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and may be labelled as such by some
manufacturers. It works especially well in
glazes as it lacks the covering strength of
titanium white. Titanium white is the
strongest covering white and can be used
for mixing tints or applying highlights. It
has intense strength that can quickly
overpower colours, so use it carefully
when adding to colour mixes; its opacity
is such that it can obliterate any colours
showing through from underneath.Using different consistencies
of paint
I enjoy exploiting both the opacity and
transparency of acrylic and, what's more,
these approaches can be combined in a
painting without any detrimental effect to
the paint. For example, try using thin
paint and allow the ground or other
colours to show through; add thick paint
on top then after a few minutes drying in-
between layers, add thin paint textures on
top. Even thinned paint will show as a
ghost-like film on top of darker values.artistApril 2016 http://www.painters-online.co.ukEXPLORE ACRYLICS: 4 OF 6
DEMONSTRATIONDividing the Land
In this demonstration I used various thicknesses of paint in
both dark to light and light to dark applications to create
luminosity, texture and heavy shadowNext, paint a thick application of light
value and after it has dried, add a thin
glaze of darker value on top for some
interesting grainy texture. See illustration
(left).Mixing shadows for darker
values
Shadows can be mixed in a couple of
ways depending on the look required.
Think of a shadow as a colour that is seen
out of the light. On dull days or in areas of
deep shade, the light is reduced
dramatically and, as a consequence,
colours take on a strong grey hue of a
dark value. To create this kind of shade,
take your key colour and mix it with an
opposite on the colour wheel. On brighter
days, slightly more colour is seen in a
shadow; this can be created by mixing
your key colour with violet or colours near
to violet, such as ultramarine on the
blue/green side of the spectrum or
alizarin crimson on the orange/red side –
see illustration on page 39.STAGE ONE
I drew the scene on a piece of watercolour paper then, using
paint thinned with flow improver, I loosely washed the entire
area with yellow ochre and burnt sienna with a large round
brush. As it would in watercolour, this colour forms the lightest
values of the sceneSTAGE TWO
I used fluid paint to describe roughly the open moorland – with a
size 10 round brush I worked together yellow ochre, burnt sienna,
ultramarine and alizarin crimson. I switched to Hooker's green and
cadmium yellow pale for the bright greenery. Using a mix of
ultramarine and its opposite burnt sienna to form a grey, I worked
into the wall, painting around the light sections, which reflect a
beautiful luminosity against the denser applications of colourSTAGE THREE
Next I used thinner washes of colour again to describe the general
changes of shape and colour in the background. When this had dried
I began to add thicker paint, starting in the sky with titanium white
mixed with cerulean blue and applied with a 1in flat brush. I then
decided the foreground grass needed to be stronger so I added a
thicker mix of green on the right and tinted some of the lighter wall
shapes with Hooker's green and burnt sienna1 Thin wash of burnt sienna on paper
2 A wash of yellow ochre mixed with flow
improver brushed over the top
3 Ultramarine, burnt sienna and dioxazine purple
mixed with matt medium and brushed thickly
on top
4 The previous colours mixed with white and
thinned with flow improver then spattered on
top of the dark
5 Burnt sienna thinned with flow improver and
brushed over the dark to form a subtle glaze
6 A strong dark painted first
7 A thick mixture of yellow ochre and titanium
white is painted on top
8 When dry, the dark mix was diluted to a thin
wash with flow improver and glazed over the
light, creating interesting grain textures123456
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