Watercolor vs. Acrylic

When given the choice of watercolor vs. acrylic painting, everyone chooses to learn watercolor. In fact, I have to give the acrylic painting pep talk when I get inquiries about learning to paint. The truth is most people feel comfortable with watercolor because it is used everywhere. We are drawn to it’s pigments because they are happy and bright. We see watercolor images in card stores, on labels, illustrations, in animations and the list goes on forever.

However, when we think of acrylic painting, our thought process changes. We think, “Oh, I am not an artist” or “That looks hard. I could never do that.” Want to know a secret? It’s actually just the opposite! Acrylic paint is very forgiving and perfect for learning. Therefore, it is a great medium to use when you begin painting. Acrylic dries fast and covers well because it is opaque. You work the paint from dark to light colors. When applying color over the top of any dry area of your  painting, the true color will show on top of even the darkest color. If working while wet, the paint blends beautifully and mixes on canvas, without pre-mixing on your palette.

Watercolor can be more challenging. With watercolor you can build up layers of colors while painting, but you work in a different order than you do with acrylic paint. Watercolor is translucent and unlike acrylic, you can not cover up your mistakes. If you want to preserve areas of light color, then you must plan ahead in your painting. In class, I teach little tricks of the trade on how you can preserve the white space on your paper and how you can delicately “fix” some overly saturated areas of color. Watercolor is a patient process. It is a dance of learning the right amount of water to pigment and applying it on a absorbent paper. The key is timing, and it’s comes with experience and a lot of painting. You can work with watercolors as wet on wet or wet on dry. Once you learn the balance of how much water to use, it will completely take your painting to a higher level, and allow you to establish real color.

I recommend learning acrylic painting first and discovering some of the principles in painting that will help you in learning watercolor. Watercolor is the older wiser sister to acrylic when it comes to painting. I definitely like to see people take a few acrylic painting classes, and then move into a comfortable relationship with watercolor.

With the Spring and Summer months approaching, you may want to take your painting outdoors. If that is the case, then watercolor is definitely the perfect medium. Watercolor is the minimalist medium, because you just need your travel set of colors, one full brush that comes to a very narrow point, a great 140lb bond watercolor paper, and a spray bottle of water. If you are painting with watercolors outside and your paint dries, you can just dip your sable brush into the water and rewet the paint or paper. You can even revive dried watercolor paint by adding water, depending on what pigments you use. Acrylic painting outdoors can be more challenging. Acrylic paint is actually a type of plastic and the sun and temperatures tend to make it dry faster. Paint can even dry on your brush before you ever reach the canvas. And, unlike watercolor, adding water does not make more acrylic paint.

April and May bring beautiful flowers and it’s a great time to learn how to paint those pretty blooms. If you are ready, you can take a class anytime! Just schedule day and time, or check out the April calendar and join us in a small group setting.

Get out and get creative …

Block Printing

Some of you many remember block printing from your middle school or high school art class — and not in a fond way. I still hear horror stories from clients that remember trying to carve into hard, brittle linoleum blocks and trying not to stab themselves, all while trying to make something artistic in the process.

Well, my friends, those days are gone! Speedball and companies like Moo Carve have created the “soft block”. This new material is thicker, softer and allows for intricate and detailed carving all while saving your poor fingers from injury. The soft block allows you to carve with ease and focus on your design instead of fearing it.

February is a great time to reignite your love for block printing, by making you Valentine’s cards! The block printing process allows for the printing of multiple copies of the exact image which makes it a great choice for your Valentine’s cards. You can even print the same image and embellish it with markers making slight variations to the same design. You can even get your little ones in on the fun, by having them help with the printing process or by having them embellish the prints. Each card can be different and as special as the person it’s intended for.

If you decide to do tackle block printing at home you will need the following supplies that can be found at art supply stores like Art Things in West Annapolis or online here

  • an ebony pencil (for sketching and making a transfer backing)
  • your carving tool
  • a soft pink or blue speedball linoleum block
  • a soft roller for inking
  • smooth non textured paper
  • water soluble ink in the color of your choice

After drawing the image onto paper, simply rub the ebony pencil on the back of your design, making a carbon or graphite back. It can easily be transferred to the block by drawing over the design again. Carve out your design and then you are ready to apply the ink to the carved design. The process is trail and error until you get the feel for the brayer and ink. Then carefully turn over the inked block and press firmly and/or massage the block to transfer the ink to the cardstock.

If you have a change of heart and would like to take a class on block printing first, please come see me on Saturday, February 10th. Use this link to learn more about the class and to sign up yourself or with your family. Once you learn this skill/art form you will want to personalize every paper surface and tee shirt you own!

Let’s connect and create,