'I prefer to use acrylic in an oil-painting style, initially working the medium on to primed canvas using bristle brushes and tightening up on shapes and detail with softer brushes as the painting progresses,' says Paul Talbot-Greaves. 'When working with oils, softer brushes are normally used later in the painting so as not to pull up the colour underneath, but this isn’t usually the case with acrylics due to the speed at which they dry. The softer brushes do help with finer details, though, and are great for applying paint in small quantities'.

Thinning

For thinning the paint it is important to add a medium such as a flow enhancer, especially when working on canvas. This reduces the risk of over-diluting the polymer emulsion that is used as the binder in the paint. If acrylic is thinned with too much water the paint can become unstable and will not adhere too well to the surface.

To slow down the drying time, I find an acrylic retarder extremely useful. This allows areas to be blended in a similar way to oil paint and it is great for wet-in-wet effects. It is also possible to use ordinary household emulsion paints alongside more traditional artist-quality acrylics, although care should be taken with their quality and durability, especially if the painting will be for sale.

For larger works I sometimes lay down a coloured ground with a good-quality well-known household emulsion paint and build up the actual painting in artists’ acrylics, which I find contain brighter pigments than household paint and are better equipped for the job.

Painting approach

I usually work on stretched canvas or canvas board and paint out the surface first in a colour relating to the painting, or in a colour that is complementary to the key colour. This adds a spark of life to the piece, especially if bits and pieces are missed as the painting is built up. This base coat is usually dry in a few minutes, which allows me to get straight on with the painting.

Initially I chalk the main shapes on to the prepared canvas, making sure I have the correct proportions and design – chalk guidelines or mistakes can be erased quickly.

Once the design has been established I make the lines more permanent by brushing over them with a small brush and a little thinned paint. When this is dry, I start to build up the painting using hog brushes full of paint, adding a little retarder to allow a bit more manipulation with the colours.

Colour

One of the properties of acrylic paints that I particularly enjoy is their brightness and vibrancy, which allows for bold, contrasting paintings without loss of depth of colour.

Acrylics are fairly transparent, so colours can be built up as wet-on-dry layers with little risk of pulling up colours from underneath, which can happen in oil and watercolour painting.

Occasionally I like to change my palette entirely and create a painting based around analogous colours or complementary colours instead of painting exactly what I see.

Acrylic paint dries to a satin sheen, but the brightness of the colours can be deepened by varnishing. Varnishing is not absolutely necessary, but it does add a layer of extra protection.

Drying rates

The fast-drying times of acrylic can either be a help or a hindrance, depending on what you are doing with it.

Drying times are reduced in cold, damp weather so winter is a good season in which to work. In summer, working out of direct sunlight or in a cool room helps to prevent the paint skinning over too quickly.

Alternatively, you can add an acrylic retarder to your paint to slow down the drying time. Either way it is best to have an idea of what you want to achieve and to apply the paint fairly quickly in order to avoid pulling up the colours as they dry.

The use of appropriately sized brushes for the job is paramount for avoiding drying issues. On occasions I will use a 4in (10cm) flat decorator’s brush for applying larger areas of paint quickly; this will narrow down to perhaps a size 4 round brush for more detailed work.

Whatever you use, once acrylic paint has dried in the bristles, the brush will be permanently damaged, so it makes good sense to adopt a rinsing system.

When I have finished with a brush I wash it immediately, but if I am using a brush occasionally throughout a painting I dip it in water then place it on a dampened rag, which keeps the paint from drying. Likewise, paint on the palette can be kept from drying by spraying it with water periodically.

Advantages of acrylics

• Acrylics can be used successfully on virtually any kind of support.
• Acrylics can be thinned and used like watercolour, used thickly like oil paint, or mixed with impasto mediums for heavy texture work.
• Mistakes can be painted out quickly and easily.
• Acrylic is as instant as watercolour.
• When compared to oils, drying times are dramatically reduced.
• There are no strong odours associated with solvents such as turpentine and white spirit. Also, due to the consistent drying time across the colour range, the fatover- lean rule of oil painting doesn’t have to be followed.
• You can create a canvas painting, varnish it and hang it all in one day.

DISCOVER MORE WITH OUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO ACRYLICS

STAGE ONE

I wanted to bring out a strong analogous colour relationship in this painting using predominantly blues and greens, hence the initial underpainting of Winsor blue applied with a 2in (5cm) flat bristle brush.

After chalking in the outlines of the boats and overpainting them in thin white paint I began to work in the greenery using sap green, lemon yellow and raw sienna. I used the colours loosely with a size 10 hog brush, mixing them together on the canvas as I worked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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STAGE TWO

I continued blocking in the colours and the shapes, varying my brush size accordingly, but at this stage detail was not too important.

Where the colours are lighter I used titanium white in the mix. I prefer titanium white to mixing white as it has a greater opacity and strength.

Where the colours are darker I mixed them with mars black.

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STAGE THREE

I worked on the detail – sections of the boats, the lily pads and the reeds – using much softer, smaller synthetic watercolour brushes.

I still used the paint relatively thickly (like oil paint) and applied the colour in an expressive manner rather than trying to achieve photo-realism.

As the painting progressed to this stage I decided to lighten the background slightly to add further contrast and vibrancy of colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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STAGE FOUR

I used further mixes of sap green and titanium white for the lily pads, then sap green with lemon yellow and Winsor blue for the foreground reeds.

At this point the painting was almost finished.

Whilst I worked I constantly checked the tone and contrast and took time to stand back from the painting and assess it.

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FINISHED PAINTING

I altered the foreground boat slightly by making its cover more reflective and extending the curve at the bow. These areas were easily overpainted, thus illustrating the versatility of acrylic paint as compared to watercolour, for example.

I finished the decking and the mooring post then added more lily pads to the main body of water.

I painted the detail of the brickwork then increased some of the light around the painting as well as adding marks of cerulean blue here and there in the shadows.

Finally I decided the background looked too plain so I added a shadow and a few details in order to bring it in line with the rest of the work.

Under Cover, acrylic, 30x24in (76x61cm)

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Paul Talbot-Greaves is an Associate of the British Watercolour Society and is well known for his watercolour work. He runs popular demonstrations and workshops. Discover more on his website, www.talbot-greaves.com

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This feature is taken from the February 2010 issue of The Artist

Paul writes regularly for The Artist

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