Hand Paintings With Acrylics - Family Therapy Turned Hobby

Do you have an elderly parent in your home and looking for an activity that he or she would enjoy? I found painting for my mother as an outlet. I have known for years because of previous nurses training that hand painting as a creative outlet is very therapeutic.

If your parent or your child has experienced high stress and is suffering from anxiety or other mental or physical problems hand painting is wonderful therapy. And if you are a person in good health consider painting as a wonderful hobby or as a new career.

Acrylic Paints - Best in the Painting Industry

By Murtaza Habib

The main characteristic of acrylic paint is, it dries very fast. It contains many types of pigments dissolved in an acrylic polymer emulsion. Once they get dried-up they become water resistant, otherwise they can easily mix up with water.

In many ways they are very similar to other oil paints, but they are very easy to use and much cheaper compared to oil paints. If you just start your painting career, it is very advisable to use them. It doesn't require skills that are required to use watercolor or the patience needed for oil paints. Trust me, it is very flexible to use in many ways.

Because of all these qualities, many artists prefer them to make their paintings.

Let's get down to know their more basic features...

In the 1950s they were available for commercial use. Initially, they are mineral spirit based paints, but as time goes through water based acrylic paints came into a picture.

They are completely opaque, when they are in an undiluted state.

You can apply any color with other one very easily.

You can consider this one as advantage or disadvantage that they dry up very quickly. Artist must be very fast with his or her design and ideas while using them. However, in present time additives are used in them to slow down its drying process.

If any artist wants to use this type of paint for exterior use, he has to buy a special paint made for exterior use only.

It is preferable to use them on a base layer.

Make sure that one who uses them has to wash brush immediately right after once a task gets completed, otherwise it will get wasted.

Generally, they produce a very uniform color.

Therefore, in future whenever you think to use them, keep above tips in your mind for sure.
What if I teach you how to get started with drawing and painting with great ease following simple steps?

Follow these steps for your perfect creativity flow.

Grab my free ebook on Drawing And Painting
'Murtaza Habib' has helped hundreds of newbies to start their painting courses, now you can do it too...
Keep visiting Paint on my canvas for unique articles on drawing and painting.
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Making a Fine Art Painting - Which is Best Acrylic Paint Or Oil Paint?

By George McKim

Trying to decide which type of paint to use to paint your next art masterpiece? Should you go with the tried and true oil paints, or should you try the newer medium of acrylic paint? Each of these types of paints has their pros and cons which you should investigate so that you can choose the medium that suits your painting style. You are the artist, you make the call.

Oil paint, the traditional medium, is basically powder pigments mixed with clear linseed oil. This paint is slow drying and for that reason is perfectly suited for blending colors together smoothly with plenty of time to contemplate the painting's progress and still have time to edit and adjust the image before the paint dries. Another plus of oil paint is the luminous quality of the paint which is achieved from the linseed oil medium which allows light to pass through the paint and bounce thereby illuminating the paint on the surface. Additionally, oil paint has been proven to be the most permanent medium for fine art painting. Most paintings on canvas and wood were made with oil paint from early Renaissance times until the 1960's when acrylic paints were introduced.

Acrylic paint is only about fifty years old, and is the new kid on the block. This paint is made from powdered pigments and a liquid acrylic plastic medium. Unlike oil paint, acrylic dries fairly quickly and you will need to plan ahead and move quickly if you want to do much modeling or blending of colors with this type of artists paint. However, the quick drying quality of acrylic paint can be an advantage if you paint in layers or paint in such a way that does not require the blending or colors. You don't have to wait for several days for paint to dry before you paint something on top of a previous layer with acrylic. If you want to mix several mediums together, like acrylic drawing paper and found objects, then acrylics are the perfect type of paint for the job. There are also a wide variety of specialty paints and mediums that can be used with acrylics such as modeling paste for texture, gloss and matte mediums for thinning and mixing, iridescent and fluorescent paint, and many other special effect mediums and additives that could broaden the range of your creative artistic expression.

Some artists begin their paintings with acrylic paint and when that dries, they finish the artwork with oil paint. Hopefully, this will give you enough basic information to make an informed choice about what type of painting medium is most suited to your type of artistic expression.

The author, George McKim, is an award winning artist who has exhibited his artwork in museums and galleries. George has created a new and rapidly growing Artist Social Network and Online Gallery at http://www.myartfriends.com

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Oil Vs Acrylic Paint

By Chad Marshall

What are the pros and cons of acrylic and oil painting? What techniques work in one medium but not in another? We'll discuss these questions and more. Read on.

