Acrylics Lesson 3, Finished Painting

I just finished the third painting from the Varvara Harmon book. The take-aways:

• I am more comfortable using the liner brush, but still need lots more practice
• I need a lot more practice painting trees.
• I need to learn when to stop. For example, I got carried away with the tree leaves, and I made some changes to the distant grassy area that messed up the painting and I had to scramble to tone down the changes.

Here is the final result:

acrylic on 12 in. by 16 in. canvas

As chance would have it, I heard Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love and The Signature of All Things) on NPR this morning. Among other things, she and the host talked about her belief that women are more prone to perfectionism than men, whereas men in general are more willing to accept "good enough" (I'm paraphrasing). When I was young my perfectionist self knew I did not have the talent to be a great artist, so I let my interest in drawing and painting slip way down in my list of priorities. I am now giving myself permission to do "good enough" and even fail. What is most important is to try. And I am having loads of fun doing it!

Acrylics, Lesson 2

Today I finished the second painting from Varvara Harmon's 'Painting in Acrylic' published by Walter Foster.

Acrylic on Blick canvas sheet, 12 in. by 16 in.

I did better on the trees but I'm still having trouble controlling the liner brush. I am not getting a smooth, crisp line.

I also don't like how the canvas ripples. Next time I might try stapling the sheet to the board rather than taping it. I am using a Grafix Incredible Art Board, which is advertised as a great surface to use for stretching watercolor paper. You are supposed to be able to staple stretched paper to the surface over and over without the board buckling.

I also spent some money today on an "economy" pack of 12 by 16 stretched canvases. From the price I paid, I'm sure they aren't "artist" quality, but I am hoping they will be good enough for practice while I am learning about acrylics.

First Attempts with Acrylics

I am taking a break from pastels to try acrylic painting. I have been following exercises in Lee Hammond's book on painting landscapes. I have been practicing brushstrokes and have painted a few of the simple examples. Today I decided to try the first painting from Varvara Harmon's 'Painting in Acrylic' published by Walter Foster. Here is the finished painting:

This is painted on a Blick canvas sheet. The canvas has rippled a bit, which you might be able to see in the sky. I think next time I will probably try Fredrix canvas sheets, which are sturdier. In any case, I am encouraged by the results and can't wait to try the next lesson.