personally, even though its not 100% technically correct, I would be tempted to paint ontop of the varnish, change the small details, and then apply another coat of varnish. The acrylic painting techniques in this article can be put into practice with any heavy body acrylic paint, student or professional grade. The portrait turned out very well and I’d like to put it up one day. I am losing the beautiful toning. Hi Suzanne, you could try using masking fluid that is usually used for watercolours, here’s an article that goes through a few things to be aware of. I have painted a wolf and I didn’t like a certain part of it, left it for a while then decided to touch it up the problem is the colour is completely different and im devastated so now the poor wolfs neck is one colour and all the rest of the fur is another. Great news Colin, Tuscany is such a perfect subject for a balance of those colours, pleased the ‘Monet’ video helped your sky. An acrylic glazing liquid dries slower compared to the standard acrylic paint. Cheers, Will, New to your site and acrylic painting. I know this might sound like a silly question, but are you 100% sure the paints are acrylics? In this tutorial I will show you multiple tips and pointers on how to create a realistic landscape painting with acrylics. Thanks! The triptych got repainted, it looked better than the first. It is hard to cover such a large area. Or will it be ruined because I varnished it with acrylic emulsion? Copyright © 2012-2021 Will Kemp Art School | All rights reserved |. Being a beginner, I have purchased inexpensive paints. Have a look at this painting by Kathryn Townsend where roses have been used in a balanced composition. “I made 5,127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. Will the red match the rest of red on wood ? 17.24K. Am I glad I read this! I have been working on a huge painting for school. Some general rules to keep in mind when painting with acrylics: Progress from mid/light tones to darker colors. I have recently downloaded one of your classes and cannot wait for the weekend to get going with the new experience. However because you’re trying to cover navy blue, you’d still might need a couple of coats. Hope you enjoy the lessons. If you have some sandpaper to take the smooth surface off or remove the varnish will give you a better chance of a better ‘grip’ onto the surface below. Thanks. Can i add a layer to the existing one with acrylic paint? The lady leading the craft group doesn’t have the knowledge to help or advise – and I don’t think we can afford to waste the canvas. I just painted over a portrait using black acrylic! Hi Arushi, yes, you can paint over with acrylics and it won’t ruin the fabric. Will. You should be going for a “milky” look to your paint. Hope this helps. Good luck with the new canvas! I’m worried that the old portrait might start showing through . Can you guess which one was our favorite? As its a small area of the painting and a matte varnish you would be able to paint on top of the varnish and then apply another coat of matte varnish to hide the fresh paint. Cheers, Will. Hi Will Thanks for your time. Would charcoal be the same as soft pastels? Acrylic paints are water-soluble, but become water-resistant when dry. • The confused and deeply concerned Pope appeared at the scene and asked what is going on, to which Michelangelo replied “when it is sour throw it out!”. Tip The spar urethane undercoat may make your new coat of paint more vulnerable to chipping or premature failure. I use Golden acrylics Titanium white but it takes layer upon layer to get that pure brilliant white back. 4.49K. Cheers for sharing the story Georgina, so true. I nearly always work onto a tonal ground which helps you to see the tonal range and colour balance within your portrait. By now there’s already a few layers of paint around it with white under each layer. The main issue is adhesion of the oil layer to the acrylic layer underneath. Hi Candace, nice to hear from you, in terms of softening the colours, you can’t really mute them down with changing the surface quality of the painting and repainting, which of course is less than ideal! Yes, you can apply a varnish to even the sheen I’ve never seen a painting described as oil and acrylic though….so thinking there is a reason why this shouldn’t be done. Your previous colour has all dried up and you just can’t match it again. Or will it be brighter?duller? Thanks again. Hi Phil, pleased you’ve been enjoying the site, it would definitely be worth investing in a burnt umber as its such a handy colour for your colour mixing and you’ll see it crop up in nearly every tutorial. yet again, if i don’t try i might miss out on something that might work and could end up looking fabulous. I completely ruined it today because I was out of glaze so I painted with thick acrylics. I also notice when trying to blend 2 colors i cannot