Warm Art Diary

This post points out seven of the most essential painting techniques involving knowledge of tone, color, texture, brushwork and composition that will have you painting like a pro in no time.  1. Underpainting:  Try to avoid working from white, especially while using oils or acrylics, instead create an underpainting in acrylic(and hence quick-drying and permanent) burnt umber or  burnt sienna which help establish shadows and values. Also remember to work with thinner paint initially and gradually move to thicker paints and similarly add your brightest highlights gradually too. 2. Blocking:  Different brushes provide different results on a painting because of their shapes, fibers and medium used. The trick is to try a few different kinds in your painting so as to get familiar with their effect on different papers so that you can get results that align best with your vision. 3. Building up texture: Texture is a very fun way to make your painting interesting. I tend to u...

This versatile and vibrant media gives artists the opportunity to work with a wide range to colors and textures. Being opaque and quick dry, they also allow room for any mistakes you might make, you can simply paint over them. Keep reading for everything you need to know about about working with this medium.  How to mix the paints:  Mixing paints is a precise process. It's important to know your color wheel so that you can get very specific colors while working without going down the hit-and-try  rabbit-hole. Using a palette knife or a plastic knife is recommended but even an extra brush works.(Remember to not use your watercolor or oil paint brushes for acrylics. Acrylic brushes are typically synthetic.) mix thoroughly and keep in mind that some paints dry a slight shade darker.     How to stop them from drying out:  Acrylics dry quickly which, while a blessing sometimes, can be too quickly hence, not giving you enough time to blend your colors properly. O...