finish. In this article, varnish will be used as a general term to mean “protective coat”. Let’s dive in. 

Why Would I Need to Seal An Acrylic Painting?

Whether you plan to sell your artwork or keep it for yourself, you should consider sealing your work with some sort of varnish when you get finished. Just because the paint on your canvas has dried, that doesn’t mean that your artwork is going to keep that same look without any protection.  

Sealing your painting with varnish will protect your artwork from yellowing over time. Varnishing your art will also protect your work from UV rays, dust, and other natural elements that can alter the look of your work. 

Even if you are not concerned about protecting your finished work, a coat of varnish will give your painting a fresh and professional look that will last a long time. It is also completely okay to choose to not seal your acrylic painting, especially if you are not sure if you want to paint over it in the future. 

How to Seal an Acrylic Painting

To properly seal an acrylic painting, you will need to decide on a varnish, a finish, and an application style. Let’s go through each of these categories:

What Type of Varnish Should I Use? 

The specific type of varnish you need will be determined by the surface you are painting on. For canvas paintings, you should be choosing between acrylic resin varnish and acrylic polymer varnish. 

Acrylic Resin Varnish 

Resin varnishes are great if you are looking to give your painting a glossy finish, and this type of varnish tends to be stronger and clearer than polymer varnishes.

However, you will need to apply an isolation coat to your painting before you apply the varnish to avoid a cloudy appearance. This step is especially crucial if you plan on using satin or matte varnish. 

One major disadvantage of using resin varnish is that these solutions are toxic if inhaled, so you must make sure that you are working in a well-ventilated space. You also have to use mineral spirits to clean your brush when you are done. 

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Acrylic Polymer Varnishes

You may find that artwork with a layer of polymer varnish applied to it may not be as vibrant and glossy as artwork with resin acrylic applied to it. 

But, polymer varnish is non-toxic, so you do not have to worry about the ventilation of your workspace. You can also use regular soap and water to wash your brushes. 

Clear Sealer for Wood Surfaces 

If you are using acrylic paint on wood, in order to seal it, you have to use a clear sealer or a wax-based polycrylic sealant. This type of sealant is non-flammable and typically has very little odor, so you will not likely have to be concerned about the ventilation of your workspace.

Polycrylic sealant does not require a special solution for cleanup and can be washed away with regular soap and water. This sealant is safe to use to seal artwork on wood, but it is good practice to do a test section before you seal the entire artwork. 

Mod Podge 

If you are an artist who uses acrylic paint on a variety of surfaces, mod podge may be the best option for sealants for you. Just as water is the “universal solvent” to chemists, mod podge is considered to be a “universal sealant” of sorts. You can use it to seal acrylic paint on anything from paper to metal or even fabrics. 

Mod podge is also extremely safe to use anywhere as it is non-toxic, non-flammable, and can be easily cleaned up with soap and water. 

This sealant has a variety of finishes, so you have the same ability to choose the type of finish that you want. You also have the ability to choose between brush-on application and spray-on application. 

Mod Podge is a very popular varnish brand so you can find it pretty easily online and in brick-and-mortar stores. 

Clear Coat Acrylic Sealant 

Clear coat acrylic sealant is very similar to the clear sealer for wood. It doesn’t add a yellow tint to your artwork. Clear Coat also protects your artwork from smudges and moisture.

The big difference between the two is that Clear Coat can be used on a variety of surfaces. 

Acrylic Glaze 

One alternative to using a varnish would be to use an acrylic glaze. Acrylic glazes are just simply translucent paint. 

Despite the simple description, glazes are known to transform paintings and give them a life-like appearance. 

Glazes tend to be watery, so it is important that you are attentive during the application process. 

Different Ways to Apply Varnish 

There are a few different characteristics of varnishes that you should consider especially if you  have a specific type of finish in mind:

Brush-On vs. Spray-On 

There are two application methods for coating your varnish on your work. You can either apply the varnish with a brush onto your work or you can spray the varnish onto your work.  

Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to both, and what you decide to use can be determined by your personal preference as there is not a significant separation in quality.  

Brush on varnish gives the applicant a greater feeling of control than the spray, but the spray-on varnish does allow for a more even application. If you want to save time during the application process, the spray-on varnish is the way to go. 

If you decide to use spray-on varnish, be aware that it may be more difficult to purchase as brush-on varnish is more commonly used and produced. 

What Type of Finish Do You Want? 

There are three types of finishes you can choose for your painting: glossy, satin, or matte. 

Depending on the look you are trying to achieve with your artwork and the surface you are painting on, the type of sealant you use will vary. 

• Glossy sealant → use for a vibrant finish that will make your colors pop 

• Matte sealant → use this if you don’t want your painting to have any glare

• Satin sealant → a medium between the matte and glossy finish 

Matte varnish is best for someone who wants to seal their artwork without a shiny look. This type of varnish is also known to soften the colors of your painting. 

On the other end of the spectrum, a glossy varnish will often bring out the pigments in your work, making the colors more vibrant. 

A satin varnish is a happy medium between a glossy and matte varnish. Satin varnishes typically create less glare than a glossy varnish. Satin varnishes are also known to lighten dark colors as well as soften the pigments overall. 

If you are not sure if these varnishes will give you the finish that you want or if you want a finish that falls in between two types of varnish, you can mix two or more of the varnishes to get your desired finish. 

Choosing the Right Sealant for You

Sealing an acrylic painting can protect precious artwork for years to come. Choosing the right one takes a little bit of time to make just the right choices for your artwork. What did you choose to seal your painting with? Share in the comments below what you chose and why!

