Using Texture Paste in a Seascape

I had a container of texture paste that's pretty old and starting to dry up a bit at the top. Rather than waste it I decided to use some for the foreground stone in a seascape.

I took a few photos of some of the stages so you could see how the final painting was achieved.

This seascape is painted on a canvas panel. I like canvas panels as they can be trimmed if you decide that a section of a painting isn’t working.



First I started with a rough sketch of where the stones and main wave would be. Using a palette knife the texture paste was applied. The local stone here has very definite layers in its structure. So it is fairly straight forward to apply the paste to give this effect.

*
*

Once the paste was dry a strip of masking tape was positioned for the horizon. In a seascape it is important that this is level or the water looks like it could fall out of the picture. (Not what you’re trying for!)

*

*

This area was painted with black acrylic and left to dry. The stone area can be painted quite roughly, with thin and thicker areas of paint to help with the stone shading.

*

*

When the picture was painted in I didn’t like the section on the right so I added more texture paste to add some grassy texture to the top and some to improve the stone shape lower down. Once it was dry I carried on with the acrylic paints.

Adding white to the neutral colours gives good stone-like colours.

*

*

This is the final painting. The paste made painting the stones a lot easier. Just darken the hollows and lighten the raised areas for an effective look. Adding some crack lines will make it look more interesting too.

Keep Your 'Test' Samples

I often shop at our local Lidl supermarket. It does a range of garden, hardware, clothing and craft items. They take in the different things, usually just for one week, depending on the time of year.

I like their stretched canvases; they are a good quality and a very good price. I’m not so keen on the paint brushes though.

They sometimes have acrylic paints and acrylic pastes. Recently they had some acrylic pastes that I hadn’t seen before so I bought a box to try.

Whenever I get new items I try them out on a piece of thick paper or thin card. Then I keep the card with the paint/paste, this helps when I consider using it at some time in the future. I just need to check how it looks to see if it will give me the effect I want.

Obviously once you’ve used an item a few times you know what to expect. However this is a handy tip for the times when you buy new items or for things you only use occasionally.

I have included a couple of photos of the samples I have with the paints and pastes.

As you can see I’m not too fussy about it being very neat!

The lower one is a box of acrylic pastes. It had gold satin, aluminium, crystal (clear), nacre (mother of pearl) and the standard white paste.

Looking for Inspiration?

These types of sample cards can be handy when you want to paint something but don’t know what. They can provide a starting point for a painting when you consider what you can use them for.

That’s what I did when painting this picture of Yoda, from Star Wars. I had bought some metallic paints and wanted to use them. The sheen from the gold and bronze paints made a good ‘alien world’ background.

(As I've mentioned in other posts it is a good idea to paint around the edge of the stretched canvas as it allows you to hang the picture unframed if you want, that is what I did with this one.)

Acrylic Painting, How to buy the Right Equipment for using with Acrylic Paints [Kindle Edition]

I've just added this new report that you may be interested in if you have a Kindle.

It is a collection of articles and reports I have written. It covers acrylic paints, suitable brushes to use with acrylic paints, the best painting surfaces, acrylic mediums, and colour mixing tips too.

Here's the link if you want to check it out

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LO6REI

You may need to copy and paste the link into your browser, however there is also a link on the right hand side of this page too.

How You can Paint Your Own Colour Matched Artwork (Part 2)

This is the second part of painting artwork which includes the colours used in your home furnishings.

This topic is covered in the free report that I give away (the link is above). However I always think that it's clearer to see some actual examples.

As in the previous post the colours used in this painting match the bed cover in our bedroom. This post looks at another style of painting using the same colours as before.





Recap on the Colours in the Furnishings

As you can see from the photo the bed cover is a checked design with stone and dark red in the pattern. Trying to buy artwork with these particular colours in it would be very awkward to find.

I used a couple of small pots of pre-mixed colour. As I was going to paint a couple of pictures it was easier to use pre-mixed colours.

The Style of this Picture

As before this picture was painted onto a stretched canvas. The style of this picture is a fairly traditional landscape style.

And as previously the sky was painted using the stone colour with some white for a cloud effect.

The furthest away hills were a mix of the stone and red colours and painted with quite a lot of water for a pale tone.

TOP TIP - If the tone isn't pale enough you can always add some white to the mix, or paint over the dried section with watery white to make it lighter.

