Basic Painting Techniques
We want to offer a few, basic painting techniques that you can be aware of, before coming to a class, or to refer to, if you want to paint at home! These are simple to remember and easy to follow, and will serve as a way for you to begin building your painting skills, and over time, develop into some wonderful artwork!
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1-USING WATER:
Acrylic is a plastic-based paint. It comes out of the bottle, liquid, and can be used, alone, unlike watercolor paints, where water is necessary to make them work. There are many times, though, where the addition of water is helpful.
*(Thin it out)
Stirring a bit of water into your paint, loosens it up, and helps it to spread on more smoothly. This is helpful when covering a large section of canvas, and especially when drawing lines. We especially love to add water into our colors when we draw trees, as it helps us to get skinnier lines for those small branches. Another big use is the addition of water to our pile of black paint, when we draw or outline anything. The water allows you to draw more fluidly and smoothly, and not have to re-load your brush, constantly.
***Also, as acrylic is plastic-based, it does begin to dry out, after time. A little water will help restore the life and liquid back to your pile of paint!
*(Stretch your color)
If you’ve mixed a color, and are close to running out, add a bit of water to help stretch the paint further. If you have to re-mix the color, it will usually never be the exact same shade that you mixed the first time. We tell customers to add some water to their solid background to stretch their color it further, when we are mixing a specific color and need it to stretch across the whole canvas.
*(Wash)
A wash is a very light/thin layer of color. It’s used as a base and meant to be built up with other colors. To make a wash, it’s mainly water, with just a tiny bit of color, mixed in, making it appear like watercolor paints!
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2-CLEANING BRUSHES AND YOURSELF:
*(Brushes):
It’s important to clean your brush from one color, before you go to the next, make sure you feel your brush hit to bottom of the cup, then give it a light and gentle “scrub” on the bottom of the cup. (*Don’t just swirl it around the top of the waterline in your cup... it won’t be thoroughly cleaned).
**Tip: When cleaning your brushes at the end of a paint session at home, add a little ‘Dawn’ into the water when washing. It helps to get ALL of the paint out!
*(Clothing)
Sometimes, while painting, we get a little messy. No need to worry... although acrylic can be one of the tougher art materials to get out of clothing, it’s not always impossible.
((It comes off of skin, very easily)).
For lots of info on paint removal from clothing, hair, and skin, click here:
https://www....raleighdurham
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3-PAINT COLORS:
(Multiple shades for depth and detail)
*Talking about layers again, we might not always want something to look ‘flat’. If you’re looking to make something look realistic (say, a landscape painting), then you’ll want to have various tones (or shades) of colors.
**Example: for grass, you’ll want to start with a solid base of green, but then add 2-3 more shades of green on top to look like real grass. Adding various shades of one color, helps it to seem like there are light areas (from the sun) and dark areas (shadows).
Here are some tips for mixing different colors and shades, with acrylic paint:
https://www....crylic-paint/
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4-TEXTURE:
(Stippling)
Using the tips of the brush bristles, “stamp” paint onto the areas that you want to look puffy or rough.
*We LOVE stippling for adding leaves on our trees and it’s one of our customers' favorite techniques!
(Streaks)
Create a choppy or rough texture to your artwork with quick, thick, and messy brushstrokes.
*This is great for mountains or other rocky areas!
(Splatter)
This technique is super fun but the messiest of all! Add plenty of water to your paint so it’s very thin, load up your brush, and splatter away! You can either fling the brush at the canvas (for large splatter) or lightly flick the bristles with your finger (for smaller splatter). It’s creates a gorgeous effect, especially is you’re doing a night sky with millions of tiny stars!
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5-ONE BRUSH, FOUR WAYS:
*(The flat brush):
We use flat brushes a lot in our studio, since they are so versatile.
(1) Use the entire width of the brush to paint a large section
(2) Use just the tips of the bristles (the ‘chiseled edge’) to get thin, beautiful lines
(3)Use the corner of the brush for small, square spaces, AND to help when stippling for texture
(4)Use the back of the brush handle, for perfect little dots. Dip the handle into paint and dot it onto your canvas!
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6-USING MORE THAN JUST A BRUSH:
(Fingers)
Use some “natural” tools for your artwork! So many artist love the soft look that their fingers can provide, when using materials like paint, charcoal, and pastel. Fingers come in handy (pun, intended) when making clouds, as it makes them nice and soft!
(Paper towel)
Ball up a paper towel and use it as a blotter for some instant texture! You can give your painting a weathered or distressed look, using this simple household product as a stamp!
(Palette knife)
To get thick, chunky sections into your artwork, a palette knife is the way to go! It’s stiff and sturdy and helps keep your hands clean, too!
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Come in to our studio and try out some of these painting techniques for yourself! Remember, there is no reason to worry if you haven’t painted since 3rd grade, you will NOT be alone! We are truly meant for the novice... for the first timers, just looking to have a fun night out! Come and be one of them, and you could discover your new passion! We have several customers, who have been returning, time and time again, for years. Some have even begun to paint, at home! They are so excited to have built up painting skills, during our classes, and have learned so much over time, that they have found a whole new talent! They love to come in and show us photos of the things they’ve been working on, at home, and are so proud of what they’ve accomplished!
Come in and see what we’re all about! If nothing else comes from a class or two, with us, then at least you’ll have a wonderful and unique night out! The best part (other than drinking wine and painting), is being able to take home your masterpiece at the end of the night and proudly show it off to friends and family! Check out our website, listed below, for more information and to view our entire calendar! Give us a call, email, or stop in, if you have additional questions!
We hope to see you soon, at Pinot’s Palette, Brier Creek!
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