Acrylic Painting Step-by-Step

Nov 09

A great book for all acrylic enthusiasts, from complete beginners to the medium to more experienced artists. Its full of advice on materials techniques and helpful tips. Wendy gives some useful help on playing with acrylics and shows us just how versatile a medium the can be - we can use them as watercolours, as oils and also use a variety of different techniques to create interesting and unusual effects. She shows us some of her paintings and explains which techniques she used to achieve the final effects and also gives us two detailed step by step demonstrations using many of the points she has already outlined. David continues with solutions to the popular comments that acrylics dry too quickly or are not subtle enough. He tells us just how great they are because they can be used in many different ways on a variety of surfaces. In his section of the book he covers Landscapes and gives us a brief but important overview of composition using two photographs of the same subject to use to create a compositionally pleasing painting. He further illustrates his comments by way of showing his own paintings and how the eye is lead into and round the painting by way of composition. He shows us the most useful colours for painting landscapes and gives hints on using Tone and Colour. This is followed by three detailed demonstrations, each accompanied by other of his works showing what he wants to achieve in each. Carol Massey then covers flowers. She shares her expertise giving advice on colours, drawing flowers and how to place flowers to create paintings that have an interesting composition. Carols advice covers how to use acrylics as watercolours and the benefits of this and how to use them impasto in knife paintings. Flower colours can be difficult to get right and she shows us her favourite colours and gives advice on how to mix and what colours to use to suit different types of flower. I found her advice on thinking of flower heads as simple geometric shapes very useful, simplifying what can seem a daunting task. She shares some of her own paintings and some thoughts about how and why she chose the methods she used. These are followed by three demonstrations using some of the techniques she has explained.

Wendy then introduces a final section on the many and varied techniques that can be used with acrylics to create interesting and realistic textural effects. This book brings together in one place some useful material from other books in the leisure arts series. For artists it gives a valuable insight into different ways of working with acrylics, showing how useful and versatile a medium they can be and how wide ranging their potential is.

Dec 09

Capture nature's most beautiful masterpieces on canvas with lessons from three experts in the art of acrylic painting. Wendy Jelbert starts with the basics - sketching, playing with colors, creating texture, painting puffy clouds and brilliant sunsets...that kind of thing. Then it's all about lilac, lilies, roses and primulas as Carole Massey shows you how to create a garden's worth of beautiful posies with this surprisingly forgiving medium. Beyond that, David Hyde introduces you to the world of landscape painting, showing you how to paint ancient trees, still waters and majestic mountains. With 10 easy to follow demonstrations, this book is ideal for beginners and painters looking to expand their skills.