Читать книгу Acrylics - Alwyn Crawshaw - Страница 7

Introduction

Why use acrylic colours? I am constantly asked this question. The answer is that I like using them and they suit my personality. I believe that a painting comes from the inner self and this gives it the mood, the atmosphere, the invisible quality that makes it look alive. If you were inspired to paint a particular landscape and could paint it in, say, three minutes while that urge was there, then the painting would express your uninterrupted feelings on the canvas.

How Much Longer Have We To Wait? detail on canvas 25 × 25 cm (10 × 10 in)

Now, three minutes to paint a picture is ridiculous but, because acrylic colours dry so quickly, a certain speed is possible. As one stage of the painting is done, you can overpaint almost immediately without picking up the paint from underneath and consequently you can keep working while the inspiration is there.

If circumstances permit, you can start a painting in the morning and finish it in the afternoon, as each stage will be dry enough for you to follow on with the next. If you like to put detail in a picture, this can be done as and when you feel it necessary because the paint will dry quickly enough to allow you to work on top of the previous layer.

This direct way of painting is one of the reasons why acrylic painting suits me. Another very useful factor is that no smell is given off when using acrylics, unlike oils.

Naturally, as with all painting, there are techniques to be learned and certain disciplines to be acquired before you can master the medium. As the reader of this book, you have taken your first big step. If you are a beginner, curious about painting and wanting to find out more about it, you have selected acrylics as the medium with which to start. If you already paint and are reading this book to learn about the medium of acrylic colour then, whatever other medium you paint in, do start with the basic exercises. Remember, a new medium requires different techniques.

I will take you through this book stage by stage, working very simply to start with and progressing to a more mature form of painting. If you have some acrylic colours, your desire to try them out will most probably have been stimulated by looking through the book and seeing the variety of images and different methods of working. However, I strongly recommend that you relax and read on before you actually pick up a brush. More haste – less speed!

If you find some exercises difficult to master, go a stage further and then come back. Seeing a problem with a fresh eye will make it easier to solve. Good luck!

The Red Boat, Norfolk primed hardboard 25 × 28 cm (10 × 12 in) I couldn’t resist this red boat and all the quayside structures, which I spotted when painting the Norfolk Fishing Harbour scene here. You can just see the red boat at the extreme left of that painting.