Rethinking Acrylic


Book Description

Have you ever walked into an art supply store, stood in front of the amazing array of acrylic products and just thrown up your hands in confusion, leaving the store without buying something new to experiment with? If you've ever wondered what to do with all those products, then this book is for you. If you've been using acrylic in traditional painting forms, in this book you'll find grand, wild and inventive manipulations of acrylic that will get your creative juices flowing. Compared to more traditional art mediums such as oil and watercolor, acrylic is still in its infancy. But what it lacks in years, it makes up for in its range of use. Acrylics appeared on the market for artists in the late 1940s as a quick-drying alternative to oil paint. In its early manifestations, it dried so quickly that more than a few brushes stuck immediately to the canvas! Although acrylic has been around for more than fifty years, incredible advances continue to be made in the research and development of acrylic polymers and pigments. These advancements are attributable not only to the efforts of a few dedicated chemists, but also to the work of an entire community devoted to acrylic. There are a lot of brilliant minds taking these minute molecules very seriously.




Acrylic Solutions


Book Description

Fresh new ways to create fabulous paintings with mixed media techniques! Acrylic Solutions provides the "hows" behind a multitude of effects you've admired in other artists' works--and then some! Based on the popular online teaching collaboration of Chris Cozen and Julie Prichard, this book illustrates a wealth of layering methods and techniques. Mix and match to achieve countless variations, building layer upon layer to create unique and wonderfully complex abstract art. • Learn more than 30 step-by-step techniques for developing texture and visual interest, including collage, monoprinting, carving, color blocking, paint skins, raised stencils, glazing and so much more. • Chapters explore the phases of a multi-layered painting, from surface preparation through adding structure, developing complexity and adding finishing touches. • Follow the development of two paintings as each layer adds to the finished result, with tons of additional artwork throughout. • Gain insight on how to make paints, mediums and grounds work for you. Embracing a spirit of freedom and spontaneity, Acrylic Solutions is a stimulating guide for contemporary artists of any skill level. Beginners will learn how to make visually compelling paintings from start to finish, while more experienced artists will find the tools and inspiration to take their work to the next level.




Acrylic Revolution


Book Description

Liberate Your Creativity with Acrylic Paints! Acrylic Revolution is your essential, all-in-one guide for acrylic painting techniques and more. It features over 101 ways to break through the boundaries of conventional painting and re-define the creative potential of this all-purpose medium. Every page provides insight on how to use acrylic paint in ways you never thought possible to create stunning visual effects and textures. Ten complete sections detail a range of empowering applications, including how to: • Prepare and paint on virtually any surface • Create textures of all kinds • Work with transfers, collage, resists and mixed media • Achieve innovative stenciling and line work • Customize your paint to adjust thickness, transparency and drying time • Simulate other mediums, such as oil, tempera or watercolor • Create faux finishes, magical effects, sheens and more To give you additional insight and inspiration, this book features a gallery of finished works by fellow painting revolutionaries that blend various acrylic techniques to create amazing effects. You'll also find practical advice that covers the basics and beyond—from selecting materials and cleaning your brushes to finishing and preserving your artwork. There's even a complete glossary of terms for fast and easy referencing. Pick up a brush and start your own acrylic revolution today! Use the techniques in this book to free your creative spirit and create the paintings you've always dreamed of.




Acrylic Innovation


Book Description

Acrylic is often used as a substitute for oil paint or watercolor, but the real gold mine is in allowing the medium freedom to do what it does best. This book shows how today’s artists are doing exactly that. It’s loaded with original artwork and valuable insight from 64 artists, incredibly diverse in styles and subjects, each using acrylic in unique ways to create expressive and personal art. • 64 artists offer their individual ideas, approaches and inspirations for working with acrylic paints • 29 styles, ranging from photorealism to minimal color field and everything in between, are explored through artist profiles, artwork and boundary-breaking “challenges” that provide dynamic starting points for your own art • 29 step-by-step demonstrations illustrate acrylic-driven techniques you can take straight to your work, including collage and assemblage, reverse painting, printmaking, accidental stenciling, working with metallic mixtures and more A follow-up to the best-selling Acrylic Revolution,Acrylic Innovation takes you outside your comfort zone. Dip in whenever you feel the urge to experiment, have fun and see fresh and exciting results.