The pros and cons of acrylic painting

PRO: Fast drying time. When layering paints, acrylics will dry in as little as 15 to 30 minutes. PRO: Due to the fast drying times, it's ideal as a base color for oil painting.
PRO: Student grade oil paints can be obtained at very low prices.

CON: Due to the quick drying time, more modern painting techniques like Wet On Wet (created by William "Bill" Alexander) will be difficult to take advantage of.
CON: Although oil paint can be applied over acrylic paints, acrylic paints should never be applied on top of oils.
CON: Almost all acrylic paints are thin and soupy, limiting the techniques the artist can use.

The pros and cons of oil painting:

PRO: Many student and professional grades are available.
PRO: Modern painting techniques such as those used in Wet On Wet can be used with the right oil paints.
CON: Very slow drying time. Some paintings can take months to fully dry, although most paintings are dry to the touch in a few weeks.
PRO: Slow drying time can be helpful for many people. When using Wet On Wet painting techniques, slow drying time is preferred and actually aids the artist, allowing new layers to be applied on top of wet layers and also allows the artist to correct any mistakes during painting.
PRO: Most oil paints are thin and soupy and geared towards traditional oil painting methods, but some oil paint producers have reformulated their oil colors making them very thick and rich, expanding the possibilities for artists. Companies such as Alexander Art and Winsor Newton carry very thick oil paints that are ideal for a variety of oil painting techniques.

Did you find this article helpful? Learn more about wet on wet oil painting and Alexander Certified Instructor Chad Marshall at his website. http://www.wichitaoilpainting.com
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Acrylic Paint - Why It's So Great for Signs

By Bernard Hibbs

Acrylic paint is a luminous synthetic paste that combines and enhances the best characteristics of watercolour and oil paint to create a versatile substance with superb coverage, drying power, flexibility and resistance. These important features in acrylic paint have been proven superior to other paints through careful testing.

Mexican painters of the 1920's conducted a series of pioneering tests on rudimentary acrylic paint to evaluate its resistance when exposed to harsh weather conditions. They discovered that its chemical properties gave it extreme durability. Small resin particles and pigment make up an emulsion in water held together by polymeric agglutinants. Unlike oil paint, water can evaporate out of acrylic from between the agglutinants. As a result the paste dries rapidly to form a compact plastic film.

Artist Jackson Pollock created large painted masterpieces with thick textures. This process is tedious when using oil paint due to the lengthy drying time. However, when Pollock used acrylic he no longer had to wait for months for his canvas to dry. Thus acrylic's superb drying power enabled artists such as Pollock to create more spontaneously. Abstract painter Morris Louise also benefited by exchanging oil for acrylic. Whereas in oil painting a primer must be applied to protect the canvas from eventual rot, this procedure was eliminated when Louis chose to use acrylic because of its self priming quality. Advantages such as these examples enable acrylic paint to be used as a fluid and economic medium.

Acrylic is exceptionally versatile and can be used in a broad variety of ways. It can be used in its common paste consistency, or watered down to create a colour wash. Other mediums can be added to modify the appearance or consistency of acrylic. A surface finish can be made either glossy or matt and an additional thickening medium allows thick paint layers to be shaped or brushed on, giving a sculptured texture.

Because of resins in acrylic a dried paint layer forms and remains flexible, allowing a greater variety of manipulation than is possible with the more brittle oil paint. Professional artists first experimented with acrylic's properties in the 1950's. Paintings from this time remain extremely fresh in comparison to similarly treated oil painting which have darkened or cracked. This durability has also been tested extensively by manufacturers. Paintings have been deliberately exposed to conditions which age the colours quickly. These tests show that acrylic is one of the most durable painting mediums available and will withstand the aging of centuries.

Due to its versatile features and outstanding quality, acrylic paint has proven the perfect medium for use in production of quality artwork that can withstand the outdoor environment.
Bernard Hibbs is a sign maker based in London. Clover Signs makes beautifully hand painted House Signs.
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How to Make Your Own Unique Music Box

By Monique Hawkins
For the music box and antique collectors who are creative and love arts and crafts, making a music box of their own can be fairly easy and great fun. Here are simple directions to make an exquisite music box called "Peter Cottontail". These unique directions are from Sharon Ganske's book, "Making Marvelous Music Boxes".