The layers of hills coming towards the foreground used more of the red, as well as darker tones to give a feeling of depth.


In the Foreground

The foreground was straight red and some areas were painted with thicker paint (you can use several coats) to give extra detail to this area.

The area in the centre had some of the white and a little of the stone colour added to give the indication of water.

I added a little blue to the red in a few of the foreground areas to give some darker tones which give a nice contrast to the rest of the picture.

Limited Palette

This picture is an example of painting with a limited number of colours or a limited palette. I really like these types of pictures and find the final effect is very pleasing and harmonious.


Surprise Element

However that's not the full story of this picture. There is a surprise element to this painting that I’ll tell you about in next month’s posting.

How You can Paint Your Own Colour Matched Artwork (Part 1)

Painting artwork that includes the colours used in your home furnishings is a popular project.

It is covered in the free report that I give away (the link is above). However it is always interesting to see some actual examples.

I'm going to show you a couple of examples of pictures I've painted to match the bed cover in our bedroom. This post looks at one style of painting and the next post, which will be in about a month, will show a different style of painting. Both will be using the same colours to paint the pictures. These colours have been chosen to match the fabric of the bed cover.







The Colours in the Furnishings

As you can see from the photo the bed cover is a checked design with stone and dark red in the pattern. Trying to buy artwork with these particular colours in it would be fairly difficult. Also I wanted to keep the colours in the bedroom limited as I find that more restful.

Rather than mix up the colours myself I decided to buy a couple of small pots of pre-mixed acrylic colour. There are a couple of reasons for this.

Firstly I was going to paint a couple of pictures, so mixing up exactly matching colours for both of the pictures was going to be a challenge. (I wasn’t going to be painting them at the same time.)

Secondly when I was looking at the range of stone colours I realised that some shades looked a lot better with the dark red than others. So it was easier to buy my favourite shade.

The Style of the Picture

When using more unusual colour combinations it is often easier to go for a more graphic style of painting rather than something that it too realistic looking. Therefore for the first picture I decided to do a simple sunset, or moon set :-) , picture with some palm trees. This was painted on a stretched canvas.


How to Paint It

I started with a rough sketch to place the sun and trees where I wanted them.

Then I drew around a large plate for a circle for the sun. The rest of the picture was lightly drawn on.

Top Tip - Remember that once you paint over the surface with acrylics you will not be able to erase the pencil marks. Remove any unwanted marks before you start to paint.

I painted in the sun with Cadmium Yellow and Titanium White. Once it had dried I painted in the sky with the stone colour, adding white to give some cloud effect areas.

The edge between the sun and sky can be repainted to tidy it up once both sections are completely dry.

I used the dark red to paint in the palm trees and foreground. This can be painted in several layers. Extra layers will make the colour look a bit darker too.

Adding additional details to the foreground area helps to add interest and depth to the picture.


Other Ideas

The contrast between the light area of the sky and the darker silhouette of the trees and foreground is handy for this type of colour matched artwork.

Of course you can use other subjects in a similar way. You could use the silhouette shape of anything you like. For example a bridge, city skyline, hills, and so on. Perhaps even a shape taken from the patterns in your furnishings.


Part 2

Next time I will be talking about the other painting which uses the same colours but with a different style and look.

.

What is in the Acrylic Painting Course?

How to Paint a Textured Background

Painting in backgrounds in landscapes is fairly straightforward. However when painting still life or animal portraits the background area is often a cause for concern.

Painting in backgrounds is a common problem. This post is about a way to use cheesecloth to give a lightly textured background.

The following background techniques would usually be painted before the main part of the picture.


***

How to Paint a Textured Background using Cheesecloth


I like the background of a picture to have some texture or subtle colour. This has two benefits.

Firstly, by breaking up a flat background the painting is more interesting.

Secondly, if you smudge the main area of the painting it is a lot easier to repair the background area. When the background is a flat colour, all the background would need to be over-painted. With a textured background you can (often!) touch up some areas without needing to repaint all the background.


Using Cheesecloth is Easy

For an interesting background texture you can use cheesecloth or muslin. This technique can also be effective with voile and lace fabrics too. Try to experiment with whatever loosely woven fabrics you have.


