Painting Project No. 35 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” - Balloon dog

Project 35 in “Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects...” by Mark Daniel Nelson is ‘Rendering a transparent object: Balloon dog’. This exercise is now my favourite; from the first step the image was pretty remarkable. My only regret is that I painted it on mixed media canvas and not a canvas board. The book suggests trying this exercise again with different balloon animals and colours… will do it after finishing the book :).

Painting Project No. 34 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” - Bulb

The final 16 projects in “Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects...” by Mark Daniel Nelson is Chapter 4, ‘rendering surface and form'.

Project 34 ‘Painting simple highlights: Light bulb’ was an example in rendering focus on glass and metal.  In my opinion, the painting was uninspiring but the lesson was a good one.

Watercolour Duck & White Swans in Wendy’s class

In one of Wendy’s classes we painted a white duck in watercolour; I painted the same duck Wendy demonstrated. Watercolour is still a difficult medium for me to use, so it was easier to follow by instruction. Even though much more time was spent on it, mine didn’t come out half as nice as the tutor’s or the original.

The next week we were to select an image of a white bird to paint in acrylics. Painting in acrylics is much easier and I drew an image from Paint My Photo. I was happy with the final painting and even signed it :).

Painting Project No. 32 & 33 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” - Landscapes

These two projects are the last in Chapter 3 - 'beyond the basics'.  Can't believe it, but my first painting in “Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects...” by Mark Daniel Nelson was back in November. Looking forward to moving onto Chapter 4 and probably for the first time in a long time finishing what I started.

Project number 32 ‘Accenting with a complementary colour: Birch trees’ came out better than I thought it would. At first, the steps to finishing the painting seemed odd but the final result was pretty nice and despite my prejudice...I liked it.

Project number 33 ‘Using exaggerated colour: Expressionist landscape’ was all about various colours as well as shapes; in my opinion it didn’t look so great. Probably should have tried to do my own thing and make some alterations to the instructions, but really I’m just ready to move on to the next chapter.

Painting Project No. 31 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” - Sunflowers

Project 31 in "Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson was 'Creating contrast with temperature: Sunflowers’. I’m not experienced with painting sunflowers but all in all they came out pretty nice. I probably should have stopped sooner because with too many layers of yellow, the flowers don’t pop as much as they did. I prefer the poppy painting.

Painting Project No. 30 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” - Poppies

Project 30 in "Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson was ‘Massing multiple objects: Poppy field’. As mentioned before, I don’t like massing or painting from loose paintings; but I do like poppies. This project started out looking good, then there was a moment where it went all wrong. After working on it for a day or two I was able to salvage the painting to a point where I really liked it. This method was difficult but effective and the poppies look vibrant.

Painting Project No. 29 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” Landscape

Project 29 in ‘Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects...' by Mark Daniel Nelson was ‘Massing in nature: River and trees’. Sorry to say but I didn’t like this exercise either (see Project 28; Bananas); not a big fan of massing. This whole chapter is really challenging for me; loose painting from images that are loosely painted is a real nuisance. I worked on this landscape over several days until it looked presentable enough to publish.

Couldn’t wait to start Chapter 3 but now I can’t wait to finish it:(

Painting Project No. 28 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” Bananas

Project 28 in ‘Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson was ‘Massing shapes: Bunch of bananas’. The technique called ‘massing’ involves combining groups of small detailed shapes into larger more generalized shapes. Well I didn’t like it; for me, it’s easier to work from a more specific outline.

My first try came out really awful so then I painted a bunch of bananas that were in my kitchen. After getting a feel for what bananas looked like, I went back to trying the project from the book. In the end I was satisfied with the final product.

Painting Project No. 26 & 27 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics”

I’m posting two projects from ‘Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson today. One is a city scene the other a snow scene, both on 8" x 8" mixed media paper.

Project number 26 ‘Large shapes and small details: City scene’ is a pleasant abstract landscape. The approach to ‘loosely represent the larger shapes in the scene and add a few well-placed details’ seems simple; but in my opinion... it’s not. My painting looked alright, however if the steps weren't mapped out for me, it might not have.

Project number 27 ‘Simplifying a landscape: Snow scene’ in my eyes isn’t a great painting. By not taking it too seriously the results were better than expected. The example in the book had too much blue so I used a lighter shade to make the snow more realistic.

Painting Project No. 25 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” - Rooster

Project 25 in ‘Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson was ‘Painting with coloured shapes: Rooster’. The idea was to paint ‘subjects with soft edges and gradated colours’ and the book indicated that it’s ‘more difficult to paint in acrylics than images with distinct, hard-edged shapes’. It was difficult for me as well, primarily because I was working from a painting and not a photo or real subject.

This project is now at the half way point; only eight more paintings till Chapter 4. It looks like all the paintings till the end of Chapter 3 will be difficult as well. A free style mark making technique is hard to duplicate exactly as the original. Only having the finished painting and not the original image makes it tough to interpret what the artist has in mind… even with instructions.

Painting Project No. 24 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” - Abstract

Project 24 in ‘Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson was ‘Redefining the brushstroke: Drip Painting’. Jackson Pollock is one of my favourite artists so there was no trouble making this painting. The only thing is knowing when to stop. I took a few photos of the different layers just for fun.