Material Needed
For the Base, Including Music Box Accessories: Round chipboard box, 2 ¼ high and 5" diameter; Square of wood, 2 ½ X 2 ½ X ½" thick; 18-note key-wind musical movement, including a magnetic swing arm Key extendeder; 3/8" T-bar winding key ¾"; 4 wooden beads, ½"

Decorative Accessories for Music Box
3 prepainted resin bunny figurines, 2"; Prepainted resin Easter tree, 3 ½" ; Round beveled mirror, 5" diameter; ½"-wide pink braided net ribbon; 16"; 5" wide floral-print ribbon, 24"

Acrylic Paint Colors
Ivory and Medium pink Adhesive and Spray Sealer:
Hot glue sticks; Industrial strength glue; Tacky glue Tacky glue; thin-bodied Matte spray sealer

Tools and Brushes
Drill with ¼" drill bit; Glue gun; Old paintbrush; ; Paintbrush; Scissors
Once you have gathered all of the above materials, it is time to start making your music box.
Here are the directions to assemble it.

Step One: prepare the chipboard box. Since these boxes are sometimes flimsy, they must be reinforced with by placing hot glue around the inside bottom edge of the box (side and bottom) and them allowing it to harden. Next, just apply a heavy layer of Tacky glue to the inside sides of the box and let them dry.

Step Two: using a paintbrush, paint box and lid with the ivory acrylic paint. Paint the beads with medium pink.

Step Three: Cut one strip from the net ribbon, 15 ¾? X 2 ¾", and one 4 ½" circle. Using the thin-bodied Tacky glue, laminate net ribbon strip to side of box, lining up top edge. Cut small notches to side of box, lining up top edge. Cut small notches in ½" overhang, laminating to box bottom and making sure it is flat and smooth. Centering, laminate 4 ½" circle to box bottom.

Step Four: Using your industrial strength glue, glue square of wood to inside center front of box bottom to which musical movement will be glued. Allow to dry.

Step Five: To mark the hole position for the winding-key shaft, place musical movement inside box at front center (seam is at back). Draw a line around the musical movement. Remove musical movement and place a dot of paint on winding-key shaft. Press the musical movement, winding-key shaft side down, back in the box. Remove the musical movement and drill a ¼" hole in box, centering winding-key shaft in the hole.

Step Six: Using the industrial strength glue, glue beads, evenly space, to the bottom of the box for legs. Glue the musical movement into the box, centering the winding-key shaft in the hole.
Step Seven: Using Tacky glue, glue the lid on the box. Glue the braided trim to the side of lid. Glue the magnet that comes with the musical movement to the bottom of the bunny that has been chosen to dance and twirl. Allow to dry.

Step eight: Wind the wind key extender onto the winding key. Wind the wind key extender onto the winding-key shaft so music can play. Place a bunny with magnet on top of the mirror. Place the tree at the center back of box and remaining bunnies on each side of the tree. Move the tree and bunnies so the dancing bunny does not bump into them. When they are in the right position, glue them on with a small amount of industrial-strength glue. Make sure excess glue does not seep from under the figurines and onto the mirror.

Making music boxes does not have to be difficult. With a little creativity and imagination, the music box and antique collector can create their own collection!

Copyright 2006 Monique Hawkins
Monique Hawkins is the owner of Monique's Music Box. Located at http://www.My-Music-Box.com is a music box gift store specializing in products such as inlaid music boxes, wooden keepsake boxes, ballerina music boxes for ballerina rooms décor, and musical jewelry boxes. The company also provides interesting information for music lovers of all ages. Monique also is an associate with USANA Health Sciences. One of her passions is encouraging and supporting others in their endeavors to obtain optimal health and wellness. Visit http://www.usana.com/en/products/us/essentials/what_essentials.shtml/ http://www.usana.com/en/products/us/sense/index.shtml
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Beginners Acrylic Painting – What Acrylic Paint should I Buy?

By Catherine Calder

There is a huge range of acrylic paints. When you are just starting to buy your painting equipment it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the choice.

However when you’re beginning with acrylic paints here’s a few things that will make your choice of paints a lot easier.

One feature of acrylic paint is that it dries very quickly which can a blessing when you are ready to tidy away. Or a curse if you don't know how quickly it dries and it ruins your brush!

Different Paint Consistencies

Acrylic paints usually come in tubes of either Standard Formula or Flow Formula. The Standard Formula is thicker and more suitable for oil painting techniques and using a painting knife. The thicker paint can be built up for impasto work where very thick layers of paint give a three dimensional result.