FAQ: Beginner Art Painting with Acrylics: Glazes, Texture, Blending

How long should acrylic glazes dry before painting over them?

A: Acrylic glaze mediums should dry thoroughly, a minimum of 24 hours, before attempting to paint over them. 

How long does it take to complete a painting using acrylic painting mediums?

A: You are generally looking at anywhere from a few days to weeks. It all boils down to how many layers are used and the look you are going for in the paining.

Why is it important to wet the canvas when applying a layer?

A: Wetting the canvas makes it easier for the paint to flow. You’ll always want the paint to flow across the canvas so that the color layers are subtle and well spread out.

What mediums can be used for an acrylic painting?

A: You can choose from many different mediums which allow you to vary the surfaces and textures. Some of the most commonly used are matte, pumice stone gel, gloss medium, varnish, glazing liquid, crackle paste, and matte acrylic painting gel.

How to apply a texture?

A palette knife or similar tool is usually best.

SEE THIS PAINTING - ACRYLIC TECHNIQUES FOR BEGINNERS

Why does the paintbrush stop blending color?

A: It generally happens when the brush gets wet. Painting with acrylics often requires changing brushes, and so you can switch to a utility brush to continue blending color.

Is water a good pouring medium?

A: Acrylic painting may require water to dilute the paints. While this works well, it isn’t the best option for acrylic pouring. Water tends to change the consistency, the pigment density and adhesion qualities of the paint so you’ll want to be mindful of that.

Will Acrylic Texture Medium Crack on Unstretched Canvas? FAQ

Will it Crack? 
How to Paint Textured Art for Rolled Canvas

Will Acrylic Texture Medium Crack on Unstretched Canvas?

If you want to work with different mediums to create different textures on a canvas, it’s fine until you have to roll them, as they can easily crack and spoil the overall design of your painting.

You might have to roll your canvas for shipping or storing, and so the texture medium you decide on, when working with the canvas, is essential to avoid this kind of damage.

 

There are a number of textures that can be used for different overall effects on the canvas, and these include pastes and gels.

When you start working with a canvas, you must ensure it is stretched as much as it can be so that it is incredibly taut within its frame to avoid cracking the texture medium later.

Different pastes are chosen because of the movements they leave on the canvas, as well as their ability to help prevent cracking once dried.  These include modeling paste, which is a great favorite, as it can make magnificent peaks and troughs on the canvas, which creates an impressive design, and fibre paste, which makes a washy watercolor effect when painted. 

Gels are thinner and can include string and absorbent ground, which is more of a paper-thin effect, which usually needs more than one layer and can build up a beautiful tooth on your canvas. 

Heavy gel gloss is used as well to give peaks – it’s a great texture to work with because it’s so flexible and is a good medium to finish off with before using the acrylic paints on the canvas.

Let the canvas dry with the different textures over 24 hours, then lightly paint and allow to dry again.

Basically, you use these different textures in various layers to create the desired effect. You want for your canvas.

Between layering the different pastes or gels for the raised texture and letting them dry, you can paint the acrylic paints, powders, and glazes on to create the background color.

Allow time for drying in between each texture and paint application.

So try and ensure you:

• Always work on a rigid, totally stretched surface

• Use mediums with a flexible ability and do your own tests – your producing pieces of artwork which may need to endure the test of time, including different temperatures as well as being rolled and stored.

• It’s a great idea to experiment with different mediums that you like – professional products are expensive but are far more endurable.

Therefore to ensure you only have cracks in your canvas where and if you want them, it’s a good idea to get used to the different textural mediums out there, before you work on a masterpiece.

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Questions and answers for using acrylic texture mediums:

1.      What happens to a canvas if external, environmental factors such as temperature, aren’t taken into consideration?

Answer:      Light, heat, and moisture can have a seriously detrimental effect on canvases which can cause the painting to crack, especially if shipped or rolled or not stored properly.

2.      Once you have stretched your canvas, what should you treat the canvas’ surface with before acrylic paint is applied?

 Answer:      You should prime the raw surface of the canvas with titanium white, for example, as it seals the surface before you use different mediums to create texture.

3.      What acrylic textures can you use on roll and ship or a raw canvas?

Answer – Modelling paste is popular if you are happy to have tiny cracks because as it has a rigid structure – if the canvas has been well stretched, it can take modeling paste as the paste can withhold cracks, which can add to the texture and overall effect.  

Extra heavy gel  - anything with gel in the title is going to be a more flexible structure, which is less likely to crack if the canvas is going to be shipped.  Opaque and white – more plastic in its look, but this is a great medium to use.

4.      Why is it not recommended to use a brush when laying down the acrylic textured mediums on your canvas, and what should you use?

Answer:  You should avoid using a brush, especially a fine brush, as it can shed its fibers when layering the canvas with different texture mediums and instead use a palette knife.  This is because the thickness of the pastes and gels used can help create various textures with a knife.

5.    What should you use to create washy, watercolor effects on your canvas with mediums for acrylic painting and texture?

Answer:  For a thin layer of absorbency, you should use layers of fiber paste – let it dry and then apply paint.

Can you roll canvas with acrylic texture mediums?

In my video WILL IT CRACK? I discuss and show a variety of texture mediums for acrylic painting.

We let them dry and then roll the canvas to see what happens!

Textures used:

Crackle Paste

Heavy Gel / Extra Heavy Gel

Molding Paste

String Gel / Tar Gel

Fiber Paste

Absorbent Ground

Raw Primed Canvas Roll (unstretched)

Palette knife

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PAINTING AN ABSTRACT TEXTURED LANDSCAPE

Creating a Neutral Abstract Landscape Painting

Summary:

The first step to creating a neutral abstract landscape painting is to prep the canvas, aka the background. The best part is if you’re a beginner, and especially if you’re trying your hand at abstract art, you don’t need a super fancy canvas as often robust paper is more than good enough.

