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Work in Progress - Having a bash at Acrylic painting.
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Message
Posted
Thanks for the advice and encouragement. Another cold wet day here so I've been painting. My task was to block colour in all over the picture. This is where I've got to...
Observations so far. I like the acrylics. They dry a bit darker, I'm used to watercolour that dries lighter, so something to get used to. Over the past few years I've developed a system using pen, watercolour for the larger areas, finished off with coloured-pencils used wet and dry, plus the odd touch of gouache. I'm fairly sure I'd have finished this by now had I used that method. Taking longer with new materials is to be expected. I feel clumsy and not much in control. I do feel I've learned a few things after the first tentative brush marks on day 1, so I should become more used to acrylics.
I like the ability to overpaint and not worry whether I'm painting over dark or light paint. I've already painted the sky three times, and may well change it again. I need a couple of brushes, I'm not prepared to use my decent watercolour brushes with acrylic. But now I've found WHICH brushes I need. (A small brush for details, and a slightly smaller flat brush than the one I used here.)
I also remembered reading that you can use water-soluble coloured pencils on top of acrylic paint, which will be a help with my clumsy hands. To test this I tried watercolour pencils on the small planet mid right in the picture. Very simply and quickly done, prior to this it looked like the other planets in the picture.
Quite a few things to sort out, so I'll get on with it.
Observations so far. I like the acrylics. They dry a bit darker, I'm used to watercolour that dries lighter, so something to get used to. Over the past few years I've developed a system using pen, watercolour for the larger areas, finished off with coloured-pencils used wet and dry, plus the odd touch of gouache. I'm fairly sure I'd have finished this by now had I used that method. Taking longer with new materials is to be expected. I feel clumsy and not much in control. I do feel I've learned a few things after the first tentative brush marks on day 1, so I should become more used to acrylics.
I like the ability to overpaint and not worry whether I'm painting over dark or light paint. I've already painted the sky three times, and may well change it again. I need a couple of brushes, I'm not prepared to use my decent watercolour brushes with acrylic. But now I've found WHICH brushes I need. (A small brush for details, and a slightly smaller flat brush than the one I used here.)
I also remembered reading that you can use water-soluble coloured pencils on top of acrylic paint, which will be a help with my clumsy hands. To test this I tried watercolour pencils on the small planet mid right in the picture. Very simply and quickly done, prior to this it looked like the other planets in the picture.
Quite a few things to sort out, so I'll get on with it.
Posted
The three layers Lewis gives the sky good depth. It’s the way with acrylics and many other mediums. Acrylics have great flexibility. If I get something wrong I just paint it out with titanium white and redo it. I am trying out some new colouring pencils Derwent Drawing. Earthy colours which work well on coloured papers. The pencil core are a good thick dimension. The more I practice with them the more I understand their strengths and weaknesses. I am at home with them, not used coloured pencils for many, many a year. Like you with your acrylics. I used to do drawings quite a lot but left off but know my interest has been rekindled. It’s Russell Edward fault he has inspired me to take up the pencils again.
Posted
You will get on well with those kangaroo acrylics Lewis. I got a set of Atelier acrylics but only used them once or twice. The eyes in that face have already put life into your subject. Will look forward to seeing the final frontier on this painting wherever the lady should land.John, I'd be interested to know what didn't work for you with Atelier, and what you think are better options. Thanks.
Posted
I've put this on the Gallery as a work in progress, so thought that I should add it here. I don't normally do that, because usually I finish stuff within three days. I've had three days on this, it's nowhere near finished. Plenty of errors - dodgy ellipses, a wonky helmet courtesy of my wobbly hands. I can, and will correct the helmet shape...something I can do with acrylics, but couldn't with watercolours having left it too late. So...losing interest a bit. Not a big deal, I could start another.
I have to go out today, maybe having a break will help. It's OK, and I'll finish it sometime. This is why I don't do many 'work in progress' threads...losing interest and binning stuff seems to be my forte.
