Painting Tips
General Painting Tips
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New Video Coming
A while back I made a video of how to create a swirled abstract painting in acrylics and uploaded it to YouTube. I’ll share the link in case you are interested. As it has become really popular I thought I would also create a video of ‘how to create an abstract painting for your home’ using some of the texture I mention on this website. So I’m in the process of doing that right now and will upload it as soon as it’s done. The painting I am creating is for my own home as I am in the process of selling it and I think custom made artwork is…
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Texturing Over Old Paintings
So with my texture mix you can reuse old paintings that no longer work for you. You can use gesso to do this too, particularly with acrylic paintings. But if you have oil paintings that have dried out completely (I’m talking years) then it is pretty safe to put a good layer of texture over the top before repainting. I hate wasting canvases but if something doesn’t sell or I am just not happy with it then it has to go!
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Step by Step Textured Painting
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Painting a Sky in Acrylics
So I wanted to share with you the method I used to create a really nice blurred background sky in acrylics. The painting that this was for actually only contains texture for the main focus of the artwork – the seagull. I wanted to create the seagull as raised on its own with the sky a kind of abstract idea in the background.
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Using Tissue in Paintings
Another item that I use to make texture in paintings is just plain tissue. I’m talking about the tissues you use to blow your nose on but you can use any other type of tissue really.
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Using Old Paint
Don’t forget that as well as using a base coat of a thick texture or texture paste, or adding some kind of texture to your paint – like sand or powdered plaster, that you can create some extra texture on a painting just by using old paint. If you have any left over paint on your palette (and this can be acrylic or oil paint) then scrape it all off into an old plastic pot and keep hold of it.
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Cleaning Brushes
Oil Paint When you are working with oil paints it is important that you keep the brushes clean so that the fibres do not splay and the brushes remain useable for many years. If you buy quality brushes then they can be quite expensive and therefore you need to spend time cleaning them so that the money you have spent is not wasted.
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Brushes to Paint Over Texture
When painting over texture, in particular texture that is heavy, I often use large brushes to apply at least the first couple of coats. I guess this might be because I create large abstract paintings and so you need large brushes to cover the whole painting. The brushes that I use are not expensive ones as large artist brushes can be very expensive. So instead of using artist brushes I often use ones that are actually designed for DIY. As long as you keep an eye on any stray hairs that may come out of the brush then these cheap brushes can be really good. Remember in particular with acrylic…