We want the background to be a combination of titanium white and light gray, which adds definition and is pretty standard practice for painting with acrylic glaze mediums. To do that we use glaze and shade pigments. We’ll need a transparent oxide and shade grey color.

The background color is prepped by mixing some transparent brown oxide with the glaze paint. The combo color can then be applied to the wet canvas. Some of the color will flow, which is fine because we want it to blend. We’ll also want to avoid seeing any brushstrokes and a tonne of color. A mop brush can be used to spread the color across the canvas and to prevent brush strokes. Then allow it to dry.

Subsequent layers of subtle colors mainly a mixture of ceramic, black and some bronze will help to define the landscape.

After you’ve applied multiple layers, its time to add the texture to outline the horizon. Now the texture can be applied prior, but in this case, it can be done above the darker layers. The texture can be further highlighted by using some black. We can use the same black across the edges of the canvas to give it a more pronounced look.

BEGINNERS ART PAINTING
ACRYLICS + MEDIUMS

KR MOEHR

ART TUTORIAL

Speaker 1:

SEE THE VIDEO:
You can see the entire video tutorial https://youtu.be/7slfeVcUewo

WELCOME!

In this tutorial we will cover:

• Working with various brushes
• Blending acrylics
• Creating a washy/watercolor effect
• Working with texture mediums
• Using a palette knife
• Creating an abstract landscape

Get more tutorials at www.101artists.com

Please visit to get a free 4-part painting tutorial and subscribe to my CREATIVES Tips & Techniques newsletter!

Speaker 1:
We are going to do the next section of this painting that we have the background already painted.

Getting started: Using high flow and/or fluid acrylics will help create a washed effect.

Speaker 1: And all I'm using is some glaze. This is my satin glaze, and I'm using some shading pigments. These right here are high flow and they, this is a transparent, and this is a shading gray, and some water and a flat brush.

Speaker 1: And I'm just going to get my canvas a little bit wet.

Speaker 1: I'm going to do sort of a, a washy layer and landscape. So I'm going to take a little bit of my shading or my I'm sorry, my transparent Brown oxide mix it with a little bit of my glaze on my palette.

Speaker 1: This is going to give us a very transparent translucent look because we're already using a translucent color and a glaze. So you're going to get like super translucence translucency

Speaker 1: And I'm going to bring that down here with the wetness on my canvas. it's already going to kind of start to flow just a bit and I don't want brushstrokes. So figure out what I'm doing here with this. Maybe use a mop brush right here. this is very nice for sort of blending.

Speaker 1: I'm creating a real soft washy look, which is what I want. I'm going to do sort of as a light landscape, look on this meaning it's not going to be landscape landscape, but it's going to have a horizon here with some texture. And on this one, I'm putting texture down after paint, which is going to be a little different from what I've done in some of my other tutorials where I put applied texture down first, and then I paint over it.

Speaker 1: So I'm just going to show you something a little different here, removing some of the brush strokes, little hairs that get into the paint and laying that down. And I don't want a ton of color cause I'm going to put another layer on once the strides I'm use some soft muted tones. Of course you can use whatever colors you want, but this is what I'm doing.

Speaker 1: That gives you a real soft washy look by using your mop brush. And if you can see sort of just a very light glaze of the Brown, the transparent Brown will let it dry.

Speaker 1:

Okay, here we are back. And, you can see this as a real soft wash. I let this dry and I'm going to go ahead and put on my next layer of color, which is going to be the shading gray. And I showed you, I'm putting this on my palette and this really doesn't create much depth.

Speaker 1: I mean, it creates depth, but it's not a lot of darkness. Like if you used a regular gray or regular black, which would create a lot of darkness. So I've still got my brush. It's got a little bit of the Brown on there, which I do want, because what I'm doing is I'm just creating a whole new color with a little bit of those mixed together. Okay. A little bit of water on this side now, and I'm just going to lay down that shading gray in a wash.

Speaker 1:

And as you can see, it does not create like a black or a super dark color. It just creates a little bit of depth bringing it up over here and I'm just laying it down. And the reason that I created that background is because I wanted something back there with depth, because these are such light coats.

Speaker 1: They are truly transparent coats, and they're just laying down a little color, without a thick, thick paint. And if you do this, you can build up some beautiful transparencies and some beautiful colors, you know, but it takes that patience again to let each layer dry pretty well with these because you've got the glaze and the color, but they're so thin they do dry quickly.

Speaker 1: Of course, if you do a couple of layers, I would really suggest letting it dry for a few hours, if not overnight. So this isn't definitely one of those paintings you're going to whip out in the afternoon, might take you a few days to do it. but you're going to get a really pretty,

Speaker 1:

I'm using a, just a simple utility brush here just to kind of blend once your mop or your blending brush gets wet. It ceases to blend. It just sort of moves paint around. So you have to constantly pick up a dry brush to do the blending, which is, you know, more blood brushes to clean, which is a drag, but that's going to give you the best effect for blending.

Speaker 1: And as you can see, it's just depth. There's not really a whole heck of a lot of color here, but you can do this and build up, build up, build up. So you can kind of see that a little bit more. And we're going to add a little more depth on this next time, and then we're going to put some texture down. So I'm going to let this dry really well.

Speaker 1: Okay. So now we're back and this is dried and you can see, it's just giving me a little bit of a light coat. I'm going to put a little glaze on a flat brush and just kind of work it in the center area. And then down on the bottom here and a little more cars and I'm laying the glaze down first versus mixing it.

