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Acrylics Anonymous, Issue #133 -- A Time For Transition March 01, 2025 |
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. If you enjoy Acrylics Anonymous, and you know someone who might also enjoy it, you can share by forwarding it to your friends! If you are receiving this because a friend has forwarded this to you, and you would like to subscribe, click here! 
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.
Click here to watch the video!
Underwater Atmosphere! Atmospheric perspective is more obvious underwater, in that water is a dense atmosphere. But it highlights the idea of there being more of something between you and what you are looking at, the further away it is. It's a great tool for creating the illusion of distance. Air or water, it’s the same principle. 
News and more news! You may have noticed if you are on our other mailing lists that we are sending more regular emails. If you want to be first in line for workshop news, painting studies, book news and more, make sure you sign up here!
Workshop News "Inspiration, Discovery and Technique" August 30 to September 6 2025 Daku resort, Savusavu, Fiji Click here for more information on Mark's Fiji workshop! "Immersion" Enclave x Mark Waller October 5 to 11th 2025 Winnaleah, Tasmania Click here for the Tassie programme :) New on our Youtube channel Since our last AA we have released a few live shorts. Here they are in case you missed them! Click here for the live short "Underwater Getaway" Follow along - block in on two beachscape studies! Paint some palm frond highlights with Mark. 
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, from Florida, United States with their painting "Florida Cracker Cow Hunters". Thanks so much for sharing your painting with us Larry :) Click here for more on Larry's "Florida Cracker Cow Hunters"
David Ambarzumjan is a painter living and working in Berlin. His oil paintings in the series “Brushstrokes in Time” are a beautiful insight into possibility. With just one brushstroke he creates a portal to another world. Check out his incredible work here. "The Secret Lives of Color" by Kassia St. Clair is a fascinating exploration of the history, science, and cultural significance of colors. Check it out here! Check it out 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 fearless leader Mark! From Mark: "On one of my recent trips to the Solomons it had been raining quite heavily, and the water wasn’t quite as clean as it usually is. It still however, had a lovely bluey/grey “glow” to it that’s impossible to capture, but that doesn’t stop me from trying.
I sketched in the reef as I remembered it, and then mixed up colour that I felt best represented the colour of the water on that day. There was definitely Pthalo Blue involved. As I came forward into the foreground, I added more French Ultramarine Blue and a little bit of Burnt Umber.
When that was all roughed in, I put the canvas on the floor and started flicking paint, to create the illusion of flashes of colours in the coral. When that was done, I mixed up the background colour again, and added a fraction more Cadmium Yellow Light to create the illusion of patches of sand in amongst all the coral.
I used that same colour, and using a rolly brush technique over the tops of the heads of coral, to give them some roundness and volume. I then mixed up some Permanent Alizarine and White, and began to suggest coral plates and lumps here and there in the picture. I was sparing with this, as reds are the first colours to disappear under water. There were no reds in the background.
From this point on, it was literally a repeat of this process, with lots of different colours. I dragged a dry brush through here and there to increase the strength of the rays coming through the water, and using the edge of a brush, flicked spots of colour here and there to create the illusion of millions of tropical fish. A couple of silhouettes of giant trivially in the background, and a manta ray pirouetting in the mid ground, and we are almost done. I’m not sure if I’m sold on the foreground ray, but that is something for another day."
Until next time, make sure you stay safe and well, and don't forget to chuck some paint around! Cheers from Frankie & Mark :) For our Youtube channel, click here. To join our Youtube channel as a member for a few bucks every month (in exchange for even MORE awesome perks, click here. For our Instagram, click here. For our Threads, Click here. For our Website, click here. For our Facebook page, click here. For our Pinterest, click here. For our Tik Tok, click here. |
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