Step by step instructions.

Learn to create effortless works of art using step-by-step painting techniques that require minimal time and only the most basic supplies. Designed for absolute beginners, Brushstrokes: Acrylic uses large brushstrokes and thick, creamy paint to help budding artists create bright, dynamic paintings in practically no time at all. After a quick overview of the basic tools and materials—including surfaces, brushes, and paints—and a brief introduction to choosing and mixing colors, Brushstrokes: Acrylic demonstrates how to use just a few thick brushstrokes to create works of art in a bold, effortless style. From vibrant birds and florals to charming animal portraits and still life, follow along with these step-by-step projects to create quick-and-easy masterpieces—a perfect formula for artists just getting started. Brushstrokes: Acrylic provides a unique introduction to acrylic painting, from choosing the right brushes and paints to creating inspired works of art using easy painting techniques—no experience required.

Paint 16 scenes that conjure the romance of the sea Seagulls cawing, the meeting of sky and sea, the hypnotic ebb and flow of waves breaking on the shore—it's no wonder artists are drawn to the magic of the sea. Jacqueline Penney has lived near the water and been inspired by its many moods for over 30 years. In this book, she shares her favorite techniques and expert tricks for capturing the atmosphere and romance of the ocean in acrylics. • 16 gorgeous painting projects—from beautiful sunrises and a romantic walk along the beach, to scenes featuring lobster boats and lighthouses • Step-by-step instruction for painting a wide range of seascape elements including waves, skies, sand dunes, reflections, driftwood, grasses, rocks, sailboats, fishing shacks and more • Techniques for painting pebbly beaches, ocean spray, weather-worn rocks and other realistic textures • Creative variations to explore, including two-piece artworks, painting with a palette knife and moonlit scenes Complete with a gallery of finished paintings that deliver waves of inspiration to water-loving artists of every skill level.

Make Your Mark with Confident, Dramatic Strokes Imagine painting with the virtuosity of the masters. With Bold Strokes, you can learn how, step by step. Beloved artist and teacher Mark Christopher Weber takes this seemingly complex manner of painting and breaks it down into simple, manageable steps that you can apply to your own style. He starts with the very basics so you can achieve success no matter what your skill level. Full-color photos and numbered steps illustrate in-depth instruction covering: Tools and Materials: everything you need from brushes to paint, including a section highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of both oils and acrylics Brushwork Basics: learn the mechanics of shaping brushes, loading paint and applying strokes for loose and expressive brushwork The Bold Challenge: use five basic strokes to manipulate thick paint and limit the number of overall strokes for heightened dramatic effect Mark provides many engaging ways to practice these basic strokes and brushwork techniques. Next, he helps you develop your new skills as you apply them to a series of step-by-step demonstrations. You'll deepen your understanding of: Drawing and Measuring: get a quick primer of these essential skills, plus new methods for using them to achieve bold strokes in every composition The Power of Suggestion: learn to identify the primary elements of your subjects so you can reduce every composition to its essential focus and place bold strokes in the most effective places Practice and Perfection: apply what you've learned to a range of compositions in both oils and acrylics, including landscapes, flowers, animals, portraits, figures and more so you can go forward in your own style with new vision and skill Every nuance is revealed in glowing detail. In no time, you'll use Bold Strokes to create a sense of motion, capture dazzling highlights, deliver emotional impact, produce lively color variations, and much more.

Enjoy the scenery with fast and fun landscape painting! A summer sunset, a bubbling brook, a sea of golden wildflowers like nature itself, landscape painting doesn't have to be complicated to be beautiful. In this beginner-friendly guide, Lee Hammond shows you how to use a handful of colors, a simple three-step approach, and the friendly medium of acrylic to create charming landscapes throughout the seasons. • Step-by-step instructions for painting favorite landscape elements—skies, trees, grasses, mountains, water and more—provide endless mix-and-match possibilities. • 16 paint-along landscape projects can be completed quickly, using no more than 8 colors each. • Basic brushwork techniques, easy-to-learn painting methods, and lots of step-by-step instruction get beginners painting fast. One of the most popular art instruction authors out there with 20+ years of experience, Lee Hammond shares tried-and-true secrets for achieving a sense of distance, evoking mood, painting realistic textures, and much more—everything you need to turn any moment in nature into a personal work of art.