Speaker 1: Although I have mixed up a little carbon black blaze and a little titanium white right here, and I'm just going to pop down a few bits of this. That's going to give me that pretty depth.

Speaker 1: And I want, so you can do this. You can mix your glaze with your paint. You can lay it down. You know, there's multiple ways to use these mediums. And, you know, sometimes I feel like a commercial for mediums and I'm really not. I just use them.

Speaker 1:

I've learned, you know, what I can do with them and what works and what doesn't like letting glazes dry very well before you really paint on them because they will lift and cause you problems. But this is just a different technique.

Speaker 1: I'm just showing you a different technique. And that's really all my videos are it's not to create beautifully produced art videos, which we all know they are not, but to create techniques and show you how to use some of these things. So you can use them yourself and create our work or just, you know, kind of be inspired.

I'm blending with a mop brush. I think I might have to get her different approach. This might be a little wet just to create a real washy and I am holding the so lightly; not digging it, this paint at all. And I'm just creating kind of a whole washing effect backwards.

Speaker 1: This is really sort of a water color brush. so, but it, it does great blending. The problem is you gotta, you gotta use many of them cause they get, once they get wet, forget it. You can't, you can't blend anymore. So these utility brushes kind of come in handy.

Speaker 1: I use these on my larger paintings and you just kind of blend the color system, laying down color. I don't really want a brush stroke effect. I just want color. So that's kind of what I'm doing. We'll let this dry, I might put one more coat on here and then we're going to do our texture and finish it up.

Speaker 1: I just kind of want a water color effect, which is what I'm getting with these right now. Plus I'm getting a lot of that background texture that's coming in. So I don't know if you can see that really well. Well, on the final photos that I do, you're going to be able to see a lot of the background texture as well as the color, but that's where we're at right now. We'll let it dry and then come back.

Right now this is dried and that is where we're at. I did go ahead and take a little bit of my dark gray and put it just around the corner here and blend it in with my mop brush because I needed just a little more depth in those sides.

Speaker 1: I did that off camera, but just to move it along here, I'm going to take my now I'm using a modeling paste. You can use a heavy gel molding paste, whatever kind of texture situation you, why don't you could even do this with an impasse STO just a, a thick paint, like a thick titanium white or, a tone. I'm just going to lay the texture down on top. Normally I would put my texture on first, but I just wanted to kind of show you that you can do it.

Speaker 1: And sometimes if you don't want the actual colors in the, over the texture, you can use the okay to give your, your painting some depth, because now it obviously looks like we've got, the washy colors underneath and the texture on top. And I'm just doing this with a little pallet knife and laying down Horizon format to create sort of that abstract landscape look.

Speaker 1:

And I'm going to tell you one little trick with laying down a linear line like this, or creating the balance across isn't necessarily. You have to create a full straight line all the way across to create balance.

Speaker 1: You can go up and down and have textures in different areas, as long as they're balanced on the canvas this way, meaning you can have a Highline here and have a Highline here and it doesn't have to necessarily go straight across as long as if you have a lot of stuff here and not here, you're going to create an imbalance.

Speaker 1:

But if you want that balanced, sort of linear look without having a straight line all the way across, this is the way to do it.

And this is something actually I used to just do the straight line, cause I didn't know how to get that balance otherwise, but I realized, you know, you just have a line on the same level on one side as you do on the other side, then all the other stuff in between doesn't really matter because your eye is definitely going to go catch on that one line and it's going to be, they don't want to just in terms of your eye, what are those little visual tricks.

Speaker 1:

So this is where I'm at in the final measure on the texture, you can see the line, the balance. It's not perfectly even, and it's not all the way straight across, but it's enough of a balance where you get that idea that it to linear format a linear line.

Speaker 1: So I'm going let that dry. And then we're going to come over with a little more white up at the top and some tips of color on our texture, add some glaze and rim it in black and paint the sides in black to "frame it."

Speaker 3: So there we have it. It's just a neutral with a framed finish in black.
You can see the entire video tutorial https://youtu.be/7slfeVcUewo

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Acrylic art tutorials
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MATERIALS LIST:

Canvas - prepped with a coat of Titanium White
Flat brush
Mop brush
Utility/blending brush
Palette knife

Modeling paste

Acrylic Paints:
High Flow or Fluid
Titanium White
Black
Shading Grey
Transparent Brown

Mister bottle
Paper towel

AFFILIATE LINKS - THESE ARE PRODUCTS I USE/RECOMMEND:

CANVAS https://amzn.to/3dO9nwP

Flat brush https://amzn.to/3gaMSna

Mop brush https://amzn.to/2Vya2Mq

Modeling Paste https://amzn.to/2AiZcm1

High Flow Acrylics:

Shading Grey https://amzn.to/2YNpyGo
Transparent Brown https://amzn.to/31JaGe7

Creating textured abstract art - neutral metallic modern painting art tutorial

Working with textures is my favorite way to create a multi-layered and interesting “I want to touch it” artwork!

SILVER TO THE TOUCH is a subtle, layered abstract with textures and metallics. Very modern, very cool.

See the class: https://abstract-art-painting.teachable.com/

The first step to creating a neutral abstract landscape painting is to prep the canvas, aka the background.

The best part is if you’re a beginner, and especially if you’re trying your hand at abstract art, you don’t need a super fancy canvas as often robust paper is more than good enough.

We want the background to be a combination of titanium white and light gray, which adds definition and is pretty standard practice for painting with acrylic glaze mediums. To do that we use glaze and shade pigments. We’ll need a transparent oxide and shade grey color.