Use the Fabric like a Stencil

Start by spraying your painting surface with water and then place on your fabric.

Next, brush or use a sponge to apply a thinned paint over the fabric. Try not to use too watery paint or it will run underneath it and you won’t get a texture. If this happens just dry everything off with some paper towel and try again.

Let the paint dry for about 10 to 15 minutes (depending on conditions) and then remove the fabric before the paint is completely dry. The impression of the fabric will be left in the painted background.


Alternately use the Fabric for an Impression

Another way to use the fabric is to paint the background and then press the fabric into the painted surface for a different look.

In this case the fabric will soak up some of the paint giving thicker and thinner areas that will provide some texture.


When I Paint in the Background

When I paint pet portraits I have found the easiest thing is to lightly draw in the pet portrait shape and then paint in the background area. When using a stretched canvas I paint around the sides at this stage too.

This way I can leave the majority of the portrait area unpainted. A really textured background would need a thickly painted portrait to cover it otherwise.

Then towards the end of the picture I tidy up any background areas that need it and finally paint some of the fur over the background paint. This blends both areas a little and adds to the texture of the pet fur.

This would work equally well with flowers or other subjects that are the main focus of your picture.


Abstract Themes

These painting techniques will work well for abstract pictures too. However in abstract pictures these techniques could be used at any stage.

They would be handy to use after the whole picture has been painted to add some extra interest. Then you can just define a few of the areas to bring them forward.

That is, paint most of the picture, apply the texture, and then emphasis a few of the areas once the texture has dried.

These highlighted areas would be a good place to use some acrylic mediums to give either a gloss finish or perhaps metallic highlights.


***

I hope you find this helpful.
There is no right way to paint, just different ideas for achieving the look you want. :-)

Using Acrylic Paints for Household Repairs?

Acrylic Paint

Acrylic paint has no smell, is quick drying and the adhesive qualities make it really handy for minor household repairs.


Wallpaper

A few weeks ago I was wiping a mirror and the cord holding it up snapped. The mirror slid down the wall removing the texture of the wallpaper on its way. I was upset that I didn't catch it first, but that is life. :-)

After a quick check I knew that I didn't have enough wallpaper to redo the whole wall.

I thought about it for a couple of days and decided that I'd use some acrylic paint and texture paste to see if I could repair the worst of the damage.

I hoped to paint on some texture to blend in the areas were the textured pattern had been scraped away.

I started with a mix of texture paste and acrylic paint to fill in the deepest parts and once that was dry I applied a few coats of straight paint to fine tune some of the areas.

I wish I could say that the whole thing is wonderful, but that would be a lie. However it does hide most of the problem and I can live with it for now.


Wood

I did use acrylic paint before to blend in some wood grain on a fireplace that was chipped. If you decide to try repairing or disguising the filler on wood it is a good idea to consider whether the wood will change colour with age and adjust your wood graining to take that into account.

I was painting some wood grain onto a pine area. Pine and redwood darken quite a bit with age so I needed to make it quite a bit darker. I found the easiest way was to add a knot to the area and it worked very well.

There is often no need to buy touch up paints when you can use your acrylics.

How to Change the Season of Your Snowy Painting

One of the benefits of painting with acrylics is that further washes of colour do not disturb any previously dried paint. Unlike watercolours where if you add additional washes of colour you can loosen any existing underpainting.

This means that it is simple to change a snow scene into another season. However it does not work well for changing other seasonal painting into a snow scene. :-)


How to do this

This is a really easy technique. Apply washes of colour over your existing snow scene (the top painting is the original one). All the shading will still be visible and the white of the snow will change to the colour of the wash you are applying, as shown in the second picture


Increase the detail in the foreground

In a snow scene a lot of the vegetation is covered with snow so the amount of grassy things you will have in the foreground is reduced. However, when you change the season of the painting you can add a lot of grasses and plants to the foreground to enhance the picture. This will also add to the feeling of depth. A few extra grasses have been added to the third picture.

This is also a good chance to introduce more colour using flowers which will add to the change of season feel of the picture too. You can add as much foreground detail as you like.

Another Plastic Wrap Painting Technique Especially for Collages

I have been trying another plastic wrap technique, but without too much success this time. However maybe you will have more luck than me!

I read about another use for plastic wrap. This one is done by applying acrylic paint thickly to crumpled plastic wrap and letting the paint dry.