Flow Formula is a thinner paint and is more suitable for brush work and watercolor techniques. It takes a slightly longer to dry than the Standard Formula.

However if you want a longer drying time you can add a retarder medium to the paint, and this slows down the drying time and allows the paint to be ‘worked’ – handy when you are painting complicated areas.

Acrylic paints are water soluble but when some paint dries on your hand you will see that it looks like a thin layer of colored plastic. This means that once the paint is dry it is almost impossible to remove it from clothes or furnishings. Always cover your work area with old newspapers to protect it from any spills.

Acrylic Painting Tip

Be sure to always replace the top back on the tube of paint. Otherwise the paint will (quite quickly) dry in the tube – this is annoying and a waste of money!

Acrylic paints often come in starter packs and these can be very good value when beginning with acrylic paints. It is usually cheaper to buy a starter pack than to buy the tubes individually.
When you are buying your first set of paints I would recommend buying a starter pack which will give you a range of colors at a good price. If you decide you would rather buy individual colors check out the other beginner’s acrylic painting articles for tips on the best colors to buy.

I would also buy Standard Formula ones. If you find you like to paint with a brush then you can add a little water to thin the paint for this purpose. However if you decide you like to paint in a thicker style you already have the correct paint.

However with acrylic paints you can add a gel medium to the Flow Formula to give it more body and this will make the paint suitable for thicker painting techniques. Acrylic paints really are very versatile, and there’s a range of acrylic mediums that allow you to vary the consistency of the paints.

Be sure to check out the other beginner’s acrylic painting articles for ones that look at buying the rest of your acrylic painting supplies – palette and brushes, and painting surfaces.

Catherine Calder is the author of The Acrylic Painting Course. This step-by-step course is the best beginners guide on acrylic painting. For a free preview to completing your first painting visit http://www.LearnAndDo.com/acrylic.asp
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Beginner’s Acrylic Painting - Choosing Paper Painting Surfaces - What You Need to Know

By Catherine Calder

Have you ever gone in to buy some paper for painting and been overwhelmed by the choice? You would think it would be a simple thing to buy a sheet of paper, wouldn't you? Well, it can be if you know what the different choices mean and how it can affect your finished painting.
A Beginners Guide on Acrylic Painting Paper Surfaces

Manufacturers have created a whole range of paper products for the artist. So many choices that unless you know what some of the terms mean it can be very confusing.
When you want your painting to last for a long time always go for acid-free. This is the type of paper used in archives.

Different Textures
The next thing is the surface texture of the paper, whether you want a fine texture or rough. You may be asking “How do I know? I’m just beginning with acrylic paints and I want something to paint on!”

The texture you choose will depend on your style of painting and the kinds of paintings you like. If you like to have a lot of detail in your paintings you will need a smooth textured paper - in which case you want one that is ‘Hot Pressed’.

If you use a lot of watercolour (or watercolour style) washes then the paper you should choose will be ‘Not’. That means 'Not hot pressed'. It has a bit more texture than Hot pressed papers.
If you paint a lot of landscapes and/or like granulation (which happens when the colors separate while they dry) you will probably like using Cold pressed papers. These have the roughest texture.

Papers are sold in weights. This affects the thickness of the paper. Papers that are less than 300-lb or 640gsm (grams per square metre) will need to be stretched before painting. If you don’t stretch the paper it will buckle when wet making painting difficult and the paint will dry in the hollows giving a disappointing result.

Painting Tip

Stretching paper needs to be done in advance and the paper allowed to dry before you use it. You will need a clean drawing board, some 1½ inch wide gum strip, and water to soak the paper in (the bath is handy for this).

Soak the paper in the water until it is saturated, this will take less than a minute. Place the paper onto the board and smooth it out from the centre to the edges.

Cut pieces of gum strip to fit the length and the width of the paper, plus a couple of inches. Dampen the gum strip and use it to stick the longer edges of the paper to the board, and then do the shorter edges. Smooth out the paper and the gum strip and leave it to dry naturally and on the horizontal. Do not place it near a heater!

If you just want to paint without needing to prepare the paper, there are pads of ready stretched paper that save you having to do this yourself. These pads have the paper glued around the edges and you paint on the top of the pad. Once you've finished the painting and it is completely dry, a knife is inserted at one of the edges and moved around the sides to cut through the glue and free the top layer.

It is a good investment to buy good quality paper. It is much easier to use which is important when beginning with acrylic paints, and gives a better result.

Next time you need to buy paper think about how you like to paint, and it will be much easier to decide on the type of paper to buy.