Posted
Think it’s looks fine Lew, it’s your first serious attempt with acrylic for a long time , sounds easy but do give yourself some time to get used to them more. As to binding stuff , mm think we could probably start a Bin club of a thread Bin it Today , I do loose interest particularly if I can’t get on with something because of other influences, shopping etc .
Posted
Lew, you've reached the 'what the hell can I do with this?' stage that all acrylic painters will recognize - the picture just sits there looking at you, and the mistakes made seem permanent - acrylic has that quality: the 'as good as it gets' point; but it never is as good as it gets - more work will reap rewards, because you can SEE where the problems lie, and if you can do that, you can correct them. The question is, do you want to? Can you be bothered? That's something which no one else can answer for you (not that you asked!) - those used to the immediacy of watercolour (well, it's immediate if it's working) or the sinuousness of oil paint DO get very fed up with acrylic; even the fact that it can be wholly re-worked puts some people off; and incidentally, it's one reason why I don't use interactive acrylics - I think (a purely personal view) that it mistakes the medium of acrylic for something it isn't - it's not watercolour, or oil; it has some relationship to gouache maybe: but it has its own challenges and meeting those helps me to come to a truer relationship with it.
That may be pure horsefeathers, but as an idea, it works for me. I don't know if it'll help you at all - there's nothing wrong with binning a picture if you're just fed up with it; but while you didn't ask for advice, if you had done so mine would be take a break; have a Kit-Kat.... other brands of chocolate are available .... you've laboured, and in the process have lost a bit of enthusiasm: do something else; get your watercolours out: further work will be rewarded, because you know what it needs, but whatever you do, you'll have learned a lot from what you've done here; and that's always the main point for me..... yes, I'd rather get the result I wanted, and often don't, but the learning is much more than half the fun.
Posted
Heeded the advice, stepped away from this painting, came back to it a day or so later and finished it.
On the left is the point where I left it having got fed-up with it...fed-up with myself mostly, it's not the paints. Did more work on the face, it was nice to able to lighten the skin tones...something I couldn't do with watercolour. Generally tidied it up.
I learnt a few things doing it. Slightly surprised that it needed several coats...I'd expected that with the transparent colours, but not the opaques. Not a problem. For my particular circumstances I found it best to use smaller brushes, this is not an ideal way to paint...but it's that way or keep throwing wobblies with myself and getting nothing done.
It won't replace my mix of watercolour and coloured pencils, but I'll definitely be doing more acrylics. I like the dense colours - that suits me (but not everybody else).
On the left is the point where I left it having got fed-up with it...fed-up with myself mostly, it's not the paints. Did more work on the face, it was nice to able to lighten the skin tones...something I couldn't do with watercolour. Generally tidied it up.
I learnt a few things doing it. Slightly surprised that it needed several coats...I'd expected that with the transparent colours, but not the opaques. Not a problem. For my particular circumstances I found it best to use smaller brushes, this is not an ideal way to paint...but it's that way or keep throwing wobblies with myself and getting nothing done.
It won't replace my mix of watercolour and coloured pencils, but I'll definitely be doing more acrylics. I like the dense colours - that suits me (but not everybody else).
Posted
You got there! And yes, even the best acrylics usually need two coats or more; give Chromacolour a try - the composition of their resin is different, and you can get single applications of colour even when using water with them. (Only available online, I think.)
Also - not that I'm trying to persuade you to break the bank - Wallace Seymour acrylics: the ones I had were Pip Seymour, before his marriage/partnership, but I presume the formula hasn't changed. It's a glossy acrylic, and the colours are strong enough to require just one coat. All acrylic brands vary in one way or another, and usually in several: mine are Daler Rowney Cryla, and System 3; Chromacolour; and Winsor & Newton artists' quality. None of those are interactive, and I don't really see any use for re-wettable acrylics: I wouldn't recommend against them, just that I think you can do just as much with conventional acrylic. But Fraser Scarfe is your man for interactives.