Using Acrylic Paints

In this post I wanted to write about using acrylic paints. I am primarily an oil painter but I do use acrylic paint from time to time for various things that I want to do because of the quick drying time and the ease of use of acrylic paints. One of the ways I will use acrylic paint is to tone my canvas with a yellow ochre or light orange colour prior to painting on it. What this does is gives the painting an all over colour or harmony as the initial painting is being done. The other reason I will tone with acrylic paint is you can see the colours better when you paint on a toned canvas than a white canvas. Another way I may use acrylic paints is after the toned colour is dry, I will paint an under painting with acrylic paint. Then go over that with oils where needed. I like the versatility of acrylic paint in the fact that it dries quickly and easy to clean up. No solvent smell as you use water to thin the paint and clean brushes with. Sometimes I feel a little pressured to hurry up due to the fast drying time and I like to take my time when I paint. But you can add a retarder medium to slow the drying time on acrylic paints if needed. So if you haven't tried acrylic paints I recommend you try them and see what they are like. Acrylic paint works great with oils as an under tone or under painting.

Cold Winter Weather

I just wanted to post about the winter weather here in Australia. The studio I have now is located out in a shed and is very cold in the winter. I have a small heater out there but it is still very cold. The studio I had before in our other house was located inside the house so I never worried about the weather because it didn't affect me. So I will have to wait awhile to work in my studio until the weather warms up to a more comfortable temperature to be able to paint in my studio. We have been getting alot of rain too which I was told was way more than they usually get in addition to the cold temperatures. I understand the temperature should start to warm up in September. I am looking forward to the warmer weather then I can work on my paintings again.