The paint can then be peeled off in a layer. You can cut it up for use in collages and mixed media paintings. It can be ‘glued’ on using acrylic gel or medium as an adhesive.

(I thought using thin rectangles for fence posts in the foreground of a picture would work well.)

Depending on your picture you may wish to use a blend of colours.

Or

Another ideal could be to add some beads or other small items to the wet paint. Remember that you will probably want to use the rear of the paint as the good side so push the beads right down so you will be able to see them once you remove the plastic wrap.

You can use old paints or colours you do not particularly like to try out this idea.

My Attempt

My attempt was not too successful. I applied some of my old paints to the crumpled plastic wrap hoping for some wood-like texture. Once the surface of the paint was dry I tried to peel it off the plastic wrap.

It came off OK but it was only the surface of the paint that was dry. As the centre was still soft I left finger prints in the sections that were pulled off.

So I decided to leave it to dry fully. But then the plastic wrap was really stuck onto the paint and the crumpled areas were embedded into the dried paint. So no success this time either.

I think the trick is to judge the ‘dryness’ of the paint so that you can remove it from the wrap while it is firm enough not to dent from the pressure of your fingers but before it sets too much.
This may required a bit of trial and error to get it to work successfully. :-)

Maybe you will have more luck than I did with this technique. I think it would be really useful if you can get it to work!

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.

How to Paint a Simple Sky Video

Here is a video clip that shows how to paint a simple sky

This simple sky is an excellent starting point for a range of pictures.

There is a good rule - if you have a complicated foreground be sure to keep the sky simple. When you want to paint a 'busy' sky keep the foreground plainer for a pleasing result.

Snow Scene Using 3 Colours - 2 CD set

This video clip is the start of the video I sell showing how to paint a Snow Scene Using 3 Colours. It is an interesting project and using a limited palette is a useful technique.

If you would like to see further details on this item please go to the Learn and Do website

http://www.learnanddo.com/

and click on the Acrylic Painting Course link and then the order page. The details of the Snow Scene set are further down that page.

Why do I not just put in a link directly to this page?

If I am having any problems with the website, supplies, my holiday :-) or illness then the home page is changed to the 'this website is being updated page'. This means that if there is any reason why I cannot give you the best service, you will know when you get to the home page.

This doesn't happen very often but I want to ensure that if you trust me enough to try my products that I'll give you the good service you deserve.

The Easy Way to Paint a River

This is an easy and effective technique for painting rivers. When you are painting a river it can be a bit daunting trying to get all the details in. This method paints the river in two stages so there is less to concentrate on in each stage.

The idea is that you paint the riverbed and some of the riverbank area first and let it dry. Next you over paint the area with some washes of colour then add details to enhance the final result.

Start with the underpainting

I like to use neutral tones for the stone, rocks and gravel that make up the bottom of the river or stream. It will depend on the stones natural colour whether you'll want to choose colours to the brown or grey tones for the main colour.

In either case it usually looks best if you include some of both colours. Once you have decided on the colour of the local stone you can add more of it to your base painting if necessary.

I like to underpaint some of the river banks as well. My favourite way is to include the middle and distant areas. (This can help to unify the look.) The main detailed area will be in the foreground sections which will be done later on.

At this stage you're just painting in the stony areas in the neutral tones and concentrating on getting the shapes and modelling of the rocks looking good.


Add some colour

Once the underpainting is fully dry add washes of colour to show the water and highlights on the river.

I think it is easier to start with pale washes first and then darken in the areas along the banks.

Then paint in any bank areas using thin washes of colour. There will probably be areas in the water that will reflect the grasses, so you can add them at this stage using the same wash as the riverbank.

If you are painting a sunset then the sky colours may be reflected in the water too.


Add some thick paints for definition

After you are happy with the washes use some thicker paints to give some of the areas a bit more detail. For example you may want to add ripples to the stream. The riverbank vegetation will look more interesting if you take the time to paint in some grassy shapes.


Don't forget the Highlights

I like to add the highlights in the water at the end of this process. They can be where the sunlight is hitting the water or perhaps where the water is disturbed by the rocks underneath.

The highlights may be short strokes for a sparkly look or long smooth lines for a calm ripple effect.

This will work for...