Beginner Abstract Art Painting - Creating a Layered Ethereal Textured Artwork - Step-by-Step Tutorial

Beginner Abstract Art Painting - Creating a Layered Ethereal Textured Artwork - Step-by-Step Tutorial

KR:

Hello there. W elcome back to my art table today. I'm going to show you how to do a kind of a unique texture painting that uses a couple of different types of texture.

KR: What I've got here is just a little canvas board.

KR: I primed it with some titanium white as I always do. And then I've got just a basic piece of tissue paper, white tissue paper. I've torn off a piece of it kind of in this shape, because I want it to be just on here. You can use, of course, any shape you want. You can use more or less, whatever, whatever you're into, and then we're going to adhere it and you can use a gel. You can use a mod podge, these work really great for it hearing. So I think what I'm going to do is use amtte Mod Podge and put that on my

canvas. Painting a little bit that uses some of mixed media, some sort of fine art principles often. They're so interchangeable.

KR: It's kind of fun to use different textures and see, just see what happens, you know, so I'm going to put a nice kind of layer of that on there. And then I'm going to lay down my tissue paper to kind of hit the bottom here. And I don't really want it to be like a perfect flat. I want a little bit of crinkle, hence texture in there. So just kind of scrunch it up with your fingers.

KR: You want to bring it down just a bit And I suggest always, you know, tearing, I didn't quite get it to the anterior, but if you tear your tissue paper, make sure it kind of goes off the edge. that way you can just trim it and you always know that you've got enough.

So then what I'm going to do with this is I'm going to go back over it a little bit on my Mod Podge on my brush and get up the bubbles. You know, there's definitely gonna be some bubbles when you do this, get those out and see if you can get fairly flat. You can always add another layer of this. I'm gonna actually go ahead and add some, modeling paste with this. So with a pallet knife and some of my modeling, I need to get some new pallet knives. Men are getting kind of gunked up. I'm going to go ahead and go

Over this around the scenes, kind of around the bottom, because I do want it to look like it's melded in with the, the canvas itself and not have that. Obviously him, you may want that obvious seem for whatever reason, the seam of the paper, where I tore it is what I'm talking about. So I'm just going to go ahead and add a little additional texture this way. So I get a kind of a couple different texture patterns with this. And I do like to use paper. Sometimes it gives you a kind of a, you know, that absorbent ground. You can go over this with a little absorbent ground

medium, and that will make it even more of a papery finish and give you more of like a watercolory effect on your final project when you've applied the paint. There are various ways to do that, but I definitely want to make sure I have, a nice coat of each of these.

And it does give you a little different effect, and that's the reason I'm doing this. You can do this painting and I have done this painting on a large scale with just the paper. And that gives you a really interesting book. This one I'm doing just a little more texture. I do want it to adhere really well. So that modeling pace is going to give you a little additional adherence and kind of give you a fun texture all over your

painting. I do have a little off my edge right there, and I'm going to worry about that later and trim that up and all of that.

KR: But I do want to make sure that adheres this, this little corner has given me a problem. So if you kind of lay down some texture on areas that aren't, it's going to really, you know, glue it down to your surface. And so I'm gonna let this dry really well and, kind of see a little bit what that looks like. let them strive very well. Cause I've got that both of those textures on there, and then we'll come back and we'll put down some layers of glazes and colors and, do that. So that's the first step. I'll see you in the next segment. Oh, okay. We are back. And now our textured surface has dried really well in a few days. So I'm kind of see there's some of the paper texture and the applied medium that we used. So going to go ahead and start adding color and the colors I'm using right now, of course you can use any colors, complementary colors.

KR: My Pthalo blue, which I love and this is a cadmium yellow light and I've got a brilliant yellow green. This is kind of pretty. I also have a Pthalo turquoise high flow and a couple of inks; not sure if I'll use gold or not, but there's a white and a gold ink. I'm using a flat brush, small because I have a small painting and just a small round sponge that stamp. So what I'm going to do is go ahead and miss my surface a bit just to titch because I don't know how much flow I really want with this. Always have your water handy, et

cetera. I think what I'm going to go ahead and do is put down a little yellow, kind of see what I'm thinking with this little bit of the green. I'm gonna go ahead and just put it right on my canvas versus mixing up a Glazer or anything. I might, I might end up doing that.

I will use little bit of glaze because they do want this to have a nice kind of finish sort of a translucent. So I'm going to pour a little glaze. I'm using this little, a recycled sealable pan for my

paint. I'm gonna go ahead and put my glaze on there and kind of dip into it and do a little differently this time. Take a little glaze on my brush and then just go ahead and kind of move this around.

Close.

KR: That's giving me kind of a real, pretty background finish. I take this all the way up a little bit. I'm going to do kind of a painting with quite a bit of large white space and the color concentrated more around the edges here. So I liked the way that looks, what I'm going to do now is dropped down a little bit of my blue. We'll put it in my, my pallet and then pick it up with my grain, a little bit of glaze on my brush and kind of drop it into a few areas. Just with my, my brush.

KR: Let's give him a real green look, which is kind of what I was going after for this painting. So, I might go back over it with, when it's dry with Hulu and a glaze just to blew it out a little bit more. Cause right now it's a little bit too Easter egg, I guess, for my taste! I'm going to take my damp sponge. This is just very little bit of water on it. Not too much.

KR: Kind of just see what I want to do as far as diffusing this, because I don't want it to have a super heavy duty painted look, this is not going to be an impasto

painting. This is going to be sort of glazed background, moving forward, turn over your sponge to the clean side to kind of remove a little bit of that paint.

