IN THIS VIDEO I finish up my painting that is painted with thick, multihued acrylic strokes. I failed to elaborate the scratching technique but it is clearly visible in the closing frames of the video. Let me know if you would like me to elaborate on the sgraffito technique.
Overall I was somewhat surprised how well the experiment went. Here are a few things to remember when painting with thick acrylic:
Be sure to seal the canvas with acrylic medium. An absorbent ground will make your paint dry too fast.
Use plenty of paint in your palette box (and keep your piles of paint on well saturated paper towels).
Use plenty of paint on your brush and on your canvas. Thick applications dry slow.
Keep paint loosely mixed. Over mixing creates drab, lack-luster strokes. Multihued strokes vibrate with intensity and resemble the scintillating colors of nature.
Remember that glazing and scumbling reduce the vitality of broken color, so use those techniques wisely.
Nice finish! I'd like to know the types of brushes you're using with the acrylics.
ReplyDeleteI have been following your generous instruction on YouTube for the last year or so as I tried to rekindle my mastery of painting. Your thoughtful commentary and techniques have inspired me to once again take brush in hand. Although I tend to paint leanly, watching your videos gives me more courage to make bolder, "heartier" brush strokes. Over the years I had banished my acrylics from my "fine arts" painting having chosen to demote them to graphic art & mixed media projects. I think that is about to change.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Your videos are really well produced and I love the crickets. Cheers!
Rob, I used Connoisseur bright acrylic brushes. But I'm not sure they are the best. They clean up well. I remember seeing some very coarse acrylic brushes at Utrecht that I hope to try out soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Reese! I appreciate your feedback and I hope the videos continue to be helpful. I was surprised how acrylic performed like oils as long as I kept lots of paint on the palette, brush, and canvas.
I wonder if you have any special tricks for using the stay wet palette. I'm always having trouble keeping the moisture level just right. The paints seem to loose there thickness and get a little runny or dry out. From the video is looks like they are right at the level they would be out of the tube. Thanks for all your helpful information.
ReplyDeletebread this blog is amazingly helpful, I was just a bit confused about the acrylic mediums. there are so many, which one do you use after gessoing to keep the paint from absorbing into the canvas? thanks so much :)
ReplyDeleteIn a previous post you mentioned you used Golden Acrylics. Are they as thick from the tube/jar as they appear on your palette in this video or have you added chalk? They appear much thicker than any acrylic I've ever used. Thanks for the great videos and post. Much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteWhen the paint gets really thick looking I amusing a lot of chalk in the paint. Especially toward the foreground. But goldenAcrylics are a fairly thick brand of paint right out of the jar.
DeleteThanks for your question.