Category: HOW TO PAINT
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5 Ways to Destroy Your Artistic Creativity
It’s to be expected that there will be ups and down in your level of artistic creativity, that some days you’re full of new ideas for paintings and others your brain feels dull. But there are also environmental and personal factors that can sap your energy for painting, so you end up having more dull […]
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Are Pastels the Right Choice for You?
Advantages of Pastels: There’s no waiting for pastels to dry. Colors are mixed on the paper, not on a palette, by overlaying or blending them. A wide range of colors are available. No brushes to clean. Easy to use outside the studio. Oil-based pastels can be thinned and blended with turpentine, or scrapped off to reveal […]
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How Can You be Sure You’ve Chosen the Right Paint?
Quite simply, you can’t be completely sure until you’ve worked with it for a bit. You’ll soon discover whether you enjoy working with it and the results, or not. Be sure that any frustrations are with the paint itself and not because your painting doesn’t look as good as you visualized it. The gap between […]
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Is Watercolor Paint the Right Choice for You?
Advantages of Watercolor Paint: Watercolors: Mixed with water and brushes cleaned with water. Paint can be lifted off by rewetting. If paint squeezed from a tube has dried, it becomes reusable if you add water. Disadvantages of Watercolor Paint: Watercolors: Being quite transparent, it’s hard to rectify or hide mistakes in a watercolor painting. Need to allow for […]
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Is Oil Paint the Right Choice for You?
Advantages of Oil Paint: Dries slowly, allowing plenty of time to work and to blend colors. Once dried, can be over-painted without disturbing underlying layers. Rich, deep colors which maintain their intensity when dry. Can be used thickly or in thin, smooth glazes. Then there’s the status factor, oils being what the Old Masters used. Disadvantages […]
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Is Acrylic Paint the Right Choice for You?
Advantages of Acrylic Paint: Dries very fast. Mixed with water or mediums/gels. Brushes cleaned with water. Once dried, can be overpainted without disturbing underlying layers. Can be used thickly (impasto), like oils, or in thin washes, like watercolor. Water-resistant, so good for murals. Works as a glue, so good for collages. Disdvantages of Acrylic Paint: Dries […]
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How to Decide What Paint to Use
Having decided you’d like to learn to paint, you obviously need to select what kind of paint you’re going to use. The most commonly used paints are acrylics, oils, watercolors, and pastels. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Which you select will depend on your personality and, to some extent, where you’re going to paint. […]
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How to Clean Your Paint Brushes
Your brushes are an investment. By cleaning them thoroughly and properly at the end of a painting session, they will last longer. Here’s How: Wipe off any excess paint using a cloth or soft tissue. Gently squeezing the bristles from the ferrule edge outwards with your fingers, or with a cloth, will help remove paint […]
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Before You Buy a Painting Easel
There’s nothing to beat an easel for keeping a painting in place while you’re working on it. Working vertically also means you’re working in the same plane as the painting will finally be hung, reduces the risk of spilling anything on it, or dust collecting on it. You can work sitting on a stool or […]
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Learn to Paint: Your First Ever Painting
When you decide you’d like to paint, you will likely encounter the art myth that it takes talent. Don’t believe it. The desire to learn to paint and enthusiasm are what you need more than anything else. Having decided you’d like to learn to paint, you need to decide what paint you’re going to use. The four […]
