Thrifty Art Thursday: Painting

Last updated on: May 19, 2011 at 11:06 am by Melissa Hill

Thrifty Art Thursday: Painting 2011-05-19T11:06:00-04:00 Melissa Hill

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I was struggling this week with what I could share with you. I didn’t want to just rehash someone else’s work, and I’ve been so busy in the yard I haven’t had a lot of time to craft.

So I decided to just let it go and paint. She’s not finished yet.

Deer Woman Scents the Hunter Acrylic on canvas

Painting really just fills my soul up. The feel of the brush on the canvas, the explosions of color I can work with. Subtle or dramatic, it’s all there. I feel calmer afterward. Centered. You can see the sketch I did on the canvas for her at the end of the post.

So I realized what I had to share with you as I laid down doe colored hair and swirls of green and yellow leaves.

Paint.

Here’s some of my favorite tricks to make acrylic painting more awesome, easier, and better:

Don’t be afraid of water. Water is your friend. At the same time, if you’re doing detail work, make sure not to muddy your colors on the pallet.
Start with thin washes of color watered down with equal parts of matte medium and water. Block in main color areas. No, really you should do this. The stuff you sketched will show through.
If you’re switching from one color group to another, go wash your brushes. Yes it takes extra time compared to swishing it around in a little cup of water, but you’ll keep your colors where you want them. Oh, and while you’re at it, change the water in your little swishy cup.
Pallets are everywhere! I love recycling old spinach containers for pallets. I can use the lid and the bottom to put paint on, and then I just put the lid on and stick it in the fridge until I can paint. It lasts for about a week in the fridge like that.
Cloth rags are AWESOME. By this I mean old cut up shirts, pants, whatever. I have a drawer I keep them in. Seriously, I use them for all kinds of things: to manipulate the paint on the canvas, clean my brushes between strokes, wipe my hands, and clean up drips. Old cloth diapers are the bomb. If you see them at a garage sale, or have a friend who’s potty training, snatch those puppies up!
Don’t be afraid to paint over something that isn’t how you want it. In this painting I blocked in the hair much straighter, and then when I painted it there was wind. You could see the line between the red blocking and the green of the forest and it looked crappy. A little titanium white and a little burnt umber and I fixed the line and repainted the hair.
Removing paint can create great effects. Using a rag or a pallet knife to scrape or rub paint away can create blending, smoothing and lighting effects.
Use a big brush for a big area. I used to make these tiny little strokes for everything. It sucked. Go get some house painting brushes out of your basement and go crazy with it! I’ve made some great paintings and underpaintings using really really big brushes.
Allow yourself to have fun! Fear really is the mind killer. Don’t give into it. Do enjoy it, even if you think it sucked, you practiced, you learned, and you can always paint over it.

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