This will work for pictures where the water flows between the rocks too. Just use the same method but leave some of the rocks ‘out of the water’. You can add extra detail to these stones if you want.

Top Acrylic Painting Tips

If you only want to see a bit of the riverbank then add some white to the wash colours. As acrylic Titanium White is an opaque colour the wash will be less transparent.

Highlight with ripples of darker colours as well as lighter ones for lovely effect.

***


This is a really effective technique that I hope you'll try. Remember you don't need to do a whole painting to test it out. You can try it on a spare piece of paper to see if you like the look of it.

This example is just a quick painting, if I was doing a proper painting I would probably add in some tall grasses to the foreground.

How to use Fabric to Produce Colour Matching Artwork

When you’re decorating a room you will often replace the curtains, cushions and other soft furnishings. You can use some of the new fabrics to create your own colour (and pattern) matched art.


What size?

Choose your stretched canvas so that it is the size you want for the completed picture. This choice will probably depend on where you intend to display the canvas.


Then you have a couple of options...

1. You can stretch the fabric over the canvas, and staple it on at the back. Seal the fabric with a clear acrylic medium and leave to dry. You now have a completed piece for displaying.

When you’re using a medium to heavy weight fabric (cotton works best) you can fix it over just the stretchers. (In the same way as a stretched canvas, but without the canvas)

If you’re good at woodwork you could make up a wooden frame to stretch the fabric over.

2. Or once you get to this stage you can prime the fabric with a matt acrylic medium and once it is dry you can add some paint to enhance the look and make a totally original piece of art.

If you’re using a fabric with a pattern you will need to use transparent or thinned colours if you don’t want to cover up the original fabric pattern.


Use your imagination

This is an interesting way to make matching artwork when you are decorating.

You can use some of the leftover fabric and add additional colours or patterns. This way the artwork will match those colours and patterns used in the room without being exactly the same.

Top Tip Be sure to buy some extra fabric it you want to try this idea.

You could add some metallic paints to decorate the fabric, or paint some thicker paint onto certain areas to make it more three dimensional.



Fabric weights

If you wanted to do this with a thinner fabric you can glue the fabric onto a stretched canvas. However if the fabric is strong enough you can just staple it onto a stretched canvas instead. Just stretch the fabric and staple it onto the back of the frame for the best result.

To do this start in the middle of the opposing sides and work out towards the corners. I find it best to do just the middle section of the top and bottom sides, then the middle section of the left and right sides before getting all the way to the corners. It helps to get the fabric smooth and flat.

If you have trouble getting a tidy result you can always remove the staples and start again.

As I mentioned already if you’re using a strong cotton type fabric you have the option of fixing it to just the stretchers (without the canvas). However I like to use a stretched canvas as I think that having the canvas underneath the fabric makes the final piece stronger and it’s easier to paint onto as well.


You could sew

If you wanted to use a few different fabrics you could always sew them together to make up a fabric section big enough to cover your stretched canvas. And then carry on from there.

You can really use your ingenuity to produce something wonderful.


Other additions

This idea works really well with patterned fabrics. You can just pick out some of the pattern to enhance, either with additional paints or adding some of the unusual acrylic mediums. Some of these acrylic mediums have things added to them (like small beads) to produce an interesting look.

Acrylic paint also acts as an adhesive so you could add small objects to the wet paint.


The Best Top Tip

Be sure to staple the fabric onto the back of the stretched canvas so that (when the canvas is hung) the stapled area will be facing the wall. Spend a bit of time getting the corners looking neat and tidy too. This means that you can hang the artwork without a frame and it will look great.

This is a modern look and (with no need to pay for framing) it will save you some money too.

Making your own original artwork can be easier than you think.

Acrylic Painting Technique – Make a Print Unique (Part 2)

The top photo is the black and white photograph I cropped from the original photo.

The lower image is my completed painting.

Using acrylic paints and mediums

In this second part I'm trying a mix of two painting techniques.

I'm still using the same photo of my parents that I used in last month's posting, but this time I printed it onto a thinner photographic paper. The photo paper is a matte General Use one of 120gsm, for using with inkjet printers. As before, if you want to try this you need to make sure that your printer ink is not affected by water once dry. My printer uses pigmented inks that are waterproof when dry.

