Mar 27, 20213 min read

Creative Art - Painting with Acrylics

Updated: Jun 24, 2021

Gary Dutton—Creative Skills Tutor, Adult Skills & Community Learning 

"Learning to paint can be fun let's have a look at some different projects to get going. These have been kindly shared by Gary Dutton Art Tutor from the classes attended in learning to paint" - Debbie

Cherry Blossom on black paper

You will see how easy it is to make a magical, dream-like picture by painting cherry blossoms on black paper using acrylic paint, to create a night landscape of cherry blossoms shimmering in the moonlight.

The cherry blossom step by step instructions can be found link

Creative Corner

Painted by Debbie and hanging in my gallery at home.

Sketching with Paint

Painting and drawing differ in that drawing is mostly technical, whereas painting is emotional. With painting you can look in depth at colour and brushstrokes and make

your art more expressive and even abstract.

It is easy to get into a habit of doing detailed and excessive drawings before starting

to paint. This can be exhausting and frustrating. Try to relax and go straight into a

painting with a brush.

Although this can be a little intimidating at first, it can help you to adapt, improvise, loosen up and appreciate a less precise form of drawing.

Here is a simple jug to draw in acrylic paint.

To have a go at drawing with paint follow the steps and have fun link

Debbie's Creative Corner

Here are two examples of paintings for the jug by Debbie which was a great way to practice mixing paint and letting your hands free flow paint onto the paper.

Sponge Painting

Interesting textures can be made with a sponge by dipping it in paint and applying it to paper or board. This method is ideal for depicting leaves and foliage and can be used with either acrylic or watercolour paint.

If using watercolour, make sure to work from light to dark.

In this quick and simple exercise I’ve painted a tree by using yellow and blue acrylic paint, a sponge and a medium sized filbert brush. The painting is done onto a piece of 12” x 9” white cardboard. I painted a pale blue background onto the board, but you can paint straight onto the whiteboard if you like.

To enjoy creating a tree check the instructions sheet link

Creative Corner

The sponge effect tree was used in the painting below which was great fun to do - by Debbie

Pointillism

Pointillism is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of colour are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The technique was also used during the Pop-Art period by artists such as Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol.

Here’s a simple exercise, using pointillism techniques, that you could have a go with at home.

Let's have a go just follow the worksheet link

Creative Corner

Created by Debbie in class when first learning to paint this is a great way to get used to using paints and mixing colours.

Pointillism butterfly in wellbeing class one of my favourite techniques to learn so relaxing and calming by Debbie

Creative Art Supplies

If you need help to find materials in lockdown I have a Amazon page with ideas for some of the materials I have used. link

Debbie's Creative Corner

During lockdown I have been able to practice painting with acrylic paints at home in different styles using new techniques and as you can see I think I made improvements over the last year.

I always keep my work so I can look back at how much I have learned which is good for my confidence and wellbeing.