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  • #448191

    This is a read-only thread, the original thread, to which posts may be added is here
    Please check for posts added after post #107

    Many members have given tips in various threads – about using acrylics, palettes, equipment, studio areas etc.

    I thought I’d try to collate them to have them easily available for all.

    If you have anything to offer – and I’m sure you have – will you post it here please?
    I’ll start the ball rolling with a couple I’ve picked up, courtesy of members here.

    From bjcpaints –
    Using a couple of copper pennies in your staywet palette will keep it fresh and prevent mould forming ………… this works for me – weeks later, my palette is still fresh as a daisy! :D Thank you Barbara.

    From Robbo – I think –
    Use an air tight food box, wet paper towel in the bottom (with pennies!), covered with greaseproof paper and you have a great little palette for plein air painting – or any other painting session.

    I’ve shared these with members of my Art Club – boy! were they impressed!

    I use off-cuts of mountboard (matboard) for small format and miniature paintings – nothing’s wasted!

    I use a ruler, or any other fine straight edge, with paint on it, if I want a straight line in a painting …. just touching the painted edge to the support – rather like Gnu advocates in her knife painting class.

    Now I know I’ve read lots more around the forum, so please try to find them and share – then we’ll all have access! :D

    Cheers, Maureen


    Forum projects: Plant Parade projects in the Florals/Botanicals forum , WDE in the All Media Art Events , Different Strokes in Acrylics forum .

    #492366
    Anonymous

        Well Mum, here is one that probably every one knows but there are always new beginners. To make a straight line using tape and have it not bleed on you, paint a layer or two of medium over the tape edge and your canvas, board, or other support. Let it dry. Once dry paint over the tape and ground and then remove the tape. You should get a nice clean straight line.

        #492376

        You can also use tape to block off areas where you don’t want colour. It doesn’t have to be a straight line either. Just stick the tape on the area. Draw the outline of the area you want to protect, peel off the tape and cut along the outline. Discard the bit you don’t want and then re-stick it to the canvas. Paint as desired.

        Carol
        "Mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence" - Time Bandits[/color]
        Moderator: Acrylic Forum
        My websites: Discoveries With Colour Adventures in Photography[/B]

        #492367
        Anonymous

            rubber cement as a mask will save you cutting tape :D it smells good too :evil:

            #492443
            Guide
            Default

                Something I do in the studio is have three containers of water.

                I mark each with a band of different color (either tape or paint)

                Each has distilled water.

                The one with the red band is distilled water with soap (quick clean solution)

                One with a yellow band has distilled water and flow enhancer.

                the green band has pure distilled water.

                The simple stop light marking system makes it hard to confuse.

                Another thing I do is if I need to extend a handle on a brush I use some bamboo stakes which are intended for the garden. A bit of tape or a rubber band will hold it temporary or you can glue the brush shaft into the open/hollow part of the bamboo if you want to make it permanant. Lightweight, easy and inexpensive.

                Click here to go to the information kiosk My You Tube Channel 48hlc48
                The only person you can't fool, is yourself! (Oz The Great and Powerful)
                "If you think you can, or think you can't, your right!"
                "The thing about art is that life is in no danger of being meaningless," Robert Genn

                #492397

                All good advice friends – thanks – keep ’em coming!

                Howard, you are so organised! I keep separate water containers – like yours – but unmarked (therefore sometimes wrongly used!!!!)

                Re masking – I sometimes cut shapes out of scrap paper to mask an area – particularly if spattering with a brush.

                Wayne, could you add your tip about using a plastic cover to try repainting an are without repainting the pic please/ sounds confusing the way I’ve put it, but I’m sure you’ll know!!!!!! :D

                Cheers, Maureen


                Forum projects: Plant Parade projects in the Florals/Botanicals forum , WDE in the All Media Art Events , Different Strokes in Acrylics forum .

                #492368
                Anonymous

                    Ok .. it goes like this. If your painting is dry and you want to see what it would look like if you made changes, you can put an acetate (clearn vinyl) over your painting and then paint on the acetate
                    If your changes look good, then you can actually repaint your painting and it should be a lot better because you will have had the practice of working out the bugs first. I have not tried this myself as it’s a tip I read, but I can’t see why it would not work.

                    #492377

                    rubber cement as a mask will save you cutting tape :D it smells good too :evil:

                    Not if you use it on canvas. It really is a bear to get off the canvas :eek: Can speak from experience :mad:

                    Carol
                    "Mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence" - Time Bandits[/color]
                    Moderator: Acrylic Forum
                    My websites: Discoveries With Colour Adventures in Photography[/B]

                    #492444
                    Guide
                    Default

                        This one may seem a bit odd but I have brushes that are now 10 years old or older and I think in part it may be due to the drying and cleaning I do on them.

