Black acrylic paint is controversial in the art world. Some artists won’t touch them, saying it deadens their paintings. Others love having them on their palette, using them as a shortcut to create deeper colours from others on their palette. I’m taking a close look at carbon black and mars black in this post, looking […]
The scoop on carbon black and Mars black acrylic paint Read More »
I’ve tried quite a few different types of palettes. One type that I’ve used quite extensively are the disposable palette paper pads. Right now, I have three types in my collection so I thought I’d share my thoughts with you on them. I currently have versions of palette paper pads from Canson XL, Strathmore and
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Creating a monochromatic painting using a single colour is a fabulous lesson for artists. Choose a dark colour of paint, and mix it with titanium white to be able to use a range of values in your painting. This is a great exercise for beginner because it teaches how to focus on the importance of
Why paint a monochromatic painting? Read More »
Today I’m looking at a couple cool-leaning yellows: hansa yellow light and cadmium-free yellow light acrylic paint. Cool-leaning yellows have a touch of green in them. This might not be obvious at first glance but will become more obvious when mixing because they’ll produce bright greens with certain blues. If you want to mix a
Mixing Hansa yellow light and cadmium-free yellow light acrylic paint Read More »
Yellow can be a tricky colour to paint with in acrylics . It can be easily overpowered by other colours. Enter the yellow earth pigments, like yellow ochre and yellow oxide. These can hold their own on a palette although aren’t as bright or pure-looking as a lemon yellow or many of the cadmium yellows.
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Raw sienna and burnt sienna are natural pigments, sourced from the earth. They are named after the Sienna region in Italy, where the pigment was originally mined. Now, different manufacturers source the pigment from different regions or use synthetics or different oxides to mimic it. Both versions have excellent permanency. Watch me compare raw and
Raw sienna and burnt sienna compared Read More »
When you’re an acrylic artist, you’re always painting. Some paintings are more successful than others, and it can get really pricey to always paint on canvases. I save a ton of money by painting acrylics in a sketchbook. Now, some of you may be thinking that painting acrylics in a sketchbook would cause nothing but
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Let’s talk umbers – specifically raw and burnt umber. Umber is an ochre, which means it’s an earth pigment. In umber’s case, it’s iron with manganese oxide. Essentially, a rock which is ground up to be a paint pigment. It’s a brown shade, and can be quite cool and dark, depending on which version. While
Raw and burnt umber – what’s the difference? Read More »
Today I’m examining my absolute favourite colour on the colour wheel: turquoise! I’ll compare two hues of green-blue paint, Teal and Cobalt Turquoise acrylic paint. Both are mixes of various pigments, and while similar hues can be mixed using green and blue, if you like the colours, it can be nice to have a tube
Teal and turquoise acrylic paint colour mixing Read More »
If you’re starting out on your acrylic painting journey – congratulations! You’re choosing a wonderful medium that allows you to paint an incredible range of art, from incredibly detailed images to wildly imaginative abstracts and everything in between. To start yourself off, you’ll need some beginner acrylic painting supplies – and I’m sharing my tips
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