This time I started with the same photo and cropped out the part I wanted to use. I didn't like the background in the photo so I cut it off. Last time I painted it out but this time I want to try to use the paint as thin washes.

I then printed out the cropped photo in black and white. I'll add the colour using the paints.

Seal the Back of the Paper – First Technique

As this is fairly thin paper I sealed the back of my (cropped) print with Acrylic Gesso. Once dry I'm hoping that it will stop the paper from buckling too much when I apply the washes. This technique is explained in the blog posting of the 20 January 2009.

I left this overnight to make sure that it was fully dry.

Use washes of colour

I used washes of colour to paint the print. This makes painting the faces a lot easier as the lines and shading are already in place. No worries about getting the faces looking good either. :-)

In this example I still wanted to change the black of my mother's top to something lighter and this had to be painted with thicker paints. However the rest of the painting was put in using thin washes of colour.

I used a light random wash for the background as the portraits are the main focus of the picture.

The Result

I didn't spend too long on this painting. The original print was very low resolution so the printed image is not too clear, which I really like. So when I added the colour I did not want to be too precise. I think that it makes the final result look more like a painting than a coloured photo.

Using the gesso on the back helped to stop the paper from stretching too much but it still buckled a little bit when wet, however on the whole it was fine.

I'm fairly pleased with the result.

***

This example used a 'budget' weight of photographic paper compared to the one in last month's example. If I hadn't put the acrylic gesso on the back of it the paper would have stretched too much to get a good result. The paint would have puddle in the lower areas and looked terrible.

I prefer the painting from last month as it looks like a 'proper' painted portrait. However this example using washes gives a very good likeness and was painted in a fraction of the time too.

It really depends on the look you want and the photo you are using.

.

Acrylic Painting Technique – Make a Print Unique Example

Example using acrylic paints and mediums


Here is an example of starting with a print and painting over the top of it. This is an easy way to paint an original picture without needing to draw! (This is an example to go with the article of the same name below.)

I don't paint a lot of portraits (human ones). I paint a lot of pet portraits and I must say I find painting fur a lot easier than skin. :-) Anyway I thought this would make a good example.

This is a photo of my parents. I don't have many photos of them together in their later years. This particular photo was taken on a holiday to Saudi Arabia. It's a fairly typical holiday ‘snap’.

There are a couple of things that are unfortunate. The top of the wall being in line with Dad’s head is the aspect that I think needs most attention. Also Mum never wore all black outfits; she wore it on this occasion due to the customs of the country they were visiting.

What I did

I printed out the photo on 190g/m² photographic paper; this is a thick quality paper. My printer uses pigmented inks that, once dry, don't run if they get wet.

Even though I made the print 9 by 7 inches (about 22 by 17 cm) I found it was quite small when painting some of the detail. So the picture needed to be done in a loosely painted style.

The Background

Titanium White is an opaque colour so I used a lot of it in the mix to paint the background and to get rid of the rear wall. I used the paints with the minimum of water so the paper wouldn’t buckle too much.

Keep a Copy of the Print for Reference

Once the background was dry I painted in my folks. I used the print to know where to paint the darker and lighter tones.

At this point I had to get a copy of the original print for reference and for fine tuning the picture. I couldn't see the original print once it was painted over as I had used the paint quite thickly.

Changing the Black

It took several layers of paint to change Mum’s outfit to a colour that she would normally wear.

Dad’s shirt was over-painted with a thin wash of colour and a little bit of shading.

I feel I got a reasonable likeness and I know that they would be happy that I made them look a little younger than the photo. ;-)

This technique can be used with any subject; it doesn't have to be a portrait. It would work really well with landscapes of local scene too.

You could also try it on any prints that you may have to make them more interesting and unique.

Acrylic Painting Technique – Make a Print Unique

Using acrylic paints and mediums

This is a different way to update a print into something more unique. It can make an ordinary print look like an expensive original painting.

You can use this technique on a store bought print or you can print out one of your own pictures or photos.

Be sure to check that the print colour is not affected by painting on top of it.
Note - Some computer inks will not be suitable for this method.

Paint on extra colour and texture

The idea is to paint onto the print. This will allow you to add extra colour, perhaps making it a better match for your décor? This will make the final picture unique to you as well, your own custom artwork.

You can use some of the various acrylic gels or texture mediums to show up the brush strokes too. Adding extra texture to the foreground will help to add depth to landscape pictures.

