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.

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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!)

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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.

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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.

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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.

How to Add Detail to the Foreground of your Picture

This posting is about one technique for adding detail to your painting. It is not something I use a lot, with acrylic paints you can easily paint over any details you want. However it is always good to be aware of painting options for achieving a particular result.


How to Add Detail to the Foreground of your Picture


Adding extra detail to the foreground of a painting helps to make the background look further away and can give depth to a picture.

The closer something is to the front of a picture the more detail you can see. So putting in extra details in this area is a good idea.

One painting technique to achieve this is to scrape out grassy things in a landscape. Or perhaps scratch out a texture in other subjects. For example, indicating the texture of the tablecloth in a still life.


Consider your painting surface

The amount of detail you can achieve will depend on the painting surface you are using. You will be able to add more detail when painting on a smooth surface than you can on a rough surface.


Damp is easier

When using acrylic paints I prefer to scrape out the shapes while the paint is still wet/damp. Although you can scratch the dried paint to make some shapes it is easy to dig too deeply and cut into the painting surface. This can be quite a problem on a paper surface.


What to use?

You can use a range of things to scrape out the shapes you want. With thicker paints it can be handy to use a palette knife. The palette knife can be used either flat or edge on depending on the effect you want.

I often use the end of a paint brush. This can be handy for thinner paints and smoother painting surfaces.

Of course you can always use a finger nail too!


Adding extra detail to the ‘detail’

Once the paint has dried you can also paint in further detail to the scraped out shapes for highlights and shadows. This can help to give the shapes extra definition too.

The amount of detail you put into a painting will depend on the subject matter and your style of painting.

As with any technique it is always worth experimenting on a spare piece of paper to make sure you like the effect before you use it on the final piece.

How to Send an Artwork Gift

With Christmas fast approaching you may be thinking about making a personalised gift and sending it. If you decide to send some artwork you will need to package it fairly well so that it will arrive in good condition. This is even more important for a present.

If the artwork is painted onto paper or canvas panel it will be the more suitable for sending. Stretched canvases need a lot more packaging.

However if you are sending paper, canvas panel or even a picture with a mount the easiest way is to use a board backed envelope.

Board Backed Envelopes

These come in a range of sizes. My local newspaper shop sells them singly so I can buy just one.

Ideally you want the size of the envelope to be about one inch longer and one inch wider than your artwork. If it is too large the picture tends to move about too much and can be damaged.

A board backed envelope can be cut down to size and the cut edges sealed with tape, parcel tape works well for this.

There are different qualities of board backed envelopes. If the one you buy seems too thin and flexes a lot you can strength it with another piece of thin card. I find that a cereal box can be a good size and thickness for this.

Cut the cereal box to the size of the envelope and slide it in to make sure it fits well.

It is a good idea to put the picture into a plastic bag to keep it dry – just in case!

Put a piece of spare paper, then the picture (in its plastic bag), and then another piece of card in a stack. Next slide this stack into the envelope with the good side of the picture facing the board part of the envelope.


Tip

Place the artwork so that it is facing the board of the envelope, so the extra piece of card to the back of the picture. This ensures that if the rear of the envelope is written on it will not mark the painting.



No board backed envelope?

If you cannot get a board backed envelope you can use a large envelope and make up a sandwich of packing to protect your artwork.

In this case you need to have two pieces of strong card both slightly larger than the picture. The cardboard needs to be about one inch longer and one inch wider than the picture.

Place your artwork into a plastic bag to keep it dry and then sandwich the picture between the cardboard layers. Tape the two cardboard layers together to keep the artwork flat.

This can be placed into a normal large envelope for sending.


Tips

Check that the cardboard is both strong and not too heavy. If it is heavy it will really increase the price of sending the packet.

Mark the outside of the envelope as “Fragile Please Do Not Bend” in large letters, on the front and on the back too.

Tips on Painting from a Photograph – Part 2

Here is Part 2 of Tips on Painting from a Photograph. It looks at the composition of your final painting and considers some of the options you have.

You don't need to paint a picture to exactly match the photograph. In Part 1 we talked about choosing just a section of the original photo and not the whole of it. The composition of the final painting is the main subject of this article.

Although you're using the photo for your inspiration it's still necessary to consider the composition of the final painting.


Here are a few points to think about.

What is the focal point?
Where is it placed? (It is better to avoid putting it in the centre.)
You can move it to a better area if you want.

Are there objects to lead the eye into the painting?
These could be paths, branches, or shapes to lead the eye in.

What about the colours? You could change a landscape to a different time of day or a different time of year?
Instead of mid-day you could have a sunset, instead of the bare branches of winter you could have green leaves or even autumnal leaves.

Consider the contrast between the tones used in the different areas too.
Again you do not need to follow those in the photo.
Perhaps you want to highlight a contrast between some light and dark areas of the picture.

You can use the photo as a starting point for your painting.
But if the final painting is for someone else they may want and expect it to look like the photo.

However you still have the option to change things to improve the composition of the final picture. For example missing out a power line in a landscape or changing the background in a portrait.

How to Make Your Own Rake or Comb Brushes

Rake or comb brushes are very handy when painting textured effects. These brushes have been cut with gaps between the bristles so that they produce grass like effects. They are really convenient when you want to paint rows of lines quickly and easily.

I find them useful for painting the fur in pet portraits.

However the rake brushes I have do have one problem. The spaces between the bristles are all the same size. This makes them excellent for parallel line areas, but not so good for grassy areas where you want some variety in the brush strokes.

I do have one rake brush that has irregular spaces but the majority of the rake brushes seem to have uniform spacing.






So I decided to experiment

I trimmed some old brushes to see how that would work. Don't use new brushes, but if you have some old brushes that are past their best this could be a good project.

