Archive for the ‘Acrylic Painting’ Category
Acrylic paints are the preferred medium of many artists. There are a variety of reasons for this. One of the advantages is the ease of clean-up. Being water-based, these paints and the brushes used with them can be cleaned with soap and water. (No smelly nor costly paint thinners needed!)
Acrylic paints have no odor, which is a great benefit to people who may be sensitive to strong odors. They come in a myriad of colors and shades, but if you cannot find exactly the right color, you can mix them as desired.
There are acrylic paints for nearly any and every surface. If you want to paint on fabric, you can get special paints for fabrics. If your surface is metal, there is a special paint for it. Do you paint on glass? Now you can buy an acrylic paint that lasts through several washings in the dishwasher. Whatever your project, more than likely you can find just the right acrylic paint for it.
As we learn to paint and make progress, we all tend to develop our own acrylic painting techniques. All popular teachers have their own methods and techniques of painting although many may be similar to others in some ways.
Quite popular during the last few years, Donna Dewberry has developed her own painting technique, known as One Stroke Painting. Priscilla Hauser, referred to as ‘the first lady of decorative painting,’ and one of my favorite artists, has her own methods, although I don’t recall that they are called by any particular names.
Do you remember William (Bill) Alexander who was quite popular and well-known in the art field a few years back? Even though he was not an acrylic painter (his medium was oils), he fascinated us by painting beautiful landscapes with large (2 inch and 4 inch) brushes and a palette knife. (I still have my brushes, but I’m quite sure I never became proficient with them!) If you do not remember him, I’m sure you recall Bob Ross who followed in Bill’s footsteps.
So although we may not go to that extent or be well-known for how we paint, we all tend to do it a little differently, in our own way.
I enjoy doing almost any craft project that comes along, but I think my favorite hobby or craft is painting. I’ve enjoyed painting with oils in the past, but right now my passion is with acrylic painting.
One good thing about being able to paint is that you can take a simple, even used, item and transform it into something totally new and beautiful with a little paint. ( It may have even been something that you would otherwise throw in the trash. ) You can take an article that is exactly like a hundred others and with a few brushstrokes, give it a whole new life and look. And how fun and satisfying that is!
Painting on glass is currently one of the most popular forms of art for gift-giving and home decorating. The technique of painting on glass is centuries old and seems to have developed soon after the appearance of sheet glass.
Because of its popularity, there are a variety of glass painting products and books available. With the recent development of new specialty paints, the glass painting process has been enhanced, and finished items are more durable. New paints, when dried properly, will withstand a great number of washings in the dishwasher and remain as beautiful as when first painted.
Painting on glass ornaments is a fun craft to do, especially at Christmas time. Being crafters, we’ve all visited a craft store and have seen all the plain frosted and clear glass ornaments, just waiting for us to add our personal touch. Just look around, and you’ll find all sorts of painting ideas to inspire you.
Paint a few every year and add them to your tree. Write the date somewhere on the ornament, and someday you’ll have fun recalling the time you had painting them.
I used acrylic paints when painting mine, but will have to admit that I cheated a bit. I found these neat fine point markers that will write on any surface, and used them for some of the fine detail work.
Artists have been painting on glass for years. However, interest in this form of art has increased over time and currently glass is one of the most popular painting surfaces.
Development of specific paints has allowed us to transform glass items that would more than likely be trashed into beautiful, useable, decorative art pieces. Glass surfaces are readily available at very reasonable prices ( if not free) making this hobby very affordable for anyone. Large pickle jars and other bottles we find in our kitchen cupboards can be decorated with paint and made very attractive. We can find used items at thrift stores and yard sales, not to mention new items at the local dollar store.