Depending on the result you want you could paint on some texture paste (which is white), then over-paint the dried texture paste with colour. This works best where you want a strong texture.

Or you could use one of the gel mediums to give texture without changing the colour too much; I find this most effective for medium texture effects.

You have the option of adding a different colour to any section of the print you want. You control the strength of the colour as well. If you do not like a particular area you can change it.

You could also add some metallic colours, it really is your choice!

Sunflowers?

An example of this technique could be over-painting a print of Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh. You could use this technique to add some distinctive brush stroke textures, in the same fashion he used in the original painting.

This can make a regular print into something much more interesting to look at.

Holiday Photos

If your computer ink is suitable you could print out a holiday photograph and add some paint and texture so that it will look like you painted a wonderful picture from your vacation!

Key Points

* Be sure that painting on the print will not dissolve the colours in the print.

* Adding texture to the foreground will make the distance look ‘further away’.

* You can use just paints to alter the colours, or just add a little texture.

* Use the gel mediums and texture paste for more exaggerated textures.

Tips on Painting Snow

Sometimes it's hard to know where to start when painting snow. Using a lot of white just will not work.

Titanium White acrylic paint is an opaque colour; this means that you can over-paint with the white to add lighter areas. This takes away a lot of the worry about painting the 'wrong area' and not being able to fix it!

**Start with the Medium Tones

When starting to paint snowy areas I like to start with a medium tone.

In my example I started with a little Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White mix. Vary the tones a bit when you paint the snow. Think about any hollows and make them a bit darker (bluer). I like to use blues in snow scenes, I think the cold look it gives is appropriate for the subject. However you can also use other colours depending on the result you're after.

In other paintings I've used a brown (Burnt Sienna) instead of blue. It works well and gives a warmer look to the finished picture.

In my example you can see that I have some warmer tones of brown in the tracks in the foreground, this helps to add depth to the painting (warmer colours to the front). I also added some purple tones for a bit of variety.

Snow will reflect other colours so if you were painting a sunset or sunrise you could add some of the sky colours to the snow. This will add a unity to the final picture and it's fun to be able to use all the colours too. And, as before, if you paint on too strong a colour you can always pale it down by over-painting with white.

**Only the Highlights are Pure White

Save the pure white for highlights. You can paint the highlights several times to cover up any existing colours and to get a bright result.

I find it best to leave the completed painting and come back to it the next day and add the highlights, and often I darken a few areas for contrast too.

Sometimes it'll take several layers of paint to achieve a pure white highlight; it's handy that acrylic paints dry so quickly. :-)

Doing this really gives the picture a lift and makes it sparkle.

Snow Scene using 3 Colours

See how to paint this lovely snow scene using just three colours of acrylic paint, available from the Learn and Do website.

Computer video files

This is a computer video file on two CDs. The first CD shows how to paint this snow scene. The second CD shows the finishing touches and has the e-book guide to painting the picture.

The guide is a .pdf file showing photographs from the video at the various stages so it is easy to follow when you paint the scene yourself.

These files are viewed using Windows Media Player – if you have one of the newer versions of Windows you probably have it already on your computer.

Using computer video files means that, unlike DVD, there are no problems with regional variations.

Get your copy

To buy your copy just visit the Learn and Do website (link at the top of this page) and go to the order page for The Acrylic Painting Course. This item is listed at the bottom of that page.

Add Cotton Buds to your Painting Equipment

Using Cotton Buds

I was recently painting a landscape and the middle distance area was too bright. It needed to be subdued to help give the picture a sense of depth.

With acrylics it is easy to just add a wash of a grey or blue grey to achieve this. However I wanted to keep a few lighter areas as well.

You can remove paint with paper towel but paper towel was a bit big for the areas I wanted to lift out.

Get organised before you paint

So I made sure that I had a couple of cotton buds handy before I painted on the wash. Acrylic dry quickly so you do not have time to go and get the cotton buds once the wash is applied!

Using the cotton bud I could easily lift off the colour in quite small areas, and it was much more controllable too. In this particular painting the wash was over a wooded area so I lifted off the colour to highlight just a few of the trees.

Keep a few with your brushes

I think that you will find it a good idea to add a couple of cotton buds to your painting equipment.