Painting #25: Mixing tints and shades to achieve effects of light and shadow. - Red Poppy

Composition Source:

"Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 Small Paintings" by Mark Daniel Nelson; 

5 step-by-step directions with photos to guide you.

Exercise 10: Mixing tints and shades to achieve effects of light and shadow.
In this exercise, mixing tints and shades of Cadmium Red Medium.

Step 5:   Finished artwork:

• The last step was to unify the colours further by applying an almost transparent glaze of Cadmium Red Medium with a tiny bit of acrylic painting medium.  

Step 4:  In Progress work:

• Re-draw inside lines to indicate petals 
• Mix Cadmium Red Medium with a tiny touch of Mars Black for the shadowed areas.  Add more black to paint the centre. Mix the with Red with Titanium white for the lighter areas.

 
 Step 3:  

• Fill the inside of the poppy with Cadmium Red Medium; leaving the centre clear.

Step 2: 

• I decided to go with a more colourful background - could be reflections on water and out-of-focus plants in the background. 

•  Under-paint background in a warm beige/peach leaving the poppy area unpainted.  This is the background suggested in the instructions.  

Step 1: Drawing on tracing paper and then transferred to the canvas using graphite transfer paper.

Size:  ~ 6" x 6" 

Paints: acrylics
Liquitex Basics:titanium white, unbleached titanium, Cadmium Yellow Light
Grumbacher Academy : Cadmium Red Medium
Leftover mixed painted in a dark gray and a peach shade.
Acrylic Painting Medium, gloss

Brushes & Tools:

• Round: #6, 8, 10. 12 
• plastic palette knife for mixing paint,
• Materson Sta-Wet Palette  & Paint brush water tub  

Surface or Support:  

• Mont Marte brand.  Medium-heavy canvas sheets, cut to size. No buckling or warping.

Painting #24: Simple Reflections: Sailboat

Composition Source:

Exercise 9:  Simple Reflections:  Sailboat

"Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 Small Paintings" by Mark Daniel Nelson; 

5 step-by-step directions with photos to guide you.

Finished artwork:

Drawing:

Size:  ~ 6" x 6" 

Paints: acrylics
Liquitex Basics:  Mars Black, Titanium White,, Unbleached Titanium
Amsterdam: Burnt Sienna, Cerulean Blue, Colbalt Blue 

Brushes & Tools:

• Princeton Select, level 2:  Rounds - #1, #4, #6, #8
• plastic palette knife for mixing paint,
• plastic ruler for paint straight edges
• Triangle ruler for squaring
• Materson Sta-Wet Palette
• Paint brush Cleaner 
• Flexible Curve Ruler for drawing & painting curved edges

Surface or Support:

• Mont Marte brand.  Medium-heavy canvas sheets, cut to size. No buckling or warping.

Painting #23: Understanding light, shadow, and planes: Cardboard box

Composition Source:

Exercise 8: Understanding light, shadow, and planes:   Cardboard box

"Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 Small Paintings" by Mark Daniel Nelson; 

5 step-by-step directions with photos to guide you.

Finished artwork:

In Progress work:

Size:  ~ 6" x 6"

Paints: acrylics

• Liquitex Basics: Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Orange Hue, Unbleached Titanium
• Amsterdam: Burnt Umber, 
• Artists' Loft:  Yellow Ochre

Brushes & Tools:

•  student #8 round, #8 flat
• plastic palette knife for mixing paint,
• plastic ruler for painting straight edges
• Triangle ruler for squaring
• Materson Sta-Wet Palette - wet cellulose sponge topped with a (disposable) moist permeable palette paper that keeps acrylic paints moist for hours.   When the lid is closed, the paints stay moist for days.
• Paint brush Cleaner - water tub with brush holder

Surface or Support:  

• Mont Marte brand.  Medium-heavy canvas sheets, cut to size. No buckling or warping.

Painting #22: Introduction to values: Misty Mountains

Composition Source:

Exercise 7  : Introduction to values:  Misty Mountains

"Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 Small Paintings"

by Mark Daniel Nelson; 

5 step-by-step directions with photos to guide you.

Finished artwork:

Sketch:

Transfered to painting canvas using transfer paper (similar to carbon paper)

Painting outline with paint pens; followed by erasing the transfer paper marks.

Attempt #1, tossed out:

Size:  ~ 6" x 6"


Paints: acrylics

Brushes:

• #10 round, #6 round, synthetic 

Surface or Support:  

• Mont Marte brand.  Medium-heavy canvas sheets, cut to size. No buckling or warping.