KR: And you can do this of course, on a larger canvas or surface. there are things to know when working large versus working small. Small is very easy to do a painting, because there's not a lot of surface and you can really move around fast. However, working large, if you are not used to it can be overwhelming. You can be working your paint and all of a sudden you realize you've got this great, vast area to fill and move paint around. And sometimes things don't quite work out as easily if they do on a small canvas.

KR: So, if you are trying these techniques on a larger canvas, just know that, know that it, you know, if it doesn't, if it's not quite working, just like it did on a small canvas, that's normal, that's completely normal. Don't freak out. Just kinda, you gotta kind of keep practicing and working large to really understand what that is. That's a whole nother ball game, then working small, you can transfer these techniques, but they don't always just transfer quite as easily as, as what it looks like on a smaller canvas.

KR: So just going to kind of put that out there. I was scared of working large for years, you know, I always liked working small and I still do. You know, it's very easy to control. Working larger is a different, you have to kind of learn a few things and not be afraid of it. Now. I'm not, I like working large now too, but, took me a few years to kind of get over the hump of, and fear of

that.

KR: Alright, so I've removed every move, some paint and a lot of, you know, some artists don't do that, but I like to put paint on, remove paint, put paint on that gives me that layered look and, kind of helps me guide where I want to go with some

things.

KR: I've got quite a bit of that yellow on my brush. Still some of that pickup, a little more blue, a little more glaze, just on a paper towel here, drop that down in a couple areas just to start getting that with a little bit of blue come through, and this is looking a little more like what I want it to look like.

KR: Definitely want some yellow and green, but I want the blue to kind of tamp down that bright green.

KR: I do like bright colors when done. Right. I just tend to leave that to other people and kind of mute my colors down because I guess that's just what I like. but of course you can do this with bright pinks and purples, and you'll just be sure to use complementary colors. That's I guess that's one thing I'm going to a little tip. I'm going to give you with paintings.

KR:

Let me get our new clean brush to apply a little more. What is it a bit, but my, my thing is with colors, honestly. I think that's what is a lot of times, of course it's technique and skill and style and all of that, but color is kind of what draws us to things. Why we like things or don't like things, especially with art. And, I think if you use the right colors, you can almost make any artwork look appealing.

KR: If you use the right colors, if you use appealing colors, that that go well together. I, I do notice and I've done this myself, so I'm not disparaging anyone, but you know, newer artist, people just starting out, they tend to want to, you know, add more and more and more. And all of a sudden you've got a kind of a mess that doesn't really, there's no color that really sticks out. There's so many things going on. So many colors that it kind of dilutes the painting.

KR: And, you know, I used to do that of course, until I understood a few colors used in varying tones and degrees are going to give you the effect of many different colors. So you don't need six different blues on one painting. As a matter of fact, you're going to get a muddy look cause some blues are blue, red, some are blue, green, some are blue gray, some are, you know, very opaque.

KR: Some are translucent. You really have to learn, the different types of colors and what they're going to do. I know that that low blue is a very translucent blue and I can, I can go over other colors and get that translucency.

KR: But the, of course, the cadmiums like this yellow that see, that's a very, solid color.

That's not going to give you that translucency. So you just kind of learn that, but you learn, if you use just a few colors in the right degrees, you're going to look like you put many colors on the canvas, but you maybe only use two or three paints. I probably don't even need this yellow, green, because I am using the blue and yellow, but I do kind of like the tone that gives me, but that's a very, you know, limited palette that I'm using here and, and still getting varying shades all throughout the

painting.

KR: So what I'm going to do is let this dry, because this is at the point where I want to let it dry, kind of see where I'm at and, and see where I need to move on. So that is the segment and I will see it the next segment. Okay.

KR: We are back. This has dried very well. And, at this point, what I'm going to do, I'm going to mist it very lightly.

KR: I am going to put a little of my gold ink on this is the liquid techs, gold ink that I'm using.

You can use a gold paint, you can make your own alcohol ink or, you know, mix a little with some glaze, et cetera, the, your own L combust. In other words, I'm taking a dry flat brush, and I'm just going to move that around a little bit. one thing with these inks and metallics is they don't flow and move quite as well as paints do. so you do they grab, they grab more on the canvas. So sometimes you have to kind of understand that and work with them a little bit differently, but I just want a little bit of kind of shimmer in the background. There just a little, I don't really want gold, gold. I just want kind of this, the shimmer from it, the metallic .

KR:

So now that I've put that down, I'm going to use some of my turquoise fallow and drop a pieces down. This, this high flow paint is high flow. As you can see it, it, it really buggies on the canvas. If you, set it down, especially with some water and, Oh, I've got some splatters here. So that's another thing to be aware of. I probably should've laid that down on my palette and then picked it up versus right on the canvas. But if you work quickly, you can fix anything like that. And although I do like some of this sort of water watercolory look, I'm going to go ahead and remove some of it. Some of it, I just want sort of the background of the color, somewhat some areas. I want more of the depth of the color. So I'm going to leave. Oops, I'm going to leave this more deep over here.

KR:

So I guess I removed a little more that go ahead and put down some more. I do really love working with these high flows and very interesting. but they have a unique life of their own,s hall we

say.

KR: Sometimes just to clean or damp paper tells you best tool, kind of like when you do your makeup, you can have all the greatest brushes in the world, but sometimes the fingers work best.

KR: All right. So what I'm doing is I'm just laying that depth of the blue down a little bit. I'm going to come back when this is dry. I'll turn this around to kind of see where we're at now. I'm gonna let that dry. That's not going to take too long because the, the, paint I used is very thin and then will dry quickly. I'm not going to worry too much about splatters because I'm going to come back and put some white over that and blend that in.

