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Acrylics Anonymous, Issue #017 -- The Basics and Beyonnnnnnd!
June 01, 2013

1st June 2013, issue 017



Passionate about painting with acrylics? Need a monthly fix chock full of inspiration? Need some help to take the pain out of your painting process? It's all here for you. Acrylics Anonymous. Zero elitism. Dive in.



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Subscribers only…..shhhhhh…sealed section just for you!

Tip of the month

News

Links we like

Works in progress…..show us your paintings!



Every month, we will produce a Subscribers Only "sealed section". It could be a painting technique, a short video tip, or anything we can think of that we reckon you might enjoy.

Please let us know what you think, we love your feedback! To leave comments, click here.

Your Sealed Section this month is a reasonably detailed "Over The Shoulder" in Mark's studio session, (about 5 minutes), all about painting light effects in your landscape paintings.

Some great tips to get you all fired up about painting landscapes with realism and life. As usual, Mark makes it look all too easy!! Enjoy...


Click here to access!







Know Dem Brushes!


Have a blank or spare canvas handy (or easel!) so that you can apply your brush to something, prior to painting with it on the surface of your "actual" painting.

Eventually you'll have developed a subconscious "feel" for the amount of paint on your brush and how hard you need to apply it.



Ocean Landscapes.

Explore some simple tips and exercises to get you creating ocean landscapes with zing. This is stuff you need to know!

Click here to read more…




Fiji! Fiji! Fiji! Fiji!!

Mark is very very VERY! excited about teaching you how to paint tropical scenes in a tropical situation. In order to do this though, we need you to book into his workshop "Discovery, Inspiration & Technique" at Daku Resort, Fiji from the 24th - 31st August 2013.

Click here to find out more...




Acrylic Painting Basics

First steps and more. Discover your potential with acrylics - the tools and materials you need to make a start.

Click here to read more...




Jason de Graaf. Just wow. Art to amaze. Photorealism at it's most sensational.

You're welcome!!

Jason's amazing paintings speak for themselves.



Jeremy Miranda is another artist who immediately caught my eye for his moody yet strangely uplifting works.

Some standouts for me include "Oregon Ladder", "Farm & Forage", and I love his minimalist approach to painting seascapes, capturing the light and moment so beautifully.

Check out Jeremy's work!




If you have a link you like, please share it with us! You can contact us to let us know. Thank you!

This is the section where you can "get your name in lights!" (well at least out there in the internet world!).

If you have works in progress you would love to show off, or finished pieces you are particularly proud of, we would love to see them!

We especially like to hear about the story behind the creation.

The WIP this month comes from the very talented and creative Melissa Wright, another artist involved in running the Lennox Artspace.

From Melissa: "I chose Amelia because she's an amazing young woman with a beautiful story. She is only 18, yet already an incredible environmental activist. She works for a youth environmental coalition, and she represents the indigenous people - she's extremely connected with her aboriginal heritage. The reason I painted this particular piece, is because Amelia went to the Antarctic with a group of young adults from all over the world. She was selected to represent Australia, to learn about the animals and the pristine environment of the Antarctic. She's on a committee that is renegotiating the treaty of Antarctica (which is being renegotiated in 2041, but she's onto it already because she's just so cool).

I firstly built a timber frame, and then tacked masonite onto it with the rough side up. Then I made a slurry of plaster and bondcrete and then covered the surface using a trowel. When that dried I added 2-3 more coats of plaster, to have a surface to draw "through". Before it dries you can impress all sorts of things into the surface to create even more texture.

Then I drew Amelia in charcoal lightly, and then took the etching needle and drew directly into the plaster - incised a line. Then I gessoed the whole surface. After the gesso was dry I pushed some oil paint into all those etched lines. Then I went back and worked with liquin and oils using very thin layers of paint.

Towards the end I also used snowflake shapes and stencils, and used an iridescent powder with a tiny bit of pthalo blue and ultramarine blue oil paint, just to give a tiny bit of shimmer and life. I used an oil varnish and let it dry for about a month."

Thanks for sharing such a great story and piece Mel!




Hope you enjoyed this issue of Acrylics Anonymous! If you have any suggestions, comments or feedback for the ezine or our site, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Until then, make sure you chuck some paint around!

Cheers from Frankie, Mark & Nic :)


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