Acrylic Color Explorations


Book Description

Discover your true color voice! Acrylic Color Explorations will have you seeing the world around you in a new way as color theory becomes engaging, easy-to-understand and fun. Not only will you achieve a basic understanding of color and pigments, but author Chris Cozen will also guide you through a personal exploration of color in 30 exercises using acrylic paint. Go beyond the red-yellow-blue understanding of the color wheel by exploring the work of several artists who work with color in unique ways. Determining when to introduce a calming color or when to turn the color volume up is a skill that can be developed through practice and intention, and with Acrylic Color Explorations you will learn how to do both! • Learn 33 techniques for incorporating and developing color in your paintings. • Explore practical color basics with exercises and color challenges that will help you determine your color "voice." • Discover secrets to mastering any creative color situation with 9 contributing artists! Embrace your true color voice today!




The Acrylic Painter


Book Description

A complete course on acrylic painting for beginners and experienced artists that covers classic approaches and new innovations Embraced for versatility, quick-drying properties, and non-toxicity, no medium offers a wider range of effects forcreating highly expressive art than acrylics. With its flexibility and ease of use, acrylic paint is a must-try for painters—no matter your skill level. Here noted artist and School of Visual Arts instructor James Van Patten draws from years of experience to show you how to use acrylics to achieve a variety of results—from watercolor-like transparency and the flatness of tempera and gouache to the buttery quality of oils. He presents an insider’s look at the most up-to-date tools, materials, and techniques used by top painters in the medium to produce highly expressive art. Van Patten offers guidance on materials, processes, balance, and composition, and focuses on effectively using color in painting. Replete with detailed step-by-step technical demonstrations and a catalog of inspiring works by notable past and contemporary artists, as well as the author himself and his students, The Acrylic Painter provides a complete, classic art instruction manual for painters of all abilities in one of today’s most popular types of paint.




Altered Surfaces


Book Description

Discover how acrylic paints, fluids, gels, mediums, grounds, and pastes work together as a system, allowing them to be fully compatible with each other. Learn how to mix and match these artist's essentials to achieve luscious, vibrant, and exciting results.




Terry's Greatest Tips for Acrylic and Watercolour Artists


Book Description

A compilation of renowned artist Terry Harrison's most important and practical advice, this book, which contains more than 200 tips for painting in either acrylics or watercolor, is packaged in a spiral-bound format ideal for artists to use while painting.




Create Perfect Paintings


Book Description

The Ultimate Resource and Reference Guide for Artists! Discover an innovative self-critique method that will empower you to answer the artist's most common questions, Now What? and Is it Finished? as you learn to identify and overcome painting issues faced by artists regardless of medium or style. With hundreds of insights, tips, illustrated techniques and ideas, Create Perfect Paintings shows you how to push your work to the next level by strengthening your perception, technical skills and visual thinking. Exercises and examples illustrate how to critique your own creations and then evaluate them step by step for further improvement. You will compare illustrations, and learn to identify and modify artistic choices--from negative space and color ratio to controlling eye movement, depth and contrast--to see their impact and help you use them to the best effect in your work. What you'll find inside: • Section 1: Essentials--Reviews and defines artistic terms and concepts. • Section 2: Play Phase--Shows you how to tap into your right brain. Learn to challenge the process and break habits to free your spirit and inspire variety in your art; also covers materials, tools and surfaces • Section 3: Critique Phase--Introduces a groundbreaking method of contemporary critique called The Viewing Game a comprehensive, systematic and fun way to analyze, edit and enhance your paintings. • Sections 4 and 5--Bonus sections explore how to resolve creative blocks, convey artistic messages, boost your personal style, display your work and turn painting into a career. "May this book increase your productivity, add ease and flow to your creative process, clarify your ideas, add nuance to your personal style, and most importantly, add joy to the miraculous act of painting." --Nancy Reyner




Depicting the Colours in Water


Book Description

The Colour Notes series is aimed at the keen amateur artist struggling, as always, to mix and use colour. A series of paintings and studies is shown with full guidance given to mixing and applying the colours used. Following very extensive research the subjects have been carefully chosen to answer the most commonly expressed questions. The artist will collect the books in order to cover the wide range of subjects tackled.