KR: This is really a study and sort of layers and blending doing a painting like this, but you ended up with a real, pretty kind of multitude of colors, sort of a very watery water color effect by using a Kerlix. So that is, I guess, what I'm going to do with that a little bit of more blue on my brush.

KR: I'm just bringing it around the edges here. So I get a little more depth sometimes after paint sits and bakes into the canvas for a minute, then you can kind of stand back and look and see where you're at.

KR:

So we're back. I let that dry. And I also went over it with my hairdryer just to quick dry it now, it doesn't matter if it's not fully a hundred percent, but you know, overnight dry down here right now, because we're going to work in this area, I'm going to bring some of the paint in, and I do want a little bit of blending happening. So I'm not going to worry too much. If that is a hundred percent dry, I'm going to put down just a little titanium white and using my damp sponge.

KR: And I mean, this is damp, not soaping sopping, dripping wet, make sure it's very DRAM damp. As a matter of fact, what you can do is, dampen it and then sort of put a paper towel on it and ring it out a little bit, just to catch any extra, because you just want a little bit of water on here. You really don't want to a ton of water that will ruin your, your painting. So by adding some of this with a sponge, I'm getting a very soft blended look, I'm covering up my background and he splitters, but I'm letting a little bit of it kind of show through since I'm not actually painting on a ton of paint with a brush. So if you can see that as I go over some of this texture with my white what's happening is it's sort of, you know, picking up on the white on the

texture.

KR: And I'm going to move that around a little bit. Again, you want your sponge to just be very, very lightly damp. You don't want a lot of water or this will re it'll ruin it. So that's one thing I caution about, and I really liked picking up paint on texture, whether it's going darker using metallics or even white white can look very cool on a texture if you've got a darker background surface. So this is giving you a very unique kind of look, a little more white and certain areas.

KR: And I definitely want some of that color coming through from the background. So, you know, it's not a stark white color. Some paintings are like that, but this one, I want a little background color and I'm not bringing, bringing it all the way down. I'm just bringing sort of down. It kind of diffuses out a bit.

KR: So right t here is a good stopping point for letting this really get

dry.

KR: And you can kind of see how it's diffused down in areas like that. Now, what we're going to do is let this dry. I'm going to come back with another coat of very translucent fellow blue, I believe is what I'm going to use over this to enrich. So you can see a painting like this is, you know, putting paint down, taking paint off, laying another layer down, you know, doing a diffused white, like this Lang more paint on it, all creates these layers that come through. And you know, this is not, this is a study in patience doing a painting like this. When you get done, you're happy with it. If you let it dry.

KR: I do understand your pain, if you're not patient and you just want to get the painting done and you really don't want to wait for the layers to dry, then they're done that.

KR: Totally understand ruin paintings because of it. But if you let it dry and you, you really give it a good, ability to cure into the canvas, then you can come back and lay, lay what you want on top and be much happier with it. Then if you try to hurry through it, trust, just trust me on that.

KR: This I'm going to let dry, I might do an overnight, I might just do a few hours. I didn't put a ton of pain on here, so it should be dry, especially my climate within a couple of hours. You might, if you're in a humid area or you just have any reason to suspect, it might not be dry, j ust wait, wait overnight, at least. you know, if you, if you only paint like on the weekends, then put it aside til next weekend and start a new painting.

KR: That's what I had to learn to do is, is to use my studio with multiple artworks going on versus just one. If you only, if you have a very, very tiny area and you can only do one at a time, I totally understand. It is a study in patients doing these sort of layered paintings like this. So anyways, just have patience and be willing to let it dry. And you're going to be much happier in the end.

Speaker 3:

I'm going to do now is I put a little glaze in my palette. I'm going to use a little bit of my fallow, blue twisted a little bit. It's a very small painting. You only need small quantities. I'm going to add just a drop of my gold ink and some water and mix that up. And I'm just gonna come over this, maybe just a quick, just a bit. We're going to lay some darker blue on top. So we've

Speaker 3: Now get the white texture picked up. we're going to do blue textured pick up the glaze. I'm want to, I want this to be a very light coat. So I am using the glaze. I'm laying down the color, and then I'm going to go ahead and just remove the color where I don't want it quite so much. So just kind of laying it down right now. I want it to be a little more intense in a couple of spots. So I am just a little more so are,

Speaker 3: You can let it bake for a second and then start to remove your paint. And again, I'm using a very slightly damp spawned. It might be actually a little too wet. If you have a wet spawn to put it in paper towel, you know, absorb it out. You can always use the paper towel damp and the sponge again, you want it slightly damped, so you're not removing and making your paints move all over.

Speaker 2:

Speaker 3:

We're getting a very etheral effect by doing this. As you can see, moving up into the white, I have a much larger art scale painting. Actually I've done two or three like this large scale. And, there's one I have it's called Dreamstate (https://abstractart.live).

Speaker 3: If you want to check out what it looks like, large scale, a different color scheme, mold, more depth, more drama on it, but I've done a few like this large scale. So this looks fantastic art skill. In my opinion, it looks cool. Just adding a little more blue, or I want a little more depth and just kind of very, I'm holding this so

lightly. I'm not scrubbing into it. I'm just going over it so lightly just to move the paint around, but I don't, I don't really want to, you know, scrub it or remove paint. I'm just moving it around and very lightly kind of, I mean, it's just like tips of my fingers, holding this, turning it upside down, where it's clean to kind of move into the white and soften those edges.