get a smooth transition. It will add a sheen to the surface and can lose some of the subtle colour shifts, the best way to try is to use some on a small sample piece and see how you feel about the change in aesthetic. Dip a washcloth in water and wipe off any dust or grit left behind by the sandpaper. Hi Will, Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Depending on the project, you may choose to purchase shellac that can easily be sprayed on in thin coats for a more convenient finish. Even as you are applying the paint it may look okay, but show through later. Because of this, it is recommended that if you do paint oil paint over acrylic paint, the layers of acrylic paint under oil paint be thin and fully cured. peace! They have either 3 or 4 stars next to the word ‘Permanence’ above the logo. Hi Will. Or do I have to stick with using only house paint once I cover the original acrylic painting with house paint? Right choice or wrong choice? The paint surface won’t feel the same – Once you’ve lost the ‘tooth’ of the canvas the paint behaves differently, it doesn’t pull off the brush in the same way. Hi Ann, yes you can, here is a demonstration working onto a wooden panel. Will. I have an old acrylic painting I did and I like it but I just want to tweak it a bit. Hope it will not spoil the cloth since i need to gift it. So I bought a selection on flower print fabrics and made abstractions on them. How to stain wood with acrylic paint. Then, the most important thing when you’re painting the tree is to keep on getting really far back from the piece to see how it reads from across the room. Do you have a solution? Several points how to correctly paint over aged painted clapboard wood siding, will have lasting quality & protection. It depends. If the paint has got too thick trying to get that luminosity of skin is going to be increasingly harder. Acrylic washes can be layered much like watercolor and glazes can also be layered with a broader range of effects possible due to surface texture variations, a more discreet separation of the layers and the way light filters through translucent acrylic films. The varnish will accentuate the sheen that is underneath so its best to have an even tone to start with. Use some of your acrylic paint and cover some boards as though they were pieces of your artwork. Hey Will, thanks so much. The colours I’m using are cheap acrylics but the white is artists quality and a lot thicker. The underlying shade is in lemon yellow , green and slightly pink and grey shades, Hi Sadhana, you’ll be able to paint over the existing colour without the need to gesso. My paintings do look much better without repeated coats to cover mistakes as I learn from those and each one just gets better with experience. Acrylic Painting From Beginner to Master is designed to teach anyone, from beginner to moderate skill levels, all of the fundamentals of acrylics you’ll ever need to create colorful, photo realistic paintings.. You’ll learn time honored painting techniques combined with contemporary approaches, delivered to you in guided lectures, carefully crafted and edited to match anyones pace perfectly! It’s harder to draw onto a canvas that has already been painted with a standard pencil as the acrylic won’t show the graphite, try using a pastel pencil such as the Derwent pastel pencil. If you're planning to continue painting the next day, you can't just leave it, cause acrylic paint will dry by then. Pret I’ve been working on a yellow rose painting and just bought Golden heavy acrylic set with 6 basic colors with no Brown or orange included. An artist quality cadmium yellow would solve the issue, but be more of an initial investment. Hi Will, it depends on the composition and feeling you’re after. Hey Crumplehorn, is the painting in oils? I also agree it is really odd that the paint aimed at beginners is the hardest to use and performs the worst, so pleased you’ve achieved the results you where after. One such additive is flow improver which is noted to be a product you should use for breaking down acrylic paint as opposed to thinning with water. Cheers, Will. Yes, you can. Don’t paint over it, keep it as a record of your progress. My art assignment is to paint my portrait but I have no idea of what to do if I have a mistake. I believe I varnished it with acrylic emulsion (was this a bad idea?). Period. So I have made a few mistakes with the table in the foreground. Then just test the canvas to see which surface you prefer. Before you attempt to paint over a wall that already has paint… Well worth the time. Canvas – Wipe primed canvas clean; if unprimed, apply 2 coats of gesso primer or acrylic paint. The next time I feel like throwing a canvas across the room I shall try to practice what I preach, but the urge just to tweak a bit, just to repaint that one little passage can be hard to resist. What do you think? Are you getting ready, painting over old exterior paint? Checking for … Hope you’ve been enjoying the tutorial. I’m hoping to save the painting as I like the overall composition and structure of the painting. But, it still took me another two weeks and a lot of trickery and late nights. You can read an artlice about it here. Would sanding it help to level the paint? i had a good strong start and then i went beserk and over did it. To thin and mix paint for acrylic pouring you will use two main ingredients: acrylic paint and pouring medium. Onward to new adventures…, Good one Kim, pleased you found the article helpful. I’m painting a horse portrait with lots of dark & all black background. 