Top Tips for Acrylic Painting – Number 8

Acrylic paints are very versatile. You can use them both in thin coats of colour or thickly depending on the result you want.

Water Colour Effects

Thin coats of acrylic paint can be used to give a watercolour look to a picture. The thin layers of paint will have the transparent quality of watercolours.

A point to remember when painting using transparent coats is the white acrylic paint is an opaque colour. To paint a pale colour do not add white to make it pale, instead add water to thin the colour and apply thin layers of paint.

On a white background the white of the painting surface will show through the colour making it appear paler.

The Black Canvas Project - Paint Something Different!

This is a good idea for the times when you want to try to paint something a bit different. The final result can be stunning.

Instead of starting with a white background why not try a black one?

Although I call this the Black Canvas Project it does not need to be a canvas! It works just the same on any painting surface, like paper or canvas panel.

What to do

This is really easy; just paint the whole of the painting surface with black acrylic paint. OK, I know this can look a bit drastic to start with but it really is an interesting option when starting a painting.

What then?

Usually you need to paint in the middle tones, shadows and then highlight the objects in your painting; however with this technique you already have all the shadows in. In this case you are picking out just the middle tones and highlights.

You may need to apply the paint a bit more thickly than normal, depending on your painting style.

This is useful when painting sunrise/sunset type pictures that have a lot of shadow. It is great for stormy pictures too.

Abstracts too

This technique works well with abstract style paintings too. It is especially effective when you want to include some metallic paints. The dark background shows up the metallic colours and makes them more vibrant.

What about adding an acrylic medium?

If you have one of the acrylic mediums that give a metallic effect to the paints you will be able to make a range of metallic colours. I have an Interferance Medium in Gold that works really well.

For a more subtle look you could try the Pearlescent Tinting Medium, which is my favourite of the moment.

When you use a medium you still get the colour but with a metallic effect. The metallic colours, like gold and silver, just look like metal. Your choice will depend on the result you want to achieve.

Next time you fancy trying to paint something a bit different look out the black paint!

Card Making - How to Paint Your Own Backing Papers - Part 2

Part One described how to use pre-stretched paper and acrylic paints to paint backing paper for card making. This article looks at ways to make your backing papers even more individual.

Use Acrylic Mediums

There are acrylic mediums that can be added to the acrylic paint to extend the range of effects you can achieve. The acrylic mediums can make the paint dry to a glossy or matt finish. Other mediums can give beautiful metallic effects or add textures like sand or small glass beads.

(The metallic mediums are especially effective on dark colours.)

There are a wide range of acrylic mediums that you can use. Be sure to check out the range I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Apply the Paint without a Brush

You could also try applying the paint with crumpled paper towel or thin plastic for a random textured finish.

You can paint your backing paper to co-ordinate with your other card making materials which will save you both -

* time spent looking for just the ‘right’ paper
* money as you can use the paints that you already have.

Rip instead of Cut

Another idea is instead of cutting the backing paper you could rip the background paper for a different look.

You’ll find that ripping towards yourself will give a different effect compared to when you rip away from yourself.

The size and shape of the exposed edge will be different. On dark coloured surfaces exposing the white ‘centre of the paper’ will give a white border that can be very pleasing.

This all adds to the variety of effects you can achieve. This is a great way to make your cards individual and special, so that they stand out from the crowd.