Stop doing this when painting

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1) Do not overload your brush.

If the paint is dripping from the tip of your brush, it is too much.

It will make a wet blob that can be challenging to fix, especially if it is a darker color or we let it dry.

Here is how you should be loading your flat brush:

2) Do not start with details.

Basic rule painting with acrylics: start from background moving forward, from darker area to lighter, from general shapes to details and highlights as the last step.

3) Do not mix mud

Mixing sometimes seems to me to be a science but sometimes it is something straight out of Hogwarts.

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But the general rule to get mud (which we mostly don’t want) is to mix warm + cool color.

So to avoid it we shall mix colors of the same temperature.

(On a color wheel cool colors are on the right, warm - on the left, but also Red can have cool shades like Crimson, or green can be warmer, ex. Grass green)

4) Stop adding too much water

That’s something that causes blobs and dripping brushes, but sometimes it also dilutes the color too much and the paint can crack once dry.

It is especially true for pouring.

5) Do not let the paint and brushes harden

If you use acrylic paint, you should never let it dry on the brush or palette.

Unlike oils, gouache, or watercolor, acrylic paint CAN NOT be rehydrated once it is rock dry.

Have you seen any of these mistakes in your work?

I had them all! But with thick/thin layers I do it on purpose as I paint abstract and there we break rules haha :)

Recent sales you can take advantage of:

• Blick Art Supplies have Liquitex Basics Acrylics on CLEARENCE sale (up to 65%)
• They also still have sale on their branded canvases (all sizes).

See you next week!