CBSpicer Art

Acrylic Paints

Acrylic paints are enjoyable to work with because of their ease of use and great versatility.

When applied thin, acrylics behave much like watercolors, allowing us to apply delicate translucent glazes that enrich the layers beneath. When applied thick, acrylics behave much like oils, allowing us to blend directly on a surface and to create bold impasto textures.

But unlike watercolors, acrylics are permanent when dry and will not flow when rewetted. And unlike oils, acrylics are water-based and dry quickly. Therefore it is wise to work fast when blending on a surface, or to blend on the palette when more time is needed.

If you are new to acrylics, you may wish to experiment on a scrap surface before applying a technique to your painting.

Acrylic paints are available in tubes, jars, and bottles. They are also available in "artist" and "student" grades. I prefer tubes because they make it easy to apply the appropriate amount of paint directly to your palette. And I recommend artist-grade paints because they contain more pigment and less binder, allowing us to produce much richer effects.

Here are the colors that we'll use for this composition:

Apply the Midtone

The first layer of paint we apply is a translucent glaze of Unbleached Titanium to add a warm midtone value to our composition.

This midtone value sets the overall tone and temperature of the painting. It will also serve as a convenient reference point as we work to develop warmer/cooler and darker/lighter values later on.

To create a smooth glaze, we add only a little bit of water to the Unbleached Titanium to reduce its opacity. We then load a small amount of the mixture into a 3/4in filbert brush and apply a thin layer over the entire composition. We work in broad, horizontal strokes, starting with the top-left corner of the canvas. Each row is completed in a single stroke to prevent over-working any areas and smudging the graphite from our initial sketch.

The contours and shadows that we shaded with permanent marker should remain clearly visible through the midtone value.

If coverage appears a little thin after the first pass, we can wait for the initial glaze to dry and add another layer by repeating the same process. The desire is to create a meaningful base of color while allowing the sketch to continue to show through.

Here is the painting with the initial midtone applied:

Develop Contrast

Next, we develop contrast throughout the composition by adding a gradient to the sky and by roughing in some value for the background trees and foreground bushes. We will generally work from background to foreground, starting with loose forms and adding more detail as we proceed.

Before loading any paint into the brush, it is helpful to mask off the roofline of the cottage using masking tape. This will preserve the sharp edges and prevent unwanted paint from spilling over onto the roof. Liquid frisket may be used instead of tape if you prefer.

With the masking tape in place, we are ready to paint.

For this step, we add one color to our palette:

And one gradient:

Using the same 3/4in filbert brush from the previous step, we develop the sky with values from the Light-Blue-Violet-to-Unbleached-Titanium gradient. The sky should appear darker toward the top-left corner of the composition and lighter toward the treeline. We use broad strokes and work quickly to blend paint directly on the canvas.

This process adds more opacity to the sky, but we still want to ensure that a subtle impression of the initial sketch shows through, particularly the treeline and satellite antenna.

Next, we clean the brush and switch to an art sponge. We load it with a bit of the 50% Burnt Umber and 50% Hooker's Green mixture, then touch it to a dry paper towel to remove any excess paint. Using our reference image as a guide, we dab value onto the canvas to create the loose impression of trees and bushes.

At this stage, we're not concerned with matching colors precisely or rendering detail. We only want to create general form. Still we are conscious and purposeful with each dab of the sponge to indicate leaf clusters while allowing the sky to show through in appropriate areas. Feel free to rotate the sponge and use different faces and edges to produce a variety of shapes on the canvas.

When we are finished and the paint has dried, we remove the masking tape.

Here is the painting with the initial contrast developed:

Roof and Interior

The roof and the interior are the two areas of the cottage that produce the greatest contrast. To my eye, however, the reference photograph displays these areas in somewhat muted tones. I imagine a more dynamic and evocative piece where the roof is bathed in warm (yellowish) sunlight while the interior is cast in cool (bluish) shadows. So we want to ensure that our color palette properly reflects the desired temperature differential.

For this step, we add one color to our palette:

And two gradients:

We will use the Raw-Umber-to-Unbleached-Titanium gradient to render the warmer areas and the Burnt-Umber-and-Pthalo-Blue-to-Unbleached-Titanium-and-Light-Blue-Violet gradient to render the cooler areas. If we find that values from either gradient appear too strong in tone, we can dull them at any point by mixing in a little Neutral Gray.

We start by covering the roof area with midtones from the Raw-Umber-to-Unbleached-Titanium gradient using a #8 flat brush. The shape of the brush is perfectly suited for filling larger areas that include sharp internal corners.

While the midtones are still wet, we apply some slightly darker values from the same gradient to the high-pitch area of the roof, blending them into the existing colors already on the canvas. This creates a more realistic and aged look by adding some color variation and staining to the shingles. The low-pitch area of the roof is angled toward the sun and catches a much stronger highlight. Here we use a #4 round brush to apply some lighter values from the same gradient, creating a strong highlight on the left side while allowing it to blend into the midtones as we move to the right.

Continuing with the same brush, we apply darker values from the Burnt-Umber-and-Pthalo-Blue-to-Unbleached-Titanium-and-Light-Blue-Violet gradient to create the dormer shadows.

