This week I wanted to contribute some technical knowledge to help diversify the images we are creating! At Brookhaven Retreat, we work with a lot of acrylic paint. Acrylic is a very versatile paint and offers the most possibility. It is water based, so we can control the thickness and intensity of the color by adding water or more colors. It also mixes easily with other colors on the canvas. Acrylic paint is easy to find and I recommend it for beginners as well as seasoned artists. Its versatility is best utilized on a primed canvas, which you can buy or learn how to stretch and prepare one yourself.
Although painting is traditionally considered a 2-D material, we can add texture to make our images more 3-D. This can be done in several ways:
- Gluing objects to the canvas and painting over them (such as yarn, sticks, tissue paper, etc.)
- Combining the paint with acrylic additives, such as texture gels and modeling paste. Liquitex seems to offer the most variety, from sand to tiny glass beads and blended fibers, but other brands may offer some at lower prices. These you can mix with the paint colors to create texture on the canvas. There is also the iridescent additive to add a metallic sheen to your painting. See the Liquitex mediums on the Dick Blick website here: http://www.dickblick.com/products/liquitex-texture-gels/
- Using several layers of Acrylic Gesso on top of objects to create a molded texture. You can use almost anything! Think leaves, craft moss, yarn, etc. You can use anything that can create an edge. For explanations and ideas, go to this website: http://www.artistterms.com/texturegallery.htm
Experiment and play with these new techniques! This added diversity to your paintings can enrich your experience and help reflect on important feelings, thoughts, and events. Express yourself!
