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Acrylics Anonymous, Issue #107 -- Under The Microscrope.
September 01, 2021


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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Every month, we will produce a Subscribers Only "sealed section" - just keep scrolling to see it. 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, contact us here.



Exclusive to AA Subscribers!

A quick video tip on creating dimension and realism but in a painterly way!
Hope you enjoy this one :)


Click for the video!




Painting is all about investigating. If you’ve got the time to focus in on even your most favourite subject, you will still find things (I know I do) 20 years later, that are new and amazing.

Take the time to sit down and really look closely at even the smallest things. There is magic in there.


Youtube Shorts!

We have been having a bit of fun with the new Youtube shorts :) If you haven't come across this yet, it's a bit like Tik Tok - a quick bite vertical video format. We have decided to do something different and embrace it instead of waiting for years first! We're currently building a series of “tiny magical moments” - hope you enjoy the first in the series!

Click here for our first short



The Ball And All.

Mark was a recent guest on ultimate Aussie blokey podcast “The Ball And All”. Here’s the link for a listen - ***warning*** excessive blokiness, sport, testosterone and language in this one (as well as heartfelt moments and existential concepts for living peacefully right now).

Skip the preamble to 7 mins 50 if you like, and get right to the interview!

Click here to listen on Spotify

Every month, we choose an Artist from our forum to showcase.

You can even nominate someone if you like. (Or yourself!). To do this, check out the forum and then send us an email! It’s that easy.

This month we're featuring artist Larry Baker from Sunrise, Florida, with his painting,"Abandoned Farmhouse". Thanks for sharing this lovely painting with us Larry!

Click here for more about Larry's "Abandoned Farmhouse"




The hidden world of microscopic life is revealed in extraordinary pictures. (Note, you’ll need to put your email in to the National Geographic website to view this article - no cost).

See more here!



Did you know about all the cameras in the world? Here’s just one from Venice’s Piazza San Marco - you may be interested in for your own plein air vicarious travel opportunities!

There are heaps of cameras all around the world we can use for our own references! Just google “webcam” wherever you want :)

See Venice's Piazza San Marco's live feed here!




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.

This month's submission comes from our own Mark Waller, with a lovely little commission for a very patient customer!

From Mark:

First up, I mixed very thinned Dioxazine Purple and very quickly drew out the outlines, the horizon and general shapes just to give me an idea of where everything was.


I then used my paint recipes, and went through and blocked in all of the larger areas. I spent a little bit of time working on tidying up the horizon and suggesting clouds, but for the most part it was all quite loose.


I then established all the dark areas, and using a slightly smaller brush, defined them a little more carefully. I used some Burnt Umber to roughly work out where the tree branches were, and with a Dioxazine Purple and Forest Green mix, established a few more of the darks in the shady areas.


I put some whites in to define the waves. I then mixed some French Ultramarine Blue, a little bit of Pthalo Blue and some Titanium White, and used them thinly to define the highlights on the backs of the waves.

I brushed in some shadows. but didn’t spend too much time on the waves as they are in the distance.

I gradually started to add highlights to the trees using a mixture of Dioxazine Purple, Forest Green, Cadmium Yellow Medium and a little bit of Titanium White.

I gradually increased the white and the Cadmium Yellow Medium to build up the highlights on the leaves in the trees, bushes and grassy areas. I was careful to use smaller, and more delicate strokes for the foliage further away, and more vigorous strokes in the foreground foliage, being more mindful of the directions that the leaves of Banksias seem to take.


I used a small brush and pure Dioxazine Purple to work into the shadows to increase the darker areas in the trees and in the lower shrubbery, and then added some Forest Green, to just soften some of the transitions from darkness into light. I also strategically placed flecks of Burnt Umber, and little bits of orange and red here and there, to suggest dead and dying leaves.


Using neat Burnt Umber and a very small brush, I brush in some dead and dying grasses along the edges of the tracks and put some of the lovely tendrils that Spinifex sends across our beaches here.

I then use neat Titanium White to put highlights on the sand and the track, and to increase the intensity of the light. I then went back over the whole painting, adding flecks of colour and highlights onto the leaves to gradually push some leaves forward and used darker colours push others into the shadows.

Thanks so much Mark for a great insight into how this gorgeous sun-drenched beachscape was created :) To follow Mark on his socials,

click here for Facebook,

click here for Instagram,

click here for his website.




We 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 next time, make sure you stay safe and well, and chuck some paint around!

Cheers from Frankie & Mark :)


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