Acrylic Painting student examples

Student example #1

Senecio, Paul Klee

sketch

final work

For this project we experimented with acrylic paints and different techniques in order to replicate another famous work. We also learnt about the color wheel and how to create color palettes and identified the original color palette of the artwork to then change it. I decided to replicate Senecio by Paul Klee and recognized the analogous color scheme he used of red to yellow (colors next to each other on the color wheel). I decided to use an analogous color scheme as well, however. using red to violet to change it up. I first identified the shapes and colors used by the artists in my sketch to get a basic idea of what I wanted to do with my acrylic painting. I used five different techniques in order to achieve my desired result; masking, sponging, scraping, palette knife painting, and a little bit of scumbling. I used masking to create the geometric shapes in the face and I used sponding to blend colors over each other to get a similar effect to the original Paul Klee. I used scraping to do this as well to blend and overlap colors. I used the palette knife painting technique to add texture to the edges of the painting and add more colors. I used scumbling to add extra texture in the face on the bottom.


I enjoyed using acrylic paints as I could experiment with texture and mixing colors to create my desired effect. I think i did well at incorporating different techniques that can't be seen the in original painting, such as palette knife painting, where I incorporated it on the edges to add more techniques to my work. I think I could have done better at blending the whites of the painting with other colors, similar to Paul Klee's technique of painting a color under the white. I also could have created a more perfect circle using a similar method to masking and better shown the geometric shapes of the original. Overall, this was one of my favorite projects as I loved experimenting with the thickness of paint and created 3D texture and I can see myself using these techniques again.

Student example #2

CHOOSING AN IMAGE:

First, I had to choose a picture from online. This was the picture that I chose, called Hydrangea, by James Aponovich:

Then, using a color wheel, I had to try and identify the colors and color combinations, if any. Color combinations include primary (red, blue and yellow), secondary (green, violet and orange), complementary (colors opposite each other on the color wheel, such as red and green), analogous (three-four colors next to each other, cool color schemes, warm color schemes), split complementary (a color, and the two colors next to its complement), tetrad (a square or rectangle on the color wheel), and many more. 

This particular painting includes a cool color scheme between the blue flowers and the green leaves.  It also includes some form of a complementary color scheme between the blue flowers and the oranges lying by the flower pot. A complementary color scheme can also be identified between the green leaves and the red raspberries. The raspberries bring a bright pop of color to the painting. 

After this, we had to try and change the color scheme of the original painting, or change some elements of the painting, similar to if the artist had decided to make a second or different version of the painting. 

What I decided to change:

• The color of the flowers to both blue and red
• The color of the sky to orange-red, to resemble sunset
• The add clouds in the sky
• To change the color of the bottom part of the painting
• To change the fruits to juices

As you can observe, the flowers are painted both red and yellow. This is a sort of 'double complementary' scheme. The red flowers are paired with the green leaves, its complementary color, and the blue flowers are paired with the orange sky, its complementary color. I added some clouds as another element to make the painting more interesting and engaging. 

On the bottom part of the painting, I wanted to create a completely different sort of texture, so that the bottom and the top look like two separate paintings, which makes both the top and bottom parts stand out more. At the bottom, on the gray fabric, I first painted it a red layer, let it dry. Then I painted it a silver-gray layer, and while still wet, carved a pattern into it. The outside I painted green, and the red curvy pattern in the fabric and the green also create a kind of complementary color scheme. 

I also used various techniques during this project, in which we had to use a minimum of four acrylic painting techniques. Here are all the all the techniques I used and all the places I used them in:

• Impasto: This is a technique that has been borrowed from oil painting and uses thick paint that stands out on the surface. It has highly visible brush strokes and has a stronger presence than thin paint. I used this technique to paint the red and blue flowers, and also the green background in the bottom part of the painting. 
• Sgrafitto: This technique has also been borrowed from oil painting and involves scoring into the paint to either reveal the white of the canvas below or another color below. The places where I use this are when I am scratching the veins into the leaves in the flower pot, and also the silver-gray fabric at the bottom of the painting, where I first painted a red layer of paint, let it dry, and then painted a silver-gray layer of paint on top of that, and while it was still wet, scratched out a curvy pattern on it to give the painting more character. 
• Texturing: This techniques involves mixing the paint with various substances such as sand, sawdust, or combing on the paint, or pressing objects such as coins into the paint while it is still wet, or also pressing textures like bubble wrap into the paint to create patterns on it. I used this when painting the flower pot, and mixed sand with the paint to make the pot look more realistic and imitate a real pot, which is rough.
• Scumbling: This technique involves scrubbing an uneven layer of paint over an existing color. It is important to not cover the color underneath with the second layer of paint, and also to let the first layer of paint dry before painting the second layer. I used this while painting the blue flowers, by painting a darker shade of blue over the original lighter blue. I also used some form of scumbling when painting the green background in the bottom part of the painting by mixing two shades of the same color, but didn't paint one on top of the other, rather mixed them together when both colors were still wet. 