Look out for other Beginners Acrylic Painting articles on buying the rest of your painting supplies – palette and brushes, and acrylic paints.

Catherine Calder is the author of the Acrylic Painting Course. The simple step-by-step way to learn how to paint Quick and Easy Check out ‘Painting Surfaces – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’ In The Special Reports section at http://www.learnanddo.com/acrylic.asp
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What you Should Know Before Doing any Acrylic Painting

Acrylic painting is often the medium of choice for many artists because of the ease of cleaning up and the quick drying time. Since acrylics are water-based, brushes can be cleaned up with water in most cases. Acrylics can also be thinned with water or other substances to create different effects with the paints, such as a watercolor appearance on your canvas.

You can also paint layer upon layer with acrylic painting, which allows an artist to add details to pictures or correct mistakes easily. Because acrylic painting is rather easy to do, they are a popular option for many beginning artists as well as more seasoned painters.

A Step by Step Guide to Acrylic Painting

Before beginning your adventure into acrylic painting, you want to put on appropriate clothing. Acrylic paint is water-soluble only until it dries, making it nearly impossible to wash out of fabric. For this reason, you will want to wear old clothes and a paint smock before beginning any project with acrylic painting.

You can use these paints on nearly any surface, but they work particularly well on textured surfaces like canvas or textured paper. However, with a proper base coat or primer applied, you can use acrylic painting to accent wood, terracotta, and even glass. These paints are a very popular choice for decorative painting projects.

Since acrylics dry quickly, this can pose a challenge for mixing colors. There are special palettes that you can purchase for acrylic painting that will enable the paints to stay wet longer. This can be a wise investment if you are planning to do a lot of painting. Bristle brushes generally work best with this type of paint, and synthetic bristles tend to be preferred over natural materials.

Remember to invest in high quality brushes if you can, since these will last longer and usually give you better results. Look for a stiffer bristle since the paint is thicker, unless you are planning to water it down to the consistency of watercolors.

While you are doing acrylic painting, keep your brushes washed out as soon as you are finished with them. Once the acrylic painting dries, it will be very difficult to get your brushes clean. If you don’t want to continue to interrupt your painting session to wash out brushes, keep a cup of water at your easel to leave your brushes in until you can clean them. If the paint is a bit stubborn, a little soap added to your water should clean your brushes out quite nicely.

Painting Technique - Paint the Negative Space

By Catherine Calder

When using acrylic paint you can add layers of light colour to increase the definition of a pale area. However another option is to paint in the negative area to highlight the pale area.
This is a very good technique and can make your paintings more interesting. It is also an easy way to add detail to a flat area of colour.

Painting the area behind the object in this manner it gives you the chance to improve the shape of the object and gives the main object a more defined look.

What is negative space?

The negative space is the space left once you have ignored/removed an object.
There are a few classic negative space pictures. My favourite is two heads facing each other and the space between them giving the shape of a long stemmed glass. The negative space is the glass shaped area.

How to do it

Always try to contrast light and dark areas in a picture. When you have this kind of contrast it is easy to paint in some of the negative areas because one of the adjoining sections will be in a darker colour.
(I think that it is more successful to paint in negative areas with a darker colour, but if you want to try to use a lighter colour over a darker one be sure to use the paint more thickly.)
A landscape example could be to paint in a dark colour (behind a pale one) to make the top of the pale area jagged; this makes the pale area look more grass like.

In this example the darker colour was the negative area behind the grasses. Then blend the dark colour up into the negative space using water to thin it. By leaving a darker edge next to the pale colour you get a nice contrast too.

Use this technique

To add definition to any areas you feel needs it. It would be good for darkening the area to the side of a tree trunk and make the trunk stand out a bit more. Ideal for the trunk of a silver birch, just add some extra dark shades to the area at the side of the trunk to give the trunk more contrast and this helps to make the trunk more three dimensional too.
It is great for forest paintings as you can hint at more trees in the background without giving them too much detail.

Top Tip - the greatest contrast areas are always in the foreground of a picture. Make sure you have the contrast between the colours suitable for the distance in the painting, i.e. not too much contrast for areas in the distance.

Catherine Calder is the author of the Acrylic Painting Course. This step-by-step painting course shows all the stages for painting 12 pictures. Learn a range of painting techniques as you paint the lovely pictures. Visit the Learn and Do website for a free preview that shows all the stages to completing your first sunset painting. http://www.learnanddo.com/
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