Acrylics are a versatile and exciting medium, but how can you get the most from these paints? This book shows you how. With step-by-step examples, it explains the core brush skills for a beginner. For those with more experience, it introduces a range of techniques so you can learn, for example, how to blend your colours, use transparent washes to create tones, and paint multiple layers of thick and thin textures to give your work subtlety. The paints are so forgiving that there are no rules, just opportunities to have fun and experiment with their great potential. There are eleven classic paint techniques featured. With Ian's clear instruction, this book guides you through the principles of handling the paint, which can be applied to any style of painting, however loose, expressive or abstract it may be. With focus on brush skills to achieve a range of styles and finishes and a range of examples, including people, still life, abstract and animals this clear, instructional guide will be of interest to artists wanting to learn acrylics, and those interested in graphic design, commercial illustration and natural history. Beautifully illustrated with 127 colour images.

Learn all you need to know about acrylic painting as you create 50 stunning mini paintings. Following an overview of painting fundamentals, illustrated step-by-step instructions accompanied by lessons on specific techniques lead your way. This unique book is a complete course in acrylic painting, built up from key techniques. As you progress through the sections of the book, the author demonstrates each technique with the creation of a mini painting, measuring 5-inches squared. So by the time you have worked right through to the end, you will have an amazing collection of 50 mini paintings—on board, paper, or canvas—that will be a testament to your skill and creativity. The subject matter for these squares varies from abstracts and simple color-mixing exercises, through to figurative subjects: a flower, a sunset, a busy street scene—and many more. These can be mounted, exhibited, or simply collected in a portfolio, or given away as gifts for friends to cherish. If you are coming to acrylics for the first time, or keen to improve your skills and sometimes daunted by the thought of filling a large empty canvas or blank piece of board, this is your ideal guide. Instead, it will free you from creative hang-ups and replace them with an addictive desire to create that next 5-inch square!

Adopt a spontaneous, bold, and fearless approach to painting as a process of discovery—one that results in lush and colorful finished works that will beg to be displayed. This inspiring and encouraging book for both novice and experienced painters teaches how to create colorful, exciting, expressive paintings through a variety of techniques, combining basic, practical painting principles with innovative personal self-expression. Flora S. Bowley's fun and forgiving approach to painting is based on the notion that “You don't begin with a preconceived painting in mind; you allow the painting to unfold.” Illustrating how to work in layers, Flora gives you the freedom to cover up, re-start, wipe away, and change courses many times along the way. Unexpected and unique compositions, color combinations, and subject matter appear as you allow your paintings to emerge in an organic, unplanned way while working from a place of curiosity and letting go of fear. —Learn techniques for working with vibrant color and avoiding mud. —Make rich and varied marks with a variety of unexpected tools. —Break compositional rules. —Embrace nonattachment as a way to keep exploring. —Keep momentum by moving your body and staying positive. —Work with what's working to let go of struggle. —Connect more deeply to the world around you to stay inspired. —Embrace layers to create rich complex paintings. —Find rhythm by spiraling between chaos and order.

This new, sophisticated, comprehensive reference book will inspire and instruct painters on how to handle today's acrylics in innovative and individualistic ways. Acrylics have grown into the most adaptable art material for the modern age. Developments in the pigment industry have given acrylics a remarkably permanent, rich, and abundant palette, making it the favorite medium of many contemporary artists. As colors are being developed, their chemical components are also enhanced for better texture and handling. Art-supplies vendors now offer acrylic mediums for thinning, thickening, glazing, molding, pouring, texturing, and dozens of other uses. Even experienced acrylic painters can be confused—even intimidated—by this staggering diversity of products. Painter and art materials expert Rhéni Tauchid simplifies this daunting subject, clearly explaining each type of medium and suggesting ways it can enhance your painting practice. Over twenty step-by-step demonstrations teach you how to apply mediums to create vibrant colors, sensuous surfaces, and striking visual effects. Hundreds of beautiful photos illustrate mediums’ almost limitless potential and show you how other artists—both abstract and realist—are employing mediums to push their art in new creative directions. The first book of its kind, this essential reference belongs on every acrylic painter’s shelf. Includes the Work of Contemporary Masters: Nick Bantock, Diane Black, Bruno Capolongo, Pauline Conley, Marc Courtemanche, Marie-Claude Delcourt, Claire Desjardins, Marion Fischer, Heather Haynes, Lorena Kloosterboer, Suzy Lamont, Marie Lannoo, Connie Morris, Barry Oretsky, Lori Richards, Hester Simpson, Ksenia Sizaya, Rhéni Tauchid, Alice Teichert, Beth ten Hove, Sharlena Wood, and Heather Midori Yamada.

A comprehensive guide to artists, brushes, the hairs and bristles in use, styles, selection, evaluation, and care; with eighteen color plates and many line drawings.