Acrylic Painting: Realism to Abstraction

Step into the world of acrylic painting. This class will focus on handling paint, working with
color and form, and looking deeply into our images. Students are welcome to work representationally, abstract from the visible, improvise
directly on the canvas, and/or any combination thereof. You will be supported on whatever
path you choose. This ten-week workshop will facilitate each student to work towards an
individually poignant path of exploration. Perfect for beginners as well as advanced students.
We will practice mixing paints with each other for color and with mediums for surfaces. We will
explore opacity and transparency. We will blend, and we will layer. We will work with color
to express light and with color to express ourselves.

Supplies
• Acrylic Paint. Any brand you have will work. Acrylics come in various consistencies, from
paste to fluid. Unless you already have a preference, get paste in a tube.
• Colors.
• If you are beginning, a set of various colors is a good idea and can be used in lieu of the
below or as the beginning of a set of colors.
• Titanium White (at least 8.oz).
• Cadmium yellow or “hue”
• Cadmium red or “hue”
• Quinacridone Magenta (or any magenta or reddish purple)
• Ultramarine (reddish blue)
• Thalo or Cerrulean Blue (or any greenish blue)
• Permanent Green
• Olive Green (or any yellowish green)
• Dioxazine violet (or any violet)
• Burnt sienna
• Raw umber
• Yellow Ochre
• Mars or Carbon Black
• the more the merrier; and having said that, we can work with whatever you bring.
• Gesso. This is the painting’s foundation; it is more than white paint. Canvas boards and
pre-gessoed canvas already has gesso. Watercolor paper can be painted on directly.
Everything else needs to be coated with gesso. If you need gesso, get at least a quart
container.
• Acrylic Medium. The minimum is a jar of Matte or Gloss Medium. Acrylic paint can be
thinned with water but acrylic medium is also needed for image quality. Expressive potential
can be optionally increased with the use of the myriad Golden gels and pastes, yielding many
surfaces.
• Brushes
• Shape: have at least both flat and round artists’ brushes. Brights, filberts, and fans may be
useful. House painting brushes are a welcome addition.
• Size: have at least one small, one medium, and one large brush in both flat and round
shapes. (It helps to buy at a store so you can see the size of the brush.)
• The more the merrier.
• Painting Surface. Choose one or any mix… Canvas board (maybe 9” x 12”) is ideal for
beginners. Watercolor paper (maybe Arches Aquarelle ~300 gsm cold press) will work well.
You can also stretch canvas over stretcher bars. Also pre-made wooden panels are lovely,
even if they need a coat of GAC 100 under the gesso.