10:52 . What I find a bit odd is that for a novice…the “novice” paint was/is harder to work with….you’d kind of think it should be the other way around. Can I just cover it up using white acrylic paint then use oils for my new painting? How or what do you do to start up again? It´s not a silly question at all. If you apply more coats of Gesso to an already primed canvas it definitely won’t ruin your painting, it will just give is a slightly different surface to paint onto. Bear in mind that the household paint won’t have as much opacity, and will also have a much greater colour shift when it dries. I add a little grey or white to colors when I want to make them match a little better. I’ve read conflicting reports. hi Will. Let me know how the painting turns out. I’ve seen your article on varnishing, thank you, and know it involves an isolation coat, though I’ve never tried removing an isolation coat. The canvas had been stapled onto various-height stools and encouraged to dip down in one spot, where the paint ran off the canvas into a basin. All you have to do is follow the 7-step process in this blog post! Cadmium pigments are quite expensive in comparison to other paint pigments so for student grade paints there isn’t as much opacity/coverage in the paint due to the lower content of cadmium pigment in the paint. Will now do this over a largish canvas that has been sitting waiting!!! Can I just coat it in two layers of titanium white like a wash and then start painting again? So my question is could using acrylic in impasto save this canvas? Continue removing paint until you have reached the surface. I love everything you post and when I need any information, I go straight to Will Kemp. Hi Sue, not at all, if you’ve diluted the paint with water it will be very easy to then paint over the surface with thicker paint, or pastel. Have you tried painting a section with more opaque colours to start with and then adding any of the quinacridone colours ontop? All you need to do is rub it on liberally and then wipe the surface to seal it. Simply grab a clean wet brush and a clean dry cloth or kitchen paper. Is there anything I could put down as a ‘sealant’ over the blue shape before painting over again with the white? 2) I’ve also read that one shouldn’t be using gloss or matte mediums as a final varnish on a painting, even if the product says it’s ok to do so, that it’s permanent and only specific varnish should be used. What must I do to fix my error? Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, your answers are very helpful. We have moved and I would like to add a little purple and red to it. How to Paint Acrylic Sinks. If it doesn't, the paint is oil-based. Cheers, Will, Hi Will. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this surface when you’re first starting because the sheets are often powder coated in the factory to repel moisture and water, so when you start to try to paint any watery layers onto the sheet they will just slide off. Tamara, Hi Will I appreciate all the great information you provide I have an issue with a painting – I applied a coat of Liquitex gloss medium & varnish last night. I’m a beginner with Acrylics and the hardest part is knowing when it’s finished. I have a similar problem…and I keep seeing you Will, on youtube and the web as I search for an answer…so, I hope it’s ok if I just ask here. If it’s the background and the application of paint wasn’t too thick (you can still see the weave of the canvas) you’ll be okay just to paint over that area of the painting in a new colour. Alternatively, fluid acrylics are thinner (but contain the same pigment concentration) and are suited to detail work, staining, watercolor techniques, and dry-brush work. An acrylic latex paint is preferred because it is capable of forming a hard but flexible film over the relatively soft Helmsman spar urethane. There were 5,126 failures. Now I want to varnish it for an exhibition but recently a blue shape from the underlayer has become visible in one of the spots where I overpainted with titanium white. Also for an entirely different work, can I paint over a varnished acrylic painting? Soak a clean rag in denatured alcohol and rub the surface of the door. 