Painting #21: Applying a simple glaze: Bread and butter

Composition Source:
Exercise 6:    Applying a simple glaze:  Bread and butter
"Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 Small Paintings" by Mark Daniel Nelson;  5 step-by-step directions with photos to guide you.

finished artwork:

Underpainting - background:

Size:  

~ 6" x 6" 


Paints: acrylics

• unbleached titanium, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, titanium white, mars black, cadmium yellow light.  

Brushes:

• #10 round, synthetic 
• 3/4" angular "Royal & Langnickel zen, level 2 brush - for background painting

Surface or Support:  

• Mont Marte brand.  Medium-heavy canvas sheets, cut to size. No buckling or warping.

Painting #20: Using the white of the canvas: Rowing Boat

Composition Source:
Exercise 5:  Using the white of the canvas:  Rowing Boat
"Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 Small Paintings" by Mark Daniel Nelson;  5 step-by-step directions with photos to guide you.

finished artwork:

Size:  6"x 6"

Paints: acrylics

• Yellow Ochre, Mars Black, Titanium White, Unbleached Titanium,
• Cadmium Yellow Light, Colbalt Blue.  

Brushes:

• #8 round, synthetic, #8 flat, synthetic, 3/8" deerfoot brush

• 1/2" Artist's Loft Marseille Wisp Flat Brush 

Surface or Support:  

• Mont Marte brand.  Medium-heavy canvas sheets, cut to size. No buckling or warping.

Painting #19: Simple gradations: Deep Blue Sea

Composition Source:
Exercise 4:  Simple gradations:  Deep Blue Sea
"Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 Small Paintings" by Mark Daniel Nelson;  5 step-by-step directions with photos to guide you.

finished artwork after I played a bit more with the waves, a few times:

finished art for exercise:

Size:  ~ 5.5" X 5.5"


Paints: acrylics

• Yellow Ochre, unbleached titanium, light blue permanent, titanium white, cobalt blue.

Brushes:

• #10 round, white synthetic by Artist's Loft, student grade
• I decided to add a special effect with a dish brush - a few bristles dipped into "raw sienna" coloured paint to add tiny grains of sand to beach

• the white synthetic round brush retained a slight blue stain after cleaning; so I'm soaking in Murphy Oil Soap as this is supposed to work wonders.  

Surface or Support:  

• Mont Marte brand.  Nice medium-heavy canvas sheets, cut to size. No buckling or warping.  I'll be going with this for these exercises.  The surface has lots of texture, so  next time I'll try a coat or two of underpainting to smooth it out a bit. 

Painting #18: Basic Colour Mixing Lesson: Pasture Scene

Composition Source:
Exercise 3. Basic Colour Mixing Lesson:  Pasture Scene
"Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 Small Paintings" by Mark Daniel Nelson;  5 step-by-step directions with photos to guide you.

finished artwork:

Size:  ~ 6x 7 inches


Paints: acrylics

• All the colours had to be mixed for this lesson.  The most interesting was Cadmium Yellow Light Hue with a touch of Mars Black to make the dark shadow "green" on the trees in the foreground.  
• Liquitex basics level:  Titanium White, Mars Black, Cadmium Yellow Light Hue
• Amsterdam: Ultramarine Blue
• Michaels Artist Loft: Yellow Ochre, Unbleached Titanium

Brushes:

• the instructions suggest a #8 round; but I chose to use a few more.
• all are student grade for acrylics
• #8 round,  #8 flat,  Taklon bristles by Walter Foster. These work well.
• Craftsmart Premium Brushes with professional grade multi-diameter synthetic filaments.... for a couple of special effects that I thought would add interest. (It is difficult to just follow the instructions given.)
•              Fan Wisp brush to mark in some grasses.   
•              Deerfoot brush to stump in a pale bluish-purple on the distant hills. 

Surface or Support:  

• I used artists' masking tape to affix the 6" x 8" paper to a wooden clipboard support, but it still buckled when paint was applied and after it dried.  It is almost flattened now after a day of weighted pressing.  After using this brand of "low tack" masking tape a few times, I'm pleased that it doesn't take off a few layers of paper when you remove the tape.  

• Strathmore Mixed Media paper pad,  6 in. x 8 in., vellum surface, 140 lb., 
• 400 series / best
• for wet & dry medium