As you can see from the photo I cut the bristles to give uneven spaces.


How to make your own

It is probably easier to do this with flat brushes rather than round brushes, although I tried both. Trim the brush across the width of the brush head. You are trying for a thin line of bristles across the width of the brush; this will avoid the final brush being overloaded with paint.

Then cut into the brush head to give the spaces between the bristles. This is a bit like when a hairdresser is making choppy layers in a hair style.

Test your newly trimmed brush to check that you are happy with the effect. If you aren't pleased with it then dry the brush on a piece of paper towel and re-cut it. Repeat this stage until you have a successful rake brush.


When to use them

If you're only painting a small area of texture it'll be easier to just paint it in using a small brush. However when you want to texture a large area it'll be quicker to use this type of brush and you can add several lines with just one brush stroke.

Having made your own brush you will have a more random look to the texture too.

Using Glow in the Dark Paint in a Painting

The last posting mentioned that the landscape painting had another secret. As you now know from the title of this post – it included some glow-in-the-dark paint.

I bought a small container from eBay and didn’t know quite what to expect.

However I like to experiment with new materials…


My first try

My first project was to use it on a lighthouse window in a picture I had previously painted. I thought that if the lighthouse window would glow in the dark it would add an interesting dimension to the picture.






The picture is displayed in quite a dark hallway and I was disappointed that there was no glow. I applied several layers of the paint but there wasn’t any improvement.


I have it so I will use it!

Seeing as I had most of the paint left I decided to give it another try. The hallway is fairly dark and maybe the paint wasn’t getting enough light in that position.

This time I applied the paint to the landscape so that the glow would look like a shimmer in the sky that was reflected on the watery section in the centre of the picture, indicated by the marked area in the photo.




As in my first attempt, I applied a few layers of the glow-in-the-dark paint. This is recommended in the instructions that came with it.


Display and Glow

I hung the painting and forgot about it. But this time it worked. :-)
As soon as the lights were out the areas that I used the glow in the dark paint on gave off a slight glow – enough for me to see even without my glasses on!

The picture is displayed on the wall on the same side of the bedroom as the digital clock. I don’t know if this gives enough light to make a difference or not, I only know that it works there.


Green Might be Better?

According to the website the brightest glow comes from the green paint. The one I have is white, which is second in their table.

I can imagine painting a sunset with over hanging trees and using the green on the leaves for an interesting glow look. I might get around to that some time.


For the Full Range

You don't need to look on eBay for this paint supplier. They have a website at www.kilabitzzz.co.uk with their full range.

They also sell some other interesting paints. There is one for UV lights and a temperature changing one too. If you're looking for something different it may be worth a look.

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.

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Painting on an Oval Stretched Canvas - Painting Tip

I've had an e-mail about painting on oval stretched canvases so I thought it would be a good subject for this blog post.

Painting on an Oval Stretched Canvas

Oval stretches canvases used to be quite rare but I see that they're a lot more common now.

They give a different look to your painting and many people prefer it.

I got one as a Christmas present last year. I painted a collie picture on it and I think it looks pretty good. :-) It would look pleasing in a traditional style of décor.


What about Framing?

However there may be a drawback if you want to have a framed picture. I spoke to my local picture framer and she said that framing oval pictures was a specialist job. Obviously the frame needs to be the same curved shape as the canvas.

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Side Note – An oval canvas could be framed into a rectangular picture. The oval shape would be put behind a mount or matt, so the final mounted picture would be a rectangle, and easy to frame.

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When framing a square or rectangular canvas the framing is sold in straight lengths. The lengths are cut to the correct size for the canvas. The corners are cut at 45 degrees for a tidy finish and the frame assembled.

For an oval canvas to be framed as an oval shape the framing has to match the curve of the canvas which is much more complicated.

This can make getting your oval artwork fairly expensive to frame. A few years ago I saw an oval canvas with a matching frame sold as a kit, but I haven't seen any of these recently.


Any Options?

If you decide to buy an oval canvas look for one with the canvas fixed on the back the picture. This means that the artwork can be displayed without the need for a frame.

I like to paint the background colour around and onto the sides to tidy them up. The photo shows how this looks on the collie painting.

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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.


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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.


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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.

Painting Tip for Artists – Dented Canvases

In this post I wanted to share a tip that I had to use recently. If you store your equipment better than I do you may not need this tip!

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How to Repair a Badly Stored Stretched Canvas

I have a range of different sizes of stretched canvases. This is very handy as I can choose the size I want for a particular painting. Usually I store them so that all the same sizes are together and resting on an edge (normally leaning up against a wall). This way they support each other and everything is fine.

However as I was looking for a particular size I discovered that I had mixed a small stretched canvas in between two large ones. It must have been there for a while as the small one had put dents into the larger canvases. What a nuisance!


How to Fix Dents in a Stretched Canvas

I find that if you get a bulge or dent in the canvas surface you can remove it by thoroughly spraying the entire back of the stretched canvas with clean water.

The canvas will usually dry smooth. However you need to let it dry naturally for the best result.


Another Use for this Spraying on the Back Technique

Another use for this technique is to slow the drying time of a painting.

If you want to slow down the drying time of your paint you can spray the back of a stretched canvas with a water spray before you start the painting. This will slow down the drying time without affecting the paints on the front of the canvas.

I like to spray the rear of the canvas before setting out the rest of the painting equipment so it gets time to soak into the canvas a bit.

Obviously the amount of extra time you will get depends on some other factors too. For example how much water you sprayed on the back of the canvas, how wet the paints are that you are using, room temperature and humidity, and so on.

However it is a handy thing to know. Be sure to try it sometime to see how it works for you.

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!

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 :-)

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.

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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.