To render the exterior walls of the dormer, we use a #4 round brush to apply values from the Burnt-Umber-and-Pthalo-Blue-to-Unbleached-Titanium-and-Light-Blue-Violet gradient. We work in narrow, nearly horizontal strokes, alternating between light and dark values to indicate the wood siding. The front-facing wall should be rendered with slightly lighter values and in higher detail than the left-facing walls. We use darker values from the same gradient to develop the windows. We use lighter values to develop the eaves, the corner posts, and the window frames. And we use a combination of both to define the gutters.

To finish the roof, we switch to a #1 liner brush. We use lighter values from the Burnt-Umber-and-Pthalo-Blue-to-Unbleached-Titanium-and-Light-Blue-Violet gradient to define the window grills. And we use darker values from the Raw-Umber-to-Unbleached-Titanium gradient to define the shingle edges.

With the roof finished, we are ready to complete the cottage interior. This area is cast entirely in shadow, so we'll render it using the cooler values from the Burnt-Umber-and-Pthalo-Blue-to-Unbleached-Titanium-and-Light-Blue-Violet gradient. First, we use a #8 flat brush to block in large areas of value. The interior is farily dark overall, but catches some highlights toward the righ side of the composition. So we want to blend some lighter values into that area.

With the larger areas blocked in, we switch to a #4 round brush to complete the smaller areas and begin some of the more detailed work. We use the same gradient to render the figure sitting on the porch, as well as the interior doors and windows. The highlights on the right side of the composition clearly show the siding along the interior wall. Here we use nearly horizontal strokes, alternating between lighter and darker values, to create this effect. As we move toward the left side of the composition, where the shadows are stronger, we allow the highlights and shadows of the siding to fade gently back into the base color.

Finally, we use a #1 liner brush to add some lighter values along the edges of the windows on the right side of the composition.

Here is the painting with the cottage roof and interior rendered:

A close-up of the left side:

And the right side:

Exterior

With the cottage roof and interior finished, we are ready to complete the exterior walls.

For this step, we add one color to our palette:

And two gradients:

First, we use a #8 flat brush to block in the larger areas using midtones from the Mars-Black-to-Unbleached-Titanium-and-Light-Blue-Violet gradient. Then, we switch to a #4 round brush to complete the smaller areas like the window posts and gutter downspouts.

Continuing with a #4 round brush, we alternate between lighter and darker values from the same gradient to define the exterior siding. Pay close attention to the perspective lines when angling your brush strokes. On the front-facing wall, the lines should converge to a vanishing point located off the canvas on the right side of the composition. And on the left-facing wall, the lines should converge to a vanishing point located along the edge of the canvas on the left side of the composition.

The exterior walls of the cottage have been subjected to heavy weathering. And this is a nice touch of realism that we want to replicate in our painting. So we brush in some darker values here and there to indicate locations where bare wood is exposed. We also brush in a few strokes of Red Oxide to indicate where an older paint color might show through the peeling top coat.

Along the left-facing wall, there is a glass storm door. Continuing with a #4 round brush, we apply a variety of colors from the Burnt-Umber-and-Hooker's-Green-to-Naples-Yellow gradient to indicate the reflection of neighboring trees.

Finally, we switch to a #1 liner brush to complete some of the finer details like the address numbers and the contours along the window frames and gutters.

Here is the painting with the cottage exterior rendered:

A close-up of the left side:

And the right side:

Bushes and Fence

First, we render the bushes and fence.

For this step, we add four colors to our palette:

And one gradient:

To render the foreground bushes, we generally use the same color palette, brushes, and techniques that we used to develop the background trees. Again, we apply values from the Burnt-Umber-and-Hooker's-Green-to-Naples-Yellow gradient, starting with an art sponge to create general forms and softer edges. Then, we move to a #8 filbert brush to produce further definition and harder edges. Finally, we use a #4 round brush to give the indication of individual leaves.

To render the fence posts and gate, we apply the Burnt Umber and Pthalo Blue mixture with a #4 round brush. For the wire mesh, we switch to a #1 liner brush.

To my eye, the background trees and foreground bushes seem to appear a bit more muted in tone than I had imagined. Using a #8 filbert brush, let's apply some Light Green Permanent to add a little vibrance to the midtones. The highlights look like they could use a bit more intensity as well. So we use a #4 round brush to apply a few dabs of Cadmium Yellow to the highlights.

Continuing with the same brush, we dab in some Unbleached Titanium along with values from the Burnt-Umber-and-Hooker's-Green-to-Naples-Yellow gradient to indicate the gravel between the fenceline and the road. A few angled brush strokes toward the vertical are an effective technique to indicate blades of grass.

Finally, we use a #1 liner brush to add some small twigs to the bushes.

Here is the painting with the bushes and fence rendered:

Here is a close-up of the painting with the twigs rendered:

Road

Finally, we render the road.

For this step, we add two colors to our palette:

And one gradient:

Using a #8 filbert brush, we bend in some values from the Raw-Umber-to-Neutral-Gray gradient. But we seem to be missing the pebbly texture that we expect from an actual road. To create this effect, we place our brush aside and switch to a soft-bristle manual toothbrush.

The technique is simple enough: wet the toothbrush with clean water, dip the bristles into the desired paint color, then rake your finger along the bristles to flick small specks of value onto the canvas. But small variations in water saturation, paint loading, distance, and force can dramatically impact the size and density of specks. So I recommend practicing on a scrap surface before attempting this on the composition.

Once you are comfortable with the process, use this technique to apply dark specks of 50% Burnt Umber and 50% Pthalo Blue and light specks of Titanium White.

Here is a close-up of the painting with the road rendered: