Spattering
First, cover any area that you
don’t want to spatter with a
sheet of paper. Load your brush
with thinned paint and tap it over
a finger to fling droplets of paint
onto the paper. You can also
load your brush and then run
a fingertip over the bristles to
create a spray.
Glazing
As with watercolour, you can
apply a thin layer of acrylic or oil
over another colour to optically
mix the colours. Soft gels are
great mediums for creating
luminous glazes. Shown here
are Ultramarine Blue (left) and
Lemon Yellow (right) glazed over
a mix of Permanent Rose and
Naples Yellow.
Sponging
Applying paint by dabbing with
a sponge can create interesting,
spontaneous shapes. Layer
multiple colours to suggest
depth. Remember that you can
also use sponges to apply flat
washes with thinned paint.Graduated blend
To create a gradual blend of
one colour into another, stroke
the two different colours onto
the canvas horizontally, leaving
a gap between them. Continue
to stroke horizontally, moving
down with each stroke to pull
one colour into the next. Retrace
your strokes where necessary
to create a smooth blend
between colours.Stippling
This technique involves applying
small, closely placed dots of
paint. The closer the dots, the
finer the texture and the more
the area will take on the colour
and tone of the stippled paint.
You can also use stippling
to optically mix colours; for
example, stippling blue and
yellow in an area can create the
illusion of green.Dabbing
Load your brush with thick
paint and then use press-and-
lift motions to apply irregular
dabs of paint to your surface.
For more depth, apply several
layers of dabbing, working
from dark to light.
Dabbing is great for
suggesting foliage
and flowers.Wiping away
Use a soft rag or paper towel
to wipe away wet paint from
your canvas. You can use this
technique to remove mistakes
or to create a design within
your work. Remember that
staining pigments, such as
Permanent Rose (at right with
Naples Yellow), will leave behind
more colour than non-staining
pigments.Scumbling
This technique refers to a
light, irregular layer of paint.
Load a brush with a bit of
slightly thinned paint, and
use a scrubbing motion to
push paint over your surface.
When applying opaque
pigments over
transparents, this
technique creates
Use an old, dull pizza depth.
cutter to make straight
lines; just roll it through
the paint and then on
to the surface.