Acrylic Painting
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History
• Acrylics originated in early 1900’s in
Germany – Developed US 1920’s –
Rohm & Haas Co.
• Late 1940’ s commercially available
• 1960’s – Taken up in England
• Pop Artists – Frank Stella
• Pigment, water and an acrylic binder
• Forms a hard, clear film as the water
evaporates.
• Transparent film, reflecting light from
pigment inside = acrylic color brilliance.
Acrylic Paints
•Acrylics dry relatively quickly. Spray a fine mist over the paint
regularly to keep it moist.
•Resistant to water once dry, can be over painted.
•To thin the color, simply add water, or an acrylic medium.
•· Acrylic medium improves the flow of paint.
•Blending color on canvas – work fast, dampen canvas
•Darker in tone as they dry
•Dry acrylic washes are permanent. Subsequent washes mix optically
with the earlier ones.
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•Blot your Brushes -Wipe brushes on paper towel after you rise
them. Prevents water drops running down the ferrule and onto
your painting, making blotches.
•Hard Edges- Masking tape on dried acrylic paint no damage to
existing layer.
•Masking fluid - Once dried in a brush, it's nearly impossible to
remove. Dipping a brush into some washing-up liquid first
makes it easier to wash masking fluid out of a brush. Use goof
off to get fluid out of brush.
•· Use Acrylic Paint as a Glue for Collage
Strengths...
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Acrylics are fast drying, lightfast, permanent and flexible.
Other media will adhere to acrylics as long as the surface is prepared
properly.
Acrylics can be painted on a variety of surfaces: canvas, watercolor paper
or board, gessoed panel, metal (when properly prepared), acrylic sheeting
(like Plexiglas), leather, fabric, and wood.
Acrylic paint can be applied thickly, as in oil painting, or thinly, as in
watercolor.
Fluid acrylics can be built up in layers without resembling mud.
Acrylic paint is flexible, meaning it moves with the support.
Cleanup is easy with soap and water.
There are no fumes to breathe while using acrylics.
There's no need to frame with glass when painting with acrylics, even when
using a thin watercolor technique.
... and weaknesses
1. Because they're fast drying, tend to be hard
edged. Technique to soften edges - use a
"retarder" or medium. Extends drying time.
2. Will become brittle and can crack at belowfreezing temperatures.
3. Can get very soft and tacky in hot temperatures.
Never let any kind of material touch your
finished painting during shipping.
Value
Relative degree of light or dark –
quantity of light reflected by the color.
• Describes objects, shapes and space.
• Cast shadow – dark areas that occur on
object or surface when shape is placed
between it and the light source.
• Modeling – gradation of color to show
3-d space
• Expresses feeling or emotion
• Chiaroscuro – forceful use of lights
and darks.
• Decorative - flat surfaces receding or
coming forward
Color Wheel
• Primary Colors
red, blue, yellow
• Secondary Colors
green, violet, orange
• Intermediate Colors
primary + secondary
Complimentary - opposites color wheel
Cool – greens, violets, blues
Analogous – next to
each other on color
wheel
Warm – reds, oranges, yellows
Split Complimentary – color and 2
colors either side of compliment
Triadic – 3 colors
equally spaced on
color wheel
Monochromatic –
1 color and tints
and shades
Line
•Brushes: Bristle – acrylics, synthetic soft, bristles = hard, long
handle
•Round -#1 = small areas, dots, rounded stroke
•Flat – straighter edge to stoke, square look to dots
•Large the number = larger the brush
•Brush creates lines – pressure, part of brush used
•Care of brushes = wash brush with soap , work suds into heel, rinse
until clear, reshape brush and store
Texture – Techniques
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Transparent effects – paint needs to be watered down with water or gel medium
Laying thin washes – add water to paint
Wet on wet – wet canvas and paint over
Overlaying washes over dry color with watered down paint
Resist methods- use miskit, crayons, sometimes oil pastels – apply thickly
Softening edges – dampen paper, use 2 brushes
Impasto – adding impasto gel, thicker paint, manipulate to add texture
Dry Brushing – scrub canvas with bristle brush and little paint (wipe off paint on rag)
Scumbling – under paint an object in one color and dry brush with another color
Blending Colors
Add gel medium to prolong drying time and thin paint.
Optical blending – colors juxtaposed to create new color
Transparent colors – build up with layers of color
Opaque colors – blend on palette or canvas
Glazing – thin layer of transparent color over certain areas.
Sgrafitto – scratching wet paint away with tip if handle, palette knife or other objects
Scraping – scrape wet paint away with unique object
Stencils – make templates and paint over
Lifting off – lift wet paint off with rag or absorbent material
Additives – impasto gel, modeling paste, sand, dirt, vermiculite, macaroni -= imagination
Assignment Review
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Decorative Space - Color will show depth – darker colors recede, brighter come
forward –flat color
Modeling of objects – gradual change of color, line
Copy your previous paintings. Cut them into 2x2 squares and combine them to
create an abstract grid painting; no less than a 3x4 grid.
Choose an appropriate size canvas to recreate you abstract grid on. Create the
canvas and gesso.
Transfer your design onto the canvas. Choose a dominant color scheme. Use
traditional and non-traditional painting tools to create texture. The techniques
you use must include at least 6 of the following techniques: dry brushing,
scumbling, dabs of color over wet, sgraffito, inventive scraping, rubbing through,
edge of your palette knife, the flat of your palette knife. Also add non-traditional
items to your paint, i.e. Sand, dirt, yarn, thread, material, leaves, or anything else
you can think of.
• http://archive.liveauctioneers.com/archive2/2217/0442_1_t
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• http://www.archeus.co.uk/pages/single/7610.html
• http://www.artpurveyors.com/chromacrylpaint_.jpg
• http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&
q=miskit&btnG=Search
• http://www.dazedweb.com/art/colorwheel.jpg
• http://www.jesuspaintings.com/birds_paintings/bluejaysfall-glory.jpg
• http://www.oil-painting-techniques.com/pics/7d.jpg