How to paint Abstracts with Skye Taylor

A lot of artists are afraid of using acrylics especially after they have worked a lot in oils or watercolors. But they can be an essential part of an artist's portfolio and here I will give you 11 tips to help you make the most of them.
You can use acrylic paints both like oil paints (taking into account drying time) and like watercolours by watering down the paint so they are hugely versatile. They just take a bit of getting used to. You can create realistic paintings and I personally think they are great for creating abstract art. You can be big and bold with your colours or you can be subtle and detailed.
Below are some of the things that I think are essential or just useful to know about acrylic paints:

 

1. Firstly, although acrylic paint is water soluble when wet, once it is dry it is like plastic. Therefore you must make sure you wash your brushes or painting implements immediately after use and before the paint dries or else you may ruin your art tools, particularly brushes.
2. If you are used to using oil paint and find that acrylic paint dries too quickly, then there are products out there that will stop the acrylics from drying so fast. Buy some good acrylic paint retarder and that will really help you if you want to use acrylics for wet into wet for example.
3. You can get some really interesting effects by watering down the acrylic paint when you use it. Try using the paint as if you were painting a watercolour scene or use for abstract work like 'marbled' style paintings.

Mixed Media Art Canvas - Steampunk Dragonflies

A timelapse video showing the creation of a canvas using mixed media art materials including polymer clay, moulds by After midnight, Acrylics, & Steampunk Clock parts

Art + Interiors: Black and White Optical Illusions [Bridget Riley]

Hello! I hope you all had a lovely holiday and are keeping warm, I apologize for the lull in posts this week but I'm getting my booty back in gear now. I realize my posts lately have been heavy on the color so I thought I'd do a throw back to the classic black and white palette but of course with a major twist. Enter Bridget Riley...