Speaker 3: So

I just go back and forth like that quite a bit until I get where I want it. And this has kind of, it's, you know, kind of a soft explosion of color coming up from the bottom of the painting up to the white space, you can do sort of an abstract landscape if you want it to be more linear. this is kind of abstract landscape- ish, but not really. It's more of a full- on abstract.

Speaker 3: Now I'm just laying a little more blue just on top of my texture too. So it kind of picks up there.

Speaker 3: But I still really like how the white texture came through uncertain spots. So I don't want to cover that up. And this is basically finished. Now I'm going to let it dry. of course.

Speaker 3: I may or may not add just a slight bit more of blue on here once it's dry, just in a couple spots with a little bit of glaze, just to add some depth, because right now I've got the glaze and the blue, and it's kind of, it's given me what I want, but the depth is like right there, adding that I might come back and do that just with a little more paint than glaze right now I've got more

glazed than paint.

Speaker 3: I'm getting a very light translucent effect, but with a little more paint, that might be all I need right there. And, I might just do that right now, actually, while I've got this, I put just a little paint on my brush here. I'm just going to dab it in a couple of spots and this is, turn my brush over and see where it yet, that's what I'm doing. See where I'm at. And since it's kind of wet and able to move around, this is a good time to do that.

Speaker 3: So again, these brushes are very inexpensive. You can get them at the craft store. I wouldn't spend a lot on these kinds of brushes because by doing this sort of technique, you really scrubbing the brush. As you can see, it's kind of all coming apart. And, you know, I'd probably throw this away after a few more uses, get a new one. And if you just buy the cheap sets for this type of situation, then you know, you're not going to feel bad about doing this. the higher end brushes where you really want to spend some money are more for a brush stroke technique, different kinds of, of, techniques versus this. This is, this is, you can even use like craft brushes or something for this because you're not really painting with it. You're just laying down and moving the color. There we go.

Speaker 3: Now I've got some depth in some areas and soften it with my sponge just a bit. And I'm going to call this pretty much done. I'm going to let it dry. I'm gonna go ahead and put a really nice couple of coat of glaze on here. I'm going to use a, probably a little more high gloss glaze in my mix, or maybe just a pure high gloss.

Speaker 3:

You kind of see that, it's got a little gloss to it now because that's the glaze that I used in my last coat, but you can see the rural softness that you're getting by just using that sponge a clean sponge and moving that paint and just very, very lightly. Yeah, I'm very hardly even touching the canvas, moving it around. And that way you can remove color, move color around easily without, you know, actually moving it, replacing, moving, replacing, which gets a little tedious after a while.

Speaker 3:

This allows you to kind of really have you, blend it's this buttered out blend is the word that I'm looking for there. So you can get, get that effect. And there are certain brushes and things that will do that. but for something like this, this, this little sponge works great. And a note about spawn sponges. this works really well. I particularly like this. I went and just bought a whole new package of these, cause I only had one. I've had this thing forever, but I've bought some cellulose sponges, you know, the kindy clean your sink with that. You buy at the grocery store. I bought some of those, those work really well until they don't. And I'm what I mean by that is they will start dropping little, you know, tearing apart, especially with texture and then leaving those little bits of sponge in your painting.

Speaker 3: And that can be incredibly frustrating. So you might, you know, you can use those for a bit. Once they start to fall apart, dump them, really just get a new, new set because I've used, I keep doing that and reusing the sponge and reusing it and picking more and more bits out of my painting. And it's like, okay, Karen, just throw it away. It's like a couple books. So, but I, these work seem to work very well with the textured painting. They don't tear up as much for some reason. I don't know the composition or whatever. So that's kind of what I'm going to do right now. It's on him and I'll lay down, might just finesse it just a bit and, call it done. So a nice glaze on it, pop it in a pretty frame since this is a board and just then needs a frame.

Speaker 3:

And this is going to be a really nice little painting. And of course you can do this final, a large scale canvas, and I'm going to be doing some large scale canvas tutorials. those require more work, more, more everything. So anyway, I'm just gonna work small right now for these. but I, I am going to do a series of large scale. So if you're interested in transferring some of these techniques, large scale and really, really doing it right. And not, not making too many mistakes anyways, then that might be something you'll want to check out: http://www.101artists.com

KR:

Okay. Just a real quick little recap here. I decided, right after I finished to just lay down a little bit of gold alcohol ink, again, you can use just straight on gold or gold with a little glaze, just in a couple of spots here, just to give it a little more interest.

Speaker 4:

How to Paint with Acrylics - Using Tools - Palette Knife, Catalyst, Mop Brushes

SEE THE ENTIRE PROCESS & GUIDE STEPS https://101artists.com/abstract-sunrise-step-by-step-acrylic-art-tutorial-demo/

Full materials list, too!

Beginner Art Techniques - Tips for Painting with Fluid Acrylics

CREATOR QUICK TIPS:

Fluid Acrylics - Tips for Painting with Fluid Acrylics

In my new tutorial I use a few different types of paint, one being fluid acrylics. Here are a few tips for working with these fun, washy acrylics:

DO:

Understand their depth. Fluid acrylics will lay down intense color, but it will be a washed-effect vs. any impasto or heavier paint. It's like a heavy watercolor!

Prep your canvas. As I said, these will lay a washy color on your canvas so be sure you have it prepped and know they will not "build" a lot of surface, so have that in place before you lay them down.

Stay in a color zone. Too many colors = muddy. Choose a palette and then work in that zone for a modern look. (I know I'm a broken record, but it's for good reason!)

DON'T

Be afraid to make your own. No fluids or high-flows on hand? Make your own. Just get some airbrush or high-flow medium and mix up your own colors!

Have fun, be well, be safe!

Abstract Art School