Summary:

• We chose a painting 
• We learnt about the various color schemes on the color wheel
• We identified the color schemes in our chosen painting
• We decided what we would change in our rendition of the paintings, either elemens of the painting, or the colors or color schemes themselves
• We painted our paintings using four acryclic painting technqiues
• We wrote this blog post

Challenges:

• A real challenge was when I was trying to paint the glasses of orange and rasperry juice on either side of the flower pot. It was very hard to try to get them to look real. Even after the painting was finished, I wasn't very happy with how they turned out. 
• Another challenge was evening out the paint with the sand in it for painting the flower pot. The sand made the paint coarse and it was hard to smooth it out on the paper. However, I eventually managed to make the paint look neater. 
• Another challenge was painting the silver-gray fabric and carving out the pattern inside it. I had to be careful to not scratch out the red paint underneath too, and to not smudge any of the paint. I managed to overcome this challenge eventually also. 
• Overall, the only challenge I didn't overcome is the one where I had some difficulty painting the glasses of orange and rasperry juice. 

Successes: 

• I really like the way that I painted the red and blue flowers. I think I used the impasto technique very well here, and the flowers look very vibrant, neat, and stand out in the picture. 
• Another success, in my opinion, is the orange sky. I think I got the shade for a sunset quite right and managed to make it glow and contrast very well with the flowers. It makes the painting very bright and vibrant to look at, and gives the viewer something to observe. 
• Another think I like about my painting and think was a success is the way the top and bottom parts of the painting contrast and look very different from each other, giving the painting a unique character. I like the way the green background on the bottom and the orange background on the top contrast and complement each other. I also like how intricate the red pattern on the silver-gray fabric looks on the bottom part of the painting. 

Final Reflection:

• Overall, I think that even though I did have a fair amount of challenges while working on this project, I did a good job, and when looking at the painting, the successes outweigh the challenges, and the painting is quite pleasing to look at. I successfully managed to use four techniques and execute them quite well too.

Student example #3

Acrylic Painting

For our second painting project, we were asked to create an Acrylic Painting using at least 4 acrylic techniques. We also needed to change the color scheme of an image of inspiration that we choose. Besides changing the color scheme of the original artwork, we could either copy the same objects or create the next painting in the artists collection. I decided to just simply copy the same objects and change the original color scheme. 

Step 1- Find Source of Inspiration

Finding the image of inspiration was not as hard as I used the links that Mr. Laurence provided for us. When I came across this one, the color choice really caught my eye which is why I chose it. I knew it. The colors you see in this artwork are not the typical ones you see in a landscape which is why I found it very interesting and different. This image has no title and the artist is Nicolas Party.

Nicolas Party

Step 2- Identifying the Color Scheme

As for the color scheme, this artwork has many colors, but the color scheme I identified was a tetradic (double complementary). It consists of 2 primary colors and 2 secondary colors that compliment each other. For the color scheme I used in my own painting, I wanted to use the same color scheme but not use the same colors for the same objects. I also drew a quick sketch of the colors I wanted to use in my final painting using oil pastels. (Photo on right)

Step 3- Outline on Canvas

After establishing the color scheme, my next step was to draw the outline of the objects in the painting. This part did not take that long since the shapes are not that intricate. My next step was to begin painting the background.

Step 4- Begin to Paint

This step is when I began to paint the background. I decided to use light blue for the sky and turquoise for the foreground. I think these colors made sense to use for the background as they are different from the original but they are also complementary to the rest of the colors I would be using in the objects of my painting.

Acrylic Techniques Used

Final

Successes & Challenges/ Reflection

To conclude, just like the rest of the projects, I encountered many successes and challenges throughout the creation of my painting artwork. One success that I had was the incorporation of the acrylic paint techniques. This was something that I found very intriguing and interesting at the same time as it allowed to me experiment with many techniques. I also encountered a few challenges along the way. For example, the choice of colors. Deciding which colors to use in each object was a little tricky since this is a very colorful piece in itself. I really wanted to make sure to balance out the very bright colors with a few darker colors to give the eye a rest when looking at my painting. Regardless, I believe I was able to balance the placement of colors nicely. If I could do this project again, the one thing I would change is making the background (light blue) a lot smoother. This is something that I wish I spent more time on to perfect the smoothness of the background. Overall, I am very pleased with how my final acrylic project turned out! I learned many new techniques that I will be able to apply to future projects.