Acrylic Painting

The path

1. 1
   Level 1Free

   First Canvases

   A landscape and your own painting, hung

   15 Steps, about 44 minutes each. Total beginners who've always wanted to paint. No drawing skills needed.

   1. Chapter 1: Paint and color. Your paints set up, a color wheel and value scale mixed, smooth blends practiced, and a still life painted.
   2. Chapter 2: Landscapes. Skies, distant hills, trees and water painted, and a full landscape built in layers.
   3. Chapter 3: Your painting. A painting of your own, planned from a photo, built in layers, finished, varnished and hung.

   1. 1
      Set up and swatch

      Your space set up, a palette laid out, and a swatch of every paint on paper.

      Acrylic paint is pigment in a plastic binder that dries fast, cleans up with water while wet, and becomes waterproof when dry. That fast drying is its biggest advantage, because you can layer quickly, and its biggest challenge, because paint dries on your palette and brushes.

      A good setup prevents most frustrations: two water jars (one for rinsing, one clean), paper towels, a palette, and a covered table.

      The detail beginners miss is keeping brushes wet. Acrylic dried in a brush ruins it permanently. Never let paint dry on a brush; rinse it as soon as you put it down, and keep brushes you're using in water briefly, never resting on their bristles.

      Here's an example. Table covered with newspaper. Two jars of water, paper towels, a plastic palette. A small amount of each paint squeezed along the palette edge. A swatch of each on paper, thick and then thinned with water. Labeled with the paint's name. Brushes rinsed immediately.

      Right is your space set up and a swatch of every paint. Don't eat or drink while painting, and wash your hands after. Some pigments, like cadmiums, are toxic if swallowed; check the label for warnings.

      Winsor & Newton
      Show your group
   2. 2
      Mix a color wheel

      A 12-color wheel mixed from just red, yellow and blue.

      Jed Dorsey ArtWinsor & Newton
   3. 3
      Value scale

      A 7-step value scale from white to dark, plus tints and shades of one color.

      Will Kemp Art School

   See all 15 Steps

   1. 4
      Smooth blends

      A smooth gradient sky from dark blue at the top to pale near the horizon.

      Liquitex
   2. 5
      Still life of one object

      A simple still life of one piece of fruit or a mug, with light, shadow and a background.

      Will Kemp Art School
      Show your group
   3. 6
      Sunset sky and silhouette

      A sunset sky with a dark silhouette of hills or trees against it.

      Will Kemp Art School
   4. 7
      Layering distance

      Three or four rows of hills, each closer one darker and more detailed.

      Artists Network
   5. 8
      Trees and foliage

      A row of trees painted with dabbing and a liner brush, with light and shadow.

      Will Kemp Art School
   6. 9
      Water and reflections

      A lake or pond with a reflection of the sky and shore.

      Artists Network
   7. 10
      A full landscape

      A complete landscape on a canvas panel: sky, distance, trees and water, painted back to front.

      Art PaintWill Kemp Art School
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   8. 11
      Plan from a photo

      A reference photo chosen and three small thumbnail sketches showing light and dark.

      Jerry's Artarama
   9. 12
      Block it in

      Your design drawn on stretched canvas and the big shapes blocked in with flat color.

      Winsor & Newton
   10. 13
       Build the middle

       The middle values and colors built up across the painting, with glazes where needed.

       Liquitex
   11. 14
       Finish and sign

       The darkest darks, brightest highlights and final details added, and the painting signed.

       Winsor & Newton
   12. 15
       Varnish and hang

       Your painting varnished, hung or displayed, and shared.

       Golden Artist Colors
       Show your group
2. Level 2Unlocks after Level 1

   Light and Texture

   Palette knife, glazing and portraits of pets

3. Level 3Unlocks after Level 2

   Your Style

   A series of paintings in your own style

Where it ends: paintings on your walls

Free lessons in First Canvases come from Winsor & Newton, Jed Dorsey Art, Will Kemp Art School, Liquitex, Artists Network, Art Paint, Jerry's Artarama, Golden Artist Colors. We link to their work and never copy it.