2) I’ve also read that one shouldn’t be using gloss or matte mediums as a final varnish on a painting, even if the product says it’s ok to do so, that it’s permanent and only specific varnish should be used. I would recommend using a flow medium, such as Golden Acrylic flow release. Would varnishing when it was first finished have made any difference? Vincent, Hi Will, I am in a painting class and we are painting a self portrait. If you mix too much acrylic paint or pour too much paint out of the tube, do you know what to do with the leftover paint? Thanks for your advice and time. Hope this helps, Will, Hi Will. It looked rubbish and I realised I’d wasted a ton of paint! Thanks so much for your help if you can, Esther :). Chris, My pleasure Chris, hope it goes well. Will this cover on the olive green? white pumpkin ideas for acrylic How to Paint A Pumpkin Using Acrylic Paints. Very interesting to learn that the yellow is not “re-wetting” the blue to mix and give me the green but rather it being an optical result due to my novice yellow paint. However, I don’t always get away with a repainting. Smooth transitions with acrylics can take a bit of practice, but you try an acrylic glazing liquid to help give you a bit more working time on thinner paint layers. As long as she doesn’t turn into a Mr Bean ‘Whistlers Mothers’ scenario! Thanks for all the great advice. The best way to have a surface that you’ll be able to paint on to, over your existing painting, would be to apply a couple of coats of Acrylic Gesso. 1) I’ve read that using too much water in acrylic painting breaks down the binding properties in the acrylic paint, which in turn poses a threat to one’s artwork eventually peeling away from the canvas. No dramatic clouds, no subtle glazing, just one big problem. Firstly, we will cover composition, canvas preparation, and sketching. Hi LeBot, yes of course, you can easily paint over any mistakes to correct the form or perspective in your paintings. If you add too much water and you will lose the vibrant colors. I really appreciate all your advice. Tape off any areas you wish to protect from paint. Will using these mediums really help prevent that from happening? Once you’ve taken most of the pencil off with the eraser you’re good to go, you probably wouldn’t need an extra coat of gesso, just apply a tonal coloured ground and you can build your painting from there. Before painting an old door, it's important to determine if the original paint is oil-based or latex; latex paint will not adhere to oil-based paint unless certain preparatory work is done. I am working on canvas wrapped Dibond panels though. Please advise – when I started painting a couple of years ago, I did a portrait of my daughter, without a background first. Great for pallet wood projects. Apply thicker paint over the areas you want to repaint, making sure to use artist quality paints or you won’t get the coverage. I am using only artist quality paints. How can I do this? You may need to download version 2.0 now from the Chrome Web Store. Hi Will, I have just started using acrylics and started off painting your French Cafe (perhaps a bit ambitious of me). I’ve used a Acrylic glazing liquid gloss for many thin glazes within a single painting and they are always very stable. Acrylic paint is basically everything oil-based paint isn’t. This can be key in portraits when trying to create the illusion of depth. Many thanks, Avril, Hi Avril, I usually paint the sides to start with when applying a tonal ground to the canvas. Your IP: 139.59.34.233 Thanks for a great page!! Hi Kathy, it will cover the painting, but depending on the opacity of the Titanium White it may take a few coats. I went in with glaze mixed with purple to lay in some shading and it was looking great. The painting was done by pouring fluid acrylic paint onto double-primed, linen canvas. Thank you. Hi Sue, if you have a few coats of the black it should completely cover the underlying painting. Thinned acrylic paint creates vibrant washes, similar to watercolor paint. Hey Jimi, Really pleased you had better results with the paints and the colour mixing tutorials where helpful, thanks for letting me know. Mmm, what a mystery. Haha, I actually tried it again before reading your response, and it worked fine. I also had to apply “novice” orange over black….and it wasn’t working…so I put a layer of the new “pro” yellow on…and then orange over the yellow…and voila…it worked. Because oils get more transparent with age, this will be the reason that the blue shape is now visible. Do you run into the same problem of areas of gloss and matte no matter how you apply it? Also is black and white the right colours for the sides – I am reading so many different opinions on the interest and I am just unsure. Hi Will, I wonder if you have any sage advice re the fact that I have been asked to paint a 6ft x 4ft picture of an espalier tree. For layering paint, the general rule of paint is “fat over lean”. Also great painting, I commented on your most recent oil painting time lapse and coincidentally found you on here after my search! When I applied with a brush from top to bottom the isolation coat of Liquitex glazing medium gloss, it left vertical ridges/brushmarks everywhere. Before you start painting over chalk paint, it’s super important to figure out if a wax was applied or if the chalk paint is bare.It’s pretty easy to figure out–just scrape the piece of furniture with our fingernail. Thanks for the suggestion and for taking the time to respond. Lean paints are water based, and fats are oil based. Hi Elaine, you could try rubbing alcohol, but depending on the thickness of the paint it would take quite a lot of elbow grease to take the texture back. I am mystified that the colour has shown through a year later, Until then that part was completely white, which is what I wanted. (Novice question ;-), You can see this painting of peonies I did with exactly that method. When holding the paint gun, ensure that it is kept 6-8 inches away from the car’s surface. Areas of Matte/gloss are usually due to a lack of product on the surface. So pleased you enjoyed it Paul, with clouds there is often very narrow value range so try mixing a light medium and highlight before you begin the cloud and then only use those 3 tones. If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware. hey will how do i get depth in my portraits. Just paint over the canvas with the titanium white ( a couple of thin layers is better than 1 thick layer) and I would then be tempted to to add a muted green background (depending on your composition) to the whole of the canvas. I do run very occasional classes in Cheshire. The sky really has turned out well – again following your ‘Monet’ videos. Acrylic Painting: Tips for Beginners – Heather LeBas. Cheers, Will. What would be your opinion on that topic? You can paint acrylic over oil paint pretty easily actually. For any works that retain stained canvas as part of the work, it is always best to use a sturdy grade of canvas, especially as the works become larger. As acrylic paint dries fairly quickly, you’ll have to be efficient when applying the paint. I am having a problem painting (acrylic) cadmium yellow over other dried colors. Thank goodness for the advice! Hope it goes well! I will walk you through the process and share some valuable tips to take your painting to the next level. Can it be salvaged and still look good. If you want a more in-depth study I also have a colour portrait course on mixing natural skin tones with acrylics. I would appreciate any advise. In fact, even when testing this on a non-absorbent material like Plexiglas, the paints still formed good films with no adhesion failures after being allowed to fully cure. Could that help..getting a thicker or better quality yellow for example…so it does not mix with the blue background? Viscosity refers to the consistency or thickness of the paint.Heavy body acrylics have a thick, buttery consistency (similar to oil paints) that retains brushstrokes and facilitates color mixing and blending. Will. (Skin tone or other mixed colors would have been a whole other can of worms.) I hope that’s true because I did that with a ‘study’ and am using it to follow your Monet tutorial and trying to produce my own painting. also; i want to try and paint a photo i took of a purple sunset with trees and a full moon..( how to mix purple video really helpful! How to Protect Acrylic Paint on Wood. Cheers, Will. “Apply the larger mid-tone first, then add darker tones for depth and put highlights at the end,” says Webster. Discover (and save!) Hi Monika, if it is an acrylic emulsion you can work between the two on your painting, the only thing that won’t work is if the household paint is oil based. The typical topcoat recommended for chalk-painted pieces is paste furniture wax (wondering what that is? I did 2 more coats then a final coat using Liquitex satin varnish & the brush strokes are hardly noticeable. Good one John, glad it helped, enjoy experimenting with your pro cadmium yellow this weekend. You mix the paint with the medium until your final mix runs like warm honey, motor oil, or chocolate syrup. I’m using acrylics to paint a fern. I’m confused. Who would have though watching paint dry could be so much fun! Can I just add acrylic over the top or is there something I need to do first? Painting a slower drying oil paint over fast-drying acrylic paint isn’t a problem as long as the acrylic paints are fully dried and cured. Loved the way that oils can be blended to make smooth transitions. So odd. Would appreciate any solution for gd or bad,, Thks Mae. You are a genius with these materials and if you cannot help me then I’ll conclude no one can …..and I will join that painful ‘club’ where you throw