This section is ALLLLL from the most generous Ms. Kalmes!

*Watch her video on flesh tone mixing:

https://www.loom.com/share/00f4a3ce6ab0431c9d86df8148518850

*See the attached document of color swatches for portrait painting.

*Read the intro document below:

Acrylic Painting

tips from Ms. Kalmes

WATCH 👍 https://artprof.org/courses/acrylic-painting/

SKIP AHEAD TO 4:47

Disclaimer: we are not following identical tips on materials and process.

Mindset:

• 1. Not about being perfect like a photograph it’s about how YOU see and interpret.

  2. Appreciate “happy accidents” and imperfections.

  3. It is okay if your first painting is not amazing. You are learning something new!

WATCH 👍 https://artprof.org/courses/oil-vs-acrylic/

This short video is really useful for understanding the difference between traditional oils and acrylic, while covering lots of general painting tips, including starting a painting, brush care, thumbnails, etc.

still life setup coming soon…

1. Imprimatura

Very light wash of your “mood” color. (traditionally terra rosa: cad red + umber). Here, I used burnt sienna.

• • Prep your canvas with a light wash of water (this will help acrylic apply evenly and with less visible brush strokes).

  • Apply pigment “wash” (paint + water) to create a base tint at 5-10% value scale :

*AP: consider setting a darker imprimatura for a night scene OR setting your imprimatura with a non-traditional color to create a color undertone / mood.

2. Cartoon Drawing Transfer

AP Optional / Painting I Required

Create a preliminary to-scale drawing and transfer onto your painting surface using the cartoon drawing transfer process. Choose a thin paper like newsprint, tracing, or computer paper to sketch your composition (vine sketch is great). Once your sketch is complete, on the backside, coat your drawing with graphite (do not use charcoal transfer methods when using acrylic paint because the lines are too bold and loose charcoal will mix with your acrylic washes during underpainting). Place your graphite coated drawing over your painting surface and trace all lines. Once transferred, reinforce your drawing with colored pencil in color similar to imprimatura. Make any changes to composition during this stage.

3. Underdrawing

Draw directly onto your canvas with a color pencil similar in color to the imprimatura. Your drawing should be visible but not too bold as you want the underdrawing to easily conceal in sequential paint layers.

It is not advisable to sketch directly using your brush with acrylic paint as the thickness of painted lines will remain visible in sequential layers.

It is ideal that your underdrawing is tight with composition and proportions resolved at this stage. Due to acrylic’s transparency, it can be difficult to make major revisions to your composition or correct proportions later.

4. Underpainting

The underpainting will establish guidelines for your value structure as well as your painting’s light source. Since your imprimatura has tinted the white of the canvas, it is essential to reestablish light using titanium white. Establish a round white using titanium and water. Then, create a shadow wash using a dark neutral and water (not black! Use the imprimatura color or raw umber). The underpainting goal is not to establish fine details and linework.

5. First Block - Background

Your first layer of acrylic should establish the local color of each object/area. Using a retarder medium in place of water now and forever, the consistency of your paint should be fluid and not crusty or thick. Working background to foreground, mix three local color value variations and start with one area. Mix your next three colors. Complete all background areas first.

6. Complete First Block

Complete your first block layer by covering all imprimatura and underdrawing. Your first block has 3 values and color shifts per object.

7. Build Color, Saturation, and Opacity (where needed).

Keep adding layers to build opacity and deepen saturation. Your brushwork should be planar movements as you are breaking objects down further into color, value, and smaller shape sections. It is advised to keep your section edgework as soft as possible as hard edges can be cumbersome to soften later.

8. Adding Color Complexities and Nuance (Glazing)

Glazes are created by using mostly retarder medium and less paint. Glazes will tint an area slightly and can assist with creating more vivid color and deeper shadows.

9. Dial in with Details

Despite many painting tutorials online, best painting results are achieved when working general to specific vs. “finishing” sections with extreme details bit by bit. Details are your last moves. Remember that details can be used to direct the eyes around a painting.