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.

Top Tip for Acrylic Painting – Number 6

You can save yourself a lot of time and make painting even more enjoyable if you get into the habit of always placing your colours in the same order on your palette.

This is a simple technique and probably one of the best. When the colours are always positioned in the same area of your palette it makes setting out the paint colours a quick process.

During your painting session when you want to use a particular colour you know exactly where to find it on the palette. Otherwise you will be holding the paint brush over the palette as you search for the colour you want to use.

Painting is a calming hobby, use this tip and make your painting a pleasure.

Top Tips for Acrylic Paints – Number 5

The fast drying of acrylic paints can mean that a lot of paint is wasted when it dries on your palette.

The way to avoid this is to use a Reservoir Palette. You can either buy or make up a reservoir palette. (Making your own palette is described in the Acrylic Painting Course.)

A reservoir palette has a damp reservoir topped with a paper palette for mixing the paints on. The reservoir keeps the paints damp and stops them from drying out during your painting session.

At the end of your painting session you cover the reservoir palette and the paints will stay wet. That means when you want to continue your painting you can still use the paints from the previous painting session that have been kept damp on the palette.

I find that the paints will keep well for a couple of weeks however I keep my palette in a cupboard in between uses. Don’t leave it out in the sunshine!

A reservoir palette is a good economy measure. Also any colours that you’ve mixed will still be useable when you go back to continue the painting.

Beginners Acrylic Painting - What Palette Do I Need?

What Palette is the Best Choice?

Have you gone into a store to buy some painting equipment and found that the range is huge?

“I’m just beginning with acrylic paints and I only want to buy something to put the paint on!”

Don't despair ;-) Here's the information you need to make the whole shopping trip easier.

The key thing with acrylic paint is that it dries very quickly which can a blessing when you are ready to tidy away. Or a curse if you don't know how quickly it dries and it ruins your brush!

When the paint dries it is impossible to remove it from clothing, surfaces and brushes. So cover yourself with 'painting clothes' and be sure to clean your brushes before the paint dries on them. Once you have the right equipment this isn’t a problem.

Acrylic Paint Palette

Beginners to acrylic painting should either buy or make a reservoir palette. This is a palette with a damp reservoir with a disposable paper on top of it. You mix the colors on the paper. This means that the paint on the paper remains damp and ready to use.

A 'store-bought' reservoir palette often has a separate section for brushes. Usually the brushes will be placed on their sides with the tips of the brushes in some water to stop the paint drying on the brush. There is a cover for the palette that keeps the moisture in and makes sure that the paint doesn't dry out. It’s all laid out in a nice tidy container.

If you feel that you don’t want to spend money on something when you’re just beginning with acrylic paints there is another choice.

Make your own

You can make up your own version of this using a flat dish or tray with a low edge. Place a few layers of blotting paper or a layer of capillary matting (often used in greenhouses to keep the plants damp) in the bottom for the reservoir.

Cover this reservoir with tracing or greaseproof paper. This paper is used as your palette. This is where you will place the paints when you're using them and mix them on top of this paper too.

Keep the reservoir moist - not too wet - and the paints will not dry out. It is important that in between painting sessions you cover your palette to keep the moisture in. A large plastic bag that is big enough to hold the whole palette is ideal.

The rest of your acrylic painting equipment

The rest of your acrylic painting equipment will be discussed in other Beginners Acrylic Painting articles. Happy painting!