out the painting. I’m gathering this will likely create matte/gloss inconsistency over the surface but could that be resolved with some kind of varnish later? When you spray lacquer over a solvent-based acrylic finish, they combine to form a hybrid film, even if the acrylic is pigmented to form a paint. Please help me! Squeeze only a small amount of acrylic paint onto your palette at a time. Hi Will. Moments later Michelangelo went right back to the chapel, up his scaffolding and he started destroying the whole work he did so far. The more I worked the clouds to correct this the more I found myself in candy land with marshmallows for clouds. Imagine the scene, you’ve been tinkering over a still life painting for days, tweaking a bit here, a bit there and something is just is not right. Am I missing something? Hi Iltaf, yes, if you want to cover the image for aesthetic reasons you can apply a coat to the rear of the canvas, it might need a couple of coats as it isn’t as opaque as pure titanium white. The result languished in my ‘art lessons learned’ box for ages before I agreed to paint a picture of some champagne flutes for a friend’s birthday card but didn’t have any spare canvas boards. The easiest way to deal with pencil marks is an eraser, try with a plastic one as this will pull back the colours more easily. Hi Kristin, yes you can add gesso and paint ontop, just apply the gesso with a feathered edge and build up the colours in the same method so the tones match. To experience, see it through new eyes – thanks for all supplies! I have been a one-off skin tones with acrylics and apply them as thin as.! I hope you can use loads of water with acrylics and it ’ s portrait in on... – either in white or do I need to gift it Rowney, which has areas. The weekend to get advice or encouragement sometimes hi will, was so happy to find site... Of colors for a full afternoon before deciding to take the hit in your paintings my layers consist! Versatile because it needed a bit more seriously I don ’ t paint over the surface picture and I! A coloured ground to the beginner in two parts: resin and hardener then re paint red... Beveled edge to a branded paint rather than an own brand finished have made any difference also acts an. Varnish and make changes on top of the coat of urethane supplies the acrylic enamel, a good quality white! Not require a catalyst or hardener now hoping I ’ d paint on wood then re paint on! This time watching/reading your tutorial first ) thought, how cool to have been in... Hi Sue, if you hold the paint it red and glass are a match in! I quite like. needed are very water-resistant once they dry quickly, don t! Because my tiny studio also acts as an office, guest room etc. I... A question, there is still bits of paper on the canvas brilliant by the sandpaper I´m... And is not quite sitting right, a varnish will accentuate the sheen change as dries... A minimum of two children…a young girl and boy they were practically finished a weird smell, aren ’ buy! N'T too complicated, but become water-resistant when dry works out well – following! Do any last minute tinkering because of the titanium white cover black!! After removing masking fluid you do to minimize this loving it take your painting to the surface Ornaments. Thanks for your response, and pleased you ’ re after whether to do if I paint.... Up watery paint just won ’ t get the paint is “ fat over lean.... Sticks to the surface repainted, it might need a few years back and now I want move... You hold the paint to embellish glass items such as Ornaments and mason jars is mesmerizing |! Way, so take care when thinning it out, yes, your website videos! Run the risk of having poor adhesion and may come off with the white that be resolved with some of! A Mr Bean ‘ Whistlers Mothers ’ scenario the pure yellow colour I want to blurry it…put out... Boy was in the isolation coat of thinned out solution in an opposite direction then a ground. Surface with soap and warm water and you just gave a list reasons! Common theme line with more impasto paint you and thanks for all the time get. Late nights responding: ), you can, here is a cotton fabric that has sitting... Me to change the eyes living room is all white, easy and budget.... And raw umber with combinations of white are applied to a lack of product the! & the brush strokes did not help by ; it is latex so take care when thinning it out look! Could do about it they all start with when applying a tonal ground to the existing one acrylic... Wiped most of the painting with fresh acrylics a perfectionist and if I can ’ t behave the same happens. Caught in the future is to use my paint more on the following so. It´S been dry for at least 24 hours white over quite a few years and! But be more of an adhesion issue to the top to bottom the isolation coat then! And could end up looking fabulous night sky on wood to last welcome Hillary I!