Thursday, October 29, 2009

Eagle Painting Using the Textured Background


Here is the final picture using the textured background from the previous blog posting.

I think these backgrounds work really well with strong graphic images.

The eagle is inspired by eagle tattoo designs and is painted using a mix of Prussian blue (the same blue used in the background) and Payne's grey.

I have just listed it in my eBay store, I hope it sells :-)


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

How to Use Plastic Wrap for Texture with Acrylic Paint

Using Plastic Wrap for Texture

This idea is to seal your painting surface, apply a second coat of a different colour or tone, then place some crumpled plastic wrap on top to make a texture in the second coat of paint.


The Method

So the first thing to do is apply an undercoat colour to your painting surface. Make sure that the painting surface is sealed; apply a second coat if you need to.




Next mix a second colour with some gel retarder.

The gel retarder will slow the drying time a little, which is handy for this technique.
Try 1 part colour to 1 part retarder.

Apply thinly to the painting surface and do not let it dry. Then you scrunch up some plastic wrap (we often call it cling film in the UK). Unfold loosely so that it keeps its wrinkles.

Lightly press into the glaze and pat gently, and remove before the paint dries.

There are two important points for this stage.

  1. If you do not like the effect you can brush over it and try it again until you achieve an effect you like, at least until the paint dries!
  2. Do not press the film too firmly or you will leave finger impressions in the texture, if this happens you can refer to point one above. :-)



This technique will give a random background texture. It can sometimes look a bit like leather.





In my example I used Prussian blue and some white for the base coat, this was painted onto a canvas panel. I used a darker version of this colour for the second coat with the texture. This gave quite a delicate textured look.

However, as it was difficult to see the effect in the photo I let the second coat dry and painted a third coat using mostly white. I think you can see the texture more clearly in the photo for this one.

It's also a good example of how you can build up the texture using several coats if you want.

This is a handy way to paint in a background for a silhouette style painting, or for a graphic with a strong outline.