Hey guys, how are you holding up on your New Year’s resolutions? I had fixed up a few artistic goals for 2017 and am glad to say its looking pretty good till now…here comes the smug smile š . Well, on a more serious note, I have been able to keep up with ‘a piece of art a month’. Also, in order to keep the learning curve up, concentrated on learning and trying out things that I am not really comfortable with. So for this month’s art, getting acquainted and comfortable with acrylic paint a bit more seemed to be a daunting yet good idea. Here’s what followed and hopefully it will offer you that little push required to come out of the rut and enjoy your creative side a bit more.
Treating Acrylic a Tad Differently
Being a self-taught artist, I went through a few tutorials and write-ups on how to use acrylic color. They were really informative. But the upshot was that, though I was quite motivated to create something using this medium, it seemed a bit daunting too. Water color being my favored medium, I am used to applying the least possible layers of color. Also, the luminosity of paper shining through the paint appeals to me. Finally, I decided to have fun with this new medium and treat it like watercolor. After all, sticking to rules or flouting them artistically is everyone’s own prerogative! And you know what? I had fun AND learnt that acrylic works quite well treated like watercolor too!
So, here’s a step-by-step peep into how I used acrylic on canvas to paint a simple weather-beaten boat. Exploring acrylic paint fearlessly has offered me quite a bit of insight into the many positives and attractions of this medium.
Tools of the Trade
- Canvas (pre-stretched and suitable for acrylic color). I am using a 35 x 45 cm cotton canvas board.
- Acrylic colors (of course!). Try to limit your palette to a few selected hues to maintain a cohesive and neat look. Using artist grade paints (though might be a tad more expensive) brings out better results. Here’s my palette for this painting.
- Brushes.
- Mixing palette.
- Masking fluid (optional). Depending on your subject matter or the amount of working freedom you want, this can be optional.
- Pencil (preferably 2B).
- Water.
6 Easy Steps to Acrylic Boat Art
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Step 1:
Start off by selecting a not too complicated subject for your painting. I chose to focus on one thing, let it stand out and just provided a bit of context through the background. The boat itself isn’t over-complicated like an 18th century pirate ship. The aim of this artwork was to get a better feel of how acrylic paint works, it’s drying time, luminosity and window of correction work… and this delivered on all those points. Sketch in all the elements of your drawing lightly with a 2B pencil. The line quality of a 2B is dark enough to follow as base work, yet light enough to be hidden by a thin wash later on.
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Step 2:
Now, this step may be skipped if you are not planning on keeping a few pristine areas safe for work later on. My subject matter required a few patches of light blue to represent original color of the boat. Yet, the weathered effect had to go around it pretty drastically. As I am not so big on patience and working safely around a few untouched areas, I covered those white patches with rubber masking fluid. Its easy to apply, offers great freedom of brush movement and when you are ready to work on that area, just rub it gently and it rolls off like dried PVC glue on skin.
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Step 3:
This is where the fun begins! Put in a light wash of the colors that would serve as base. Remember to use a limited palette and mix ‘n match according to your requirement. Here, I have used cadmium yellow as the base with touches of cadmium red and burnt sienna wherever required. Start working on the background too with light washes if your item in focus is touching considerable amount of elements of the background. Mine is not, so I let it be.
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Step 4:
Start adding colors, overlay washes and details to your item in focus. Work towards bringing out the character of your subject matter and filling in all the areas that need to be covered. This is a good time to work on a relatively removed background if you haven’t started already. However, if your background blends into the subject matter, it would be time to start painting in the second layer of details. I agree it doesn’t look much at this stage, but I promise it will ultimately reach there.
I added tints of burnt sienna to sap green and cadmium red to ultramarine at this point for the foreground in order to retain the overall cohesive feel. For the background, a mixture of burnt sienna, ultramarine and cadmium red was used.
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Step 5:
At this stage, I peeled out the masked areas. The light blue original paint and some other details on the bow were added as well as more details to the raised back part and interiors of the boat. Start adding in finer details and working on any pristine areas left for highlighting or special treatment.
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Step 6:
This is the final step where your artwork comes to life. I used a mixture of burnt sienna, ultramarine and cadmium red to create a dark hue for adding in details, demarcating areas and creating shadows working towards pulling all the elements together. Stand back from your painting time to time and add touches that you think would bring out the ‘feel’ better. Adding in finer details like rusty nails and rot on the hull worked for me.
Remember, ultimately its all about what impressions and emotions you want to convey through the artistic manifestation of your ideas. Hope you found this tutorial helpful…and may be a little motivating to keep creating artworks despite the time crunch that has become so much a part of our lifestyle. Feel free to ask anything in the comments and I would try my best to answer them. I would also love to see how you have used acrylic for your artworks! Have you a style of your own or do you use it the traditional way?
I so wish I could paint. I’ve tried so many times & I always do something wrong. This is an amazing tutorial. I should try it sometime.
What a great tutorial, your very talented as I can’t even master the stick man!
Thanks Abigail š
So, I’ve taken one paint class and one drawing class and sometimes wish that I’ve kept on taking classes. Maybe one day. Great pic. Thanks for sharing.
This is absolutely gorgeous. I always wish I had more time to do my painting that I started years ago, but … maybe someday š I do love how you illustrated and explained your process.
Thanks Amy…hope you take up painting again…the world can always do with one more creative person š
What a lovely painting tutorial! I was an arts major in college, and painting was my favorite subject. I love acrylic, and oils. I never really got the taste for watercolor. This post would be a great way to pick up painting again.
Thanks Amber…hope it offers the necessary push that one can always do with when following your abandoned passions
I’m sure this is easier said than done. I’ve always wished I could paint abstracts. One day I may just give it a try!
The first step is always the most difficult one…best of luck!
This is breathtaking! Thanks for the step by step!!
Thanks Lisa
O my!! This is an interesting tutorial. Thanks for sharing. Art is really about expressing emotions.
Thanks for sharing this. I’m not very artistic, and went to a DIY painted ceramic plates workshop last week & had a blast! This sounds like a really great way to introduce myself to acrylic paints and could be a really fun little project!
What a beautiful art piece of the boat. Admittedly, I am not an aritst, but my best friend sure is. She creates the most amazing paintings and I have a few hanging on the walls at our house. I’m definitely going to pass your post along to her. I know she’ll love it. x
Thanks Ali š
This is a very good tutorial! I’v tried to paint with acrylic colors, but I found it difficult, so this post was very inspiring and helpful! I’ll give it another try! Love the boat painting, it is very beautiful and inspiring!
Thanks Cecilia…glad it helped
I’ve to admit that I’m so bad at drawing and painting but loved your detailed oriented DIY tutorial. I’ll share it with my nephew and he will love to try it!
Thanks Ana…hope he finds it helpful
You are so talented and know how to explain so well! Even if I can’t even draw, I fell that I could paint that boat by following your instructions.
Thanks Joanna š You never know what hidden talents you might have, why not give it a try?
You are so creative! This is a great hobby to look in to!
Thanks Nicole š
WOW! You are very talented! I have no skill what so ever in drawing lol. I studied fashion and drawing was a huge part of my studies and every time I would post my work and feel just ashamed lol. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Brigette š I believe fashion to be an art form because of the sheer creativity, ingenuity and imagination involved
Wonderful and informative! I’ve always considered watercolor to be the most difficult medium because you can’t easily hide or fix a mistake. I have never tried acrylics but I love your tips for demystifying the process
Thanks Allison š