Painting Project No. 22 & 23 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics”

Moving right along; I’ve posted two landscape projects from ‘Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson.

Project number 22 ‘Varying brushstrokes: Road and sky’ came out nicer than expected. Most of the landscape projects in this book haven’t really been my thing. For some reason I liked this one; it’s loose, was easy to create and the image is easy on the eye.

Project number 23 ‘Using loose strokes: Impressionist landscape’ didn’t come out as well as the previous one. The technique was similar but the colours were more vibrant. This painting was hard for me because I was working from the artists painting and not from my own image. I like the technique but would like to try it on one of my own landscape photos.

Painting Project No. 21 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” - Flowers

Project 21 in ‘Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson was ‘Using expressive strokes: Flowers in a glass’. The instructions for this exercise were to create simple shapes for the flowers by scribbling or hatching.

Because I don’t like to see white on the canvas, my first version had a light purple background.

The purple background didn’t allow the flowers to look as vivid, so I prepared a second painting with a white background. This painting was done very quickly and the flowers were brighter; but I think the first one is better… possibly because it’s tidier.

Painting Project No. 20 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” - Bird's nest

The second painting, project no 20 from Chapter 3 in ‘Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson was ‘Using hatching strokes: Bird’s nest’. The assignment was to use directional brush strokes to create the illusion of form. It was very similar to project no 19 and also harder to create than it looked. After spending way too much time on the bird's nest, I decided to stop over working it. Again the example in the book was nicer than my painting... hope this doesn't become a trend.

Painting Project No. 19 from "Ways to Learn Acrylics"

After much anticipation it’s time to start Chapter 3 in "Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson. This chapter is less about acrylic painting fundamentals and more about design principles and brushstroke techniques.

Project number 19 ‘Using contour strokes: Ball of wool’ is all about how the stroke direction can make the object look three-dimensional. This wasn't as easy to accomplish as it might seem. In hindsight, the top of the ball would probably look better if it was a little lighter; for this exercise the painting in the book was nicer.

Painting Project No. 18 from 'Ways to Learn Acrylics' - Abstract

Project number 18 ‘Layering a simple abstract design: Yellow circles’ is the last painting before Chapter 3 in ‘Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson.

The abstract was done on mixed media paper as in painting no 15, but this time 3 layers of gesso was used to prime the paper. The gesso made the paint glide easily across the paper. Per the instructions, circles were painted first and the blue background was added after. The results left white edges where the circles met the background.

In another painting not shown I tried a light yellow background before painting the circles…it didn’t make much difference. There were still spaces between the circles and background. There were now light yellow spaces, it was hard enough drawing circles freehand so I abandoned the painting:(.

Painting Project No. 16 & 17 from 'Ways to Learn Acrylics' - Trees

With only three more till Chapter 3, I’m posting two projects from ‘Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson.

Project number 16 ‘Layering opaque over transparent: Summer tree’ was a fun exercise…gotta love trees. The first layers looked great and I almost stopped there, but the exercise was about layering so I kept going.

Project number 17 ‘Layering over an under-painting: Tree silhouette’ was fun as well and I expect to be using this technique more. I already have a bunch of ideas for it; tried a Venice silhouette but it didn’t come out well. Will try another silhouette painting soon:)).

Painting Project No. 15 from 'Ways to Learn Acrylics'

‘Light, shadow and value outdoors: Road and grass’ was project 15 in “Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson. The lesson was a good one, the picture, not so nice. According to Mark, "keeping relationships consistent is the key to representing convincing light and shadow patterns in your paintings". So the shade for the shadow on the grass is darker than it is on the pavement.

Because the example in the book was so unremarkable, I painted it on less expensive mixed media paper. It was surprising how nice the paper was, much better than my acrylic paper. The acrylic paper has lines that show through paintings, even when two coats of gesso are applied. The mixed media paper works well on its own, but I’m going to try it with gesso next time.

Painting Project No. 14 from 'Ways to Learn Acrylics'

Project 14 in ‘Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson was ‘Rendering objects with simple shapes: Slice of cake’. I practiced drawing the cake on cartridge paper then put it on canvas. After adding paint, the cake shape didn’t look right, so I used masking tape to change the lines.

It's too hard to get the frosting perfect so I decided to let some show through on the cake layers. The final result is average; perspective looks off and the cake slice doesn't look like it’s sitting on the table. Getting closer to Chapter 3:)).

Painting Project No. 13 from 'Ways to Learn Acrylics'

Most paintings in ‘Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects..." by Mark Daniel Nelson I like. ‘Layering cool over warm colours: Barn and pasture’ was not one of them. The example in the book had yellow ochre in the foreground showing through and unconvincing trees next to the barn. I tried using more green for the grass and less black in the trees, but still didn’t’ like the painting. My unbleached titanium may not be the same shade because my mixed colours looked too dark. To make things lighter I added titanium white with gloss medium and put a layer of it all over the painting.

I did a quick abstract of the same subject on acrylic paper and tried to use a pallet knife but it didn't work. Instead I used a brush and spray bottle to soften things and liked the results. Not my finest work but I’m learning a lot about colour and technique; five more and I’ll get to start Chapter 3:))