                        I use a spring clip clothes pin, the very old fashioned style, and clip it to the handles of the brushes after the final cleaning of the day. I then hang it over the edge of a table so the water drains and doesn’t sit in the ferrule of the brush overnight. It is fun to see about 10 brushes all lined up like this.

                        Click here to go to the information kiosk My You Tube Channel 48hlc48
                        The only person you can't fool, is yourself! (Oz The Great and Powerful)
                        "If you think you can, or think you can't, your right!"
                        "The thing about art is that life is in no danger of being meaningless," Robert Genn

                        #492398

                        You see? Told you you were highly organised ………. my husband would love me to be this tidy and thoughtful! :o
                        Every time I tidy my area, I can’t find things – now I’m into labelling so I’ll know where to find things!

                        Thanks Wayne and Howard. :)

                        Cheers, Maureen


                        Forum projects: Plant Parade projects in the Florals/Botanicals forum , WDE in the All Media Art Events , Different Strokes in Acrylics forum .

                        #492391
                        Artguy29
                        Default

                            Always build up your colors, work in layers, and use various colors to form the specific color you want.

                            Most of the time, just putting down a single color won’t work, even if it was formed from more than one pigment or color-for example, if you have a Yellow-Green (from a tube, not mixed by you), you’ll see that it’s a single color, there’s no difference between the yellows and greens, they were just combined into one. Now if you were to mix a Yellow and a Green, without smoothing the mixture out too much, you would see that you can get different tones of the color depending on how much of each color was mixed. By using your version of the color, you can add interest and character to that color. The pre-made Yellow-Green is Yellow-Green and always will be (unless you find some way to chemcially separate them, but that’s beyond the point!)

                            Most colors that you want to achieve involve more than one color mixed together. You can use variations of multiple-color mixtures layered upon each other to achieve a very varied yet unified color (the mixtures would have to be related in some way, of course).

                            I tend not to use a pure black (from a tube) in my work. I find that mixing my own blacks (usually a variation of Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber with some other minor colors) gives them much more interest and depth.

                            To sum it up, think about the color you want to achieve and work towards it. Think about all the possible color combinations to give it character, interest, depth, and maybe even excitement!

                            Dave :)

                            #492369
                            Anonymous

                                I think the brushes should be store tip up and not tip down. There are some who say down but I think the majority would say tip up. Something to do with capillery action that happens in the ferrule.

                                #492445
                                Guide
                                Default

                                    I think the brushes should be store tip up and not tip down. There are some who say down but I think the majority would say tip up. Something to do with capillery action that happens in the ferrule.

                                    It would be in keeping with my personality to have been doing it wrong for the last 30 years. I must admit that I have a couple of brushes that are heading to that 30 year mark and are still hanging in there, so guess it can’t be all that terrible.

                                    Click here to go to the information kiosk My You Tube Channel 48hlc48
                                    The only person you can't fool, is yourself! (Oz The Great and Powerful)
                                    "If you think you can, or think you can't, your right!"
                                    "The thing about art is that life is in no danger of being meaningless," Robert Genn

                                    #492467
                                    carld
                                    Default

                                        One good way to save brushes is to never let them soak in a jar of water. I rinse mine, then leave them wet and lay them flat while I am working. Soaking them will loosen up the ferrules after just a few sessions.

                                        I also wash my brushes often during a painting sesion. As soon as paint gets up into the top of the bristles, I wash them. I have been using the same five or six brushes for the last five years and they are still very good.

                                        Carl

                                        #492457
                                        bjcpaints
                                        Default

                                            Many members have given tips in various threads – about using acrylics, palettes, equipment, studio areas etc.

                                            From HCowdrick –
                                            [COLOR=Blue] Using a couple of copper pennies in your staywet palette will keep it fresh and prevent mould forming ………… this works for me – weeks later, my palette is still fresh as a daisy![/COLOR] :D Thank you Howard.
                                            ! :D

                                            Hey! That’s my tip and I want credit for it Maureen! :mad: :evil: :D
                                            Howard can only have credit for giving the explanation of why it works! :rolleyes: Besides, He has enough other good tips!
                                            I have to think up some good ones now!
                                            Barbara

                                            Now edited to credit Barbara!

                                            Barbara
                                            "Painting is an attempt to come to terms with life. There are as many solutions as there are human beings."
                                            George Tooker 1920 - 2011

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