How to do acrylic flower painting

Starting with flowers is definitely an interesting way to create your skill. This is a painting for a beginner to medium experienced painters. Each layer is fairly thin(a glaze) because the paint colour is mixed with a small bit of water to make it flow more evenly. If you would rather use flow medium, that is acceptable also. Each layer of glaze must dry before the next layer goes on. Have patience! It is worth the time to get this technique right. Stick to the painting tips during these steps and you will be in a position to paint flowers with acrylic paint.

1. Select how many flowers you will paint and how they will be organized. It doesn't need to be exact- just indicate general dimensions and placement.
2. Prepare the actual canvas. Arrange the paints and brushes exactly where they are handy for the reach. Set your canvas on an easel or even work desk to start your work.
3. Block in the background using the shades of your need. Let it dry; it won't take long.
4. Draw the rough outline of the picture with pencil or chalk onto the background of the canvas. Use light outlines. Using a chalk, you can draw and erase loads of times and as long as you don't over-wet the surface, it will not hurt the painting underneath.
5. Using a fine brush, paint the petals with Titanium White. Then paint a layer of the colour you need onto these white areas.
6. Each petal has a highlight and shadow areas. In shadows, just blend in a layer of Payne's Grey. Then layer thin colour of the petal on it keeping it smooth.Keep the brush strokes going in the directions that the lines of the petals flowing naturally. The areas which will be highlighted will have to be underpainted with Titanium White again.
7. Repeat actions for additional flowers. For those who have overlap to another layer associated with flowers, make sure to dry the first layer before adding to this.
8. Add leaves as well as stems. Using a green paint, add in lines associated with varying thickness with regard to stems. Use a broader brush for making the leaves.
9. Complete the painting. Let it dry. Apply varnish onto the painting and finish off the piece of art.

How to avoid bubbles

Bubble, Bubble its a Trouble...

Acrylic has a tendency to cause bubbling in paint layers, unless you take care to avoid them. Here are some tips to keep your paint layer bubble free.

1. Always pour liquid from one container to another very slowly and carefully from a low angle to keep the fluid from coming out too fast and bubbling.
2. Mix and stir solutions the day before so the solutions has time to rest and the bubbles can pop.
3. Always use a soft bristled brush. This is usually the main culprit for the cause. Yes, I mean the brush should be very soft.
4. Spray applying varnish will eliminate bubbles altogether.

Is Water Using With Acrylic - Good or Bad?

There seems to be a myth that you are not supposed to use water with acrylic, and there's another one that you should always use water. This issue with water was something that really complicated me when I first started using acrylic paints. Let me clear this up.

Basically water is not a bad thing to add to acrylic. However, there are some basic issues that when understood will help you decide when to use it and when not to use it.

First let's look at what makes paint. Generally all paint is made of 2 basic components: pigment (for colour) and binder (to make the pigment usable as a paint). So there's pigment and binder, then there's the solvent. each medium has a solvent that will break it down. For acrylic the solvent is water. The water quickly evaporates and only the dry medium and pigment are left behind.

Acrylic without water will produce a paint film layer that looks juicy, glossy and substantial when applied over any surface. You can add up to 20% water to acrylic paint, and it will still have that juicy, glossy paint film, it will just get a bit thinner. And when you add 50% or 80% water to acrylic paint it is called as overdiluted. It looks totally different when it is overdiluted. It will give a watercolour effect.

So here are some key ideas:

1. Use acrylic without any water at all for a rich, juicy, glossy , plastic, high coverage layer.
2. Use up to 20% water to acrylic to get slightly loosen paint.
3. Adding up to 30% water will give the paint a more matte (flat) appearance and lighten the intensity of the colours.
4. Add 80% water to 20% paint to get an overdiluted wash to get a specific effect (a kind of watercolour effect).
5. Having a little spray bottle of water handy allows you to add a mist of water as you paint to prevent the acrylic medium from drying before you are ready.Acrylic paint dries very fast, and once happens, remember, it is permanent. Asprayer can keep the paint liquid a bit longer. Do not use the water all over your palette to slow the drying or you won't be able to control how much water is going into your paint.

Of course, you can use no water at all.

This will give you the brightest colour, fastest drying time, and easiest use. Even the brush wetting can be skipped entirely, as long as you rinse the brushes with water once done (remember, it dries fast).

Again, the most important thing to remember is determining how much water you want in your paint depending on the type of effect you are looking for.

How to Prime a Canvas for Acrylic or Oils

Priming a canvas for acrylic or oil painting is not difficult, and it's not even necessary if you are using  pre-primed store-bought canvases.

But if you have made your own stretcher bars or even just stretched un-primed cotton canvases over store-bought stretcher bars then it's very important to use Gesso to cover the surface of your canvas before you start with your paint.

When you have stretched your canvas, the next step is to prime it so you can paint on it. With a ready-made gesso suitable for both acrylic and oil painting, this is easy.

