Acrylic Paints: A Great Medium for Beginners and Professionals

The 1950s was the decade in which acrylic paint first became available on a commercial basis. This innovative original paint and the techniques that developed from it gave rise to new forms of art being produced. This medium aided artists in producing work at a much faster rate and made artists like Andy Warhol for instance, rise to fame, with his outlandish new style known as 'pop art'. In contrast others were hesitant to utilise this new form of painting given that acrylic paints have very unique qualities that are quite different from say oil or watercolour paints.

Acrylic paints have a reduced drying time in comparison to other mediums making it popular amongst professionals and beginners alike. With mediums like oil paints, a large painting can actually take a few weeks to dry. They became popular given that you'd have a dry piece of artwork within 24 hours. For people experimenting with art this was a great quality. Acrylic paints are also resistant to water damage when they are fully dry. In the preservation of artwork this is a great quality, they don't have the tendency to fade and crack like other mediums. The only disadvantage with this really, is the fact that alterations cannot be made easily once the painting is dry.

Acrylic paints are nowadays widely available at any art suppliers that specialise in art materials. They are also very reasonably priced, and of course like anything you pay more for quality. If you are a beginner acrylic paint sets are available which cater for basic acrylic artwork and often come in a range of colours. The more professional artist will know what they want and will probably already have a brand in mind.

Another great quality is that the paint itself may be thinned by using water, in contrast to the turpentine and other toxins you may use with oil paints. This means brush cleaning is very simple and much less time consuming. This medium lends itself to many techniques, so if you are a budding artist it gives you the time to explore different techniques to find out what works well for you. Acrylic paints are great for block colour and work very well on canvas. Stencilling and simple designs are popular amongst beginners as you can often achieve successful results right away. Acrylic paints also adhere to qualities of watercolour and oil paint. They can be manipulated in similar ways so are a good starting point if you have just developed an interest in painting. They have a unique finish and if you do use them you will soon realise why they became such a popular paint. Of course, it comes down to preference in the end, so definitely experiment with the medium and find a style that suits you.

iArtSupplies are established suppliers of high quality acrylic paints and other art materials.

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Drawing With Charcoal, the Oldest Medium in the World

When you hold a piece of charcoal between your fingers you are doing exactly the same as the mysterious people, or even person, who created the works of art in Chauvet's cave, southern France. The cave paintings depict all kinds of animals hunted at the time in a fabulous three dimensional detail which would subsequently vanish from art until the renaissance as much as twenty thousand years later!

In this article I will not discuss the mystery of Chauvet's cave, it's purpose is to give beginners a guide to charcoal as an artist's medium. The best charcoal is usually willow, it is made by heating the wood in a kiln, when the wood starts to burn the amount of oxygen supplied is reduced by covering the wood with sand, it is a delicate process that is much dependant on mother nature being kind with the right weather conditions. When you hold charcoal it has a slippery feel, you will find that it will break easily into smaller shards and when you work with charcoal I recommend that you break pieces up so you have a variety of chunks, some thin and pointed, others stubby with flat sides.

Work on good thick, cold pressed, medium to heavy textured paper. The paper will need to absorb the charcoal, hence the requirement for a rough surface. Now you are ready to draw. With charcoal you are looking for the source of light on your subject. This is the paper your charcoal will never touch. It is the most important element of any charcoal drawing and provides the strange glow that no photograph could ever reproduce. Work around the light. I personally start with fine lines to contain shapes and then shade these in. As your work progresses let the lines become less evident, on portrait work charcoal is an excellent medium for capturing the texture of skin. A lot of work can be done with your finger tips. For example draw a heavy line and then see what effects can be obtained with your fingers. You can smudge the line one way only, thus keeping a sharp edge with the other side fading into the light, or you can gently smudge both sides, this give the effect of a recess where the light cannot reach. You can dab at the line with your fingertips. This will give a dappled undulating effect. Always remember, as you work, the effect of the light on your subject.

You will find that charcoal is a forgiving medium. If you are not happy with an area of work it can be almost completely erased using a normal rubber eraser. I say almost because you should always try to keep the pure white areas completely untouched. When working fine detail of tone I recommend a blob of blu tack. This can be used as a very fine point eraser. You can for example highlight the light reflection in an eye just by gently dabbing with a pointed blob of blu tack on an area you have shaded. If you wish to show reflected light on skin then very gently sweeping a larger piece of blu tack over the area will achieve the desired effect by gently lightening an area.

Finally you should alway fix your work. Fixatives can be bought from any art supplier. It is basically an aerosol can which you use to spray a thin layer of fixative over your work. This gives a fairly good resistance to smudging or loss of tone. Fixing does not stop you working on your picture but it will make you have to work a bit harder with the eraser!

As an artist there is so much to learn. I do not think you can learn about light and dark with any other medium better than charcoal. It is also good to know of the very ancient footsteps you will be following with your burnt willow stick.

Mark Robb is a practising artist based in Haworth. If you have enjoyed the article above then he invites you to browse the website http://firstforart.com/ where you will find all kinds of art materials, art prints and further advice and tips to help you become a better artist

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