I’m so excited about my May project! After painting watercolor seascapes for over a year, I’m adding acrylic and canvas to my routine. I’ve purchased 10 canvases and plan on completing them by the end of the month.
I’ve painted in acrylics on and off over the years, but never enough to feel completely comfortable. Since starting my watercolor seascape project (almost a year and a half ago) I’ve wanted to try my techniques on canvas, and did try it once. The transition wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. The colors I mixed weren’t quite right, and I felt uncomfortable painting at an easel – I’m used to working flat at a table with watercolor.
I decided to do a few things to make my Acrylic Seascape project easier:
A comfortable size. I purchased 12” x 12” canvases – a size I often work in with watercolor. This smaller size will be more manageable on a table, since I plan on working flat.
Shorter handled brushes. The acrylic brushes I have are probably designed for painting on an easel, but the longer handles feel awkward when painting at a table. I bought a new set of brushes with shorter handles.
Familiar colors. I bought new paints in the same colors I use for mixing my ocean and sand colors in watercolor.
A focused time period. My watercolor seascape project began as a month long project. Focusing on one thing, brought results quickly – I learned a lot and my technique improved. I’m hoping my plan of working on these 10 canvases over the month, yields similar results.
Following my seascape process. Over the past year and a half I’ve developed a process for painting seascapes. I plan on following my process, using my techniques, and learning along the way how to adapt it all to acrylic paint.
wish me luck!
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Good luck with the transition to acrylic. It will be interesting to see your work. I’ve discovered that if you try to mimic the same look with acrylic as you get with watercolour you will be disappointed. Try a completely different approach and have fun with it. That’s just my opinion and do with it what you want. Carol
Thanks Carol, I do appreciate your input. Today I’ve already started to discover how different the mediums are! It’s definitely a learning curve. Thanks for following along 😀
Nice, Eileen!! I will be watching your progress with interest…as you know, I am pretty fond of acrylics myself! 🙂
Thanks Hilda. And now I know where to go for advice!
Any time! 🙂
Hi Eileen! It is so fun to give ourselves art challenges! 💚💙💚 I always learn so much when trying a different art medium. I have seen people get watercolor affects with acrylics. Perhaps they add a gel medium? Anyway, enjoy the journey! 🎨👍 Cheers!
Thanks Jill! And thank you for the suggestion. I have some gel, so I’ll definitely give it a try 👍
Best wishes…I admire your determination to complete so many canvases in a month. I recently bought two canvases and want to try some portraits in acrylic. Just haven’t started yet…so your work may be the push I need. Enjoy!
Thanks Jean – I think I thought the big purchase at the art store would be the push I need. That and the quantifiable goal. Good luck on your portraits! Would love to see!
This is a great project. I love trying different mediums to do the same thing. Really requires different thinking
Thank you, I’m having fun with it 😀