What you need: 

1. Acrylic Gesso (found at any art supply store) 
2. Wide Brush or a regular house painting brush
3. some water
4. a bowl and spoon
5. your raw canvas

Here's how:

1. Make sure you buy a gesso that's suitable for both acrylic and oil painting. This dries very fast and is painted directly on to the stretched canvas.
2. Shake the container very well before using. Do not skip this step!
3. Decide whether you are going to apply one or a few coats of gesso. One coat gives a rougher finish. If you are applying only one coat, use the gesso as it comes out of the bottle.
4. If you are going to apply several coats, dilute the gesso with some water.
5. Using an old, wide brush, apply the gesso directly to the stretched canvas in even strokes. Work from the top to the bottom of the canvas, in parallel strokes from one edge to the other.
6. When you're done, wash your brush out immediately with soap and water. Once gesso has dried on a brush, it won't come out.

Tips: 

1. A cheap decorating brush works well, but wash it several times before you use it as the hairs tend to fall out. If you want the brush to be thinner, cut off some of the hairs with a pair of scissors.
2. Instead of diluting the gesso, you can sand down the canvas between coats if you want a smoother finish.
3. Gesso thinned with water only, rather than gloss medium and water, tends to crack.
4. Gesso can also be used to prime hardboard.

Primer or Gesso

                                                       

Gesso is a generic term used for the initial coat applied onto a surface before you paint on it. Gesso is an initial coat applied on the surface on which you are painting, whether it's canvas, wood or even paper. The purpose of gesso is to protect the surface from the paint, some of which contain components that could damage it, provides the surface for the paint to stick to, and affects the absorbency of the surface.Gesso dries to a matt, rough surface that provides adhesion for the paint. To get a smoother finish, you can sand it.

Most ready-made canvases are primed with an acrylic gesso, and are suitable for both oils and acrylics.The packaging on the canvas will tell you what type of primer was used.

If you are unsure whether a canvas is primed or not, compare the front and the back. Sometimes the color will make it immediately evident, otherwise look at whether the grain of the fabric has been filled in or not. If in doubt, give it another coat.

Acrylic Paint Brushes

As I have said in other article, there are 8 main types of artist paint brushes that are used with acrylics. Each one is specially intended for different uses. However, this is only a guide. You use them whichever way you like whilst you get a bit of experience with them. It's what makes you feel comfortable that's best for you and your painting...

So now let's find out what each brush is meant for!

                                                            

round or pointed tip

good for: sketching, outlining, detailed work, controlled washes, filling in small areas. creates thin to thick lines- thin at the tip, becoming wider the more its pressed down.. used with thinned paint rather than thick paint.

narrower than the round paintbrush. has sharply pointed tip.

good for: fine details and lines. delicate areas, spotting and retouching.

 

square end, with medium to long hairs.

good for: bold strokes, washes, filling wide spaces, impasto. can use edge for     fine lines, straight edges and stripes. long haired flat brushes are ideal for varnishing. 

flat with edges curved inward at tip, with shortish hairs.

good for: short controlled strokes. thick, heavy color. better for working up close               rather than holding the brush at a distance from the canvas.

flat and oval-shaped end with medium to long hairs.

good for: blending, soft rounded edges like flower petals. this brush is sort of a    

combination of the rounds(because they can be used for detail) and flats(because they can cover more space than round).

                                     

flat with angled hairs at end.

good for: curved strokes and filling corners. can reach small areas with tip. also can be used to cover lots of space, similar to flat brushes.

flat, spread hairs.

good for: natural hairs are good for smoothing, blending and feathering. synthetic hairs are better for textural effects, clouds, and leaves on trees. for acrylic use strong and sturdy one, otherwise the hairs will clump when paint is added.

rounds, hairs shorten in length. shorter handle.

good for: details and short strokes. holds more color than you think!

How To Choose Acrylic Paint Brushes

The type of brush you use plays a critical part in how your painting turns up. It is important to choose quality brushes to insure that your painting will come out the way you would like it to turn up. The paintbrush will be your magic wand for weaving colors across the canvas. 

Paintbrushes for acrylics come in many different shapes and sizes. The shapes and sizes of the brushes you choose to work with will depend mainly on how large you want to work, and how detailed you want to get. Take a look:

Choose Different Acrylic Brushes For Different Painting Purposes

                                               

Acrylic brush shapes include rounds, pointed rounds, long flat, short flat, bright, filbert, angular flat, fan brush, and a rigger or detail round. Rounds are used for detailed works. Long flats are used when applying layers. It is great at painting straight edges. Short flat or bright brushes are good for straight lines but they require shorter strokes than long flat brushes. The filbert brush allows you to paint tapered strokes and soft edges. The fan brush is great when painting skies or leaves of a tree. Lastly, the rigger is used for painting very fine lines and detailed works. I can give a detailed description and uses of the acrylic paintbrushes in my coming posts.