Facing a blank canvas can be intimidating. Create a vibrant painting utilizing everyday items as mark-making tools to create a variety of patterns in this street art inspired workshop. By combining simplicity, line and vivid colour through the use of opaque and transparent glazes, students will learn to slightly abstract form to create vibrant images. Inspired by graffiti, we will begin by utilizing acrylic paint, stencils, stamps and other mark making tools to create a vibrant abstract background. Intuitively we will explore colour theory, contrast and the value of mark-making. We will complete our paintings by including a combination of symbols and images to create a visual story inspired by personal memories. Tools & Materials:
Stretched canvas, panel or paper
Acrylic paints
Stencils and/or stamps (I will provide some to share as well)
paint brushes (I use 3” & 1” flats along with a small round)
Water dish & Rag
Mark-making tools (ie. small brayer or roller, palette knife or gift card, dish soap or juice lids, spray bottle for water)
Tips:
I used a couple of different sizes of paint brushes for added interest.
If using paper, coat with a layer of white gesso to add texture and substance to the surface.
A stencil brush and acrylic paint will allow better control over the stencils but I tend to like the beauty of imperfection.
Clean water dish regularly to keep paint colours vibrant.
For paints I like to usea mix of opaque & transparent Liquitex heavy body or Artist’s Loft (Michaels) acrylics (this is just a suggested list): alizarin crimson, pthalo green (red shade), pthalo blue (red shade), cadmium-free red medium, cadmium-free yellowmedium, brilliant yellow green, bright aqua green, dioxazine purple, cadmium-free orange, titanium white
Facing a blank canvas can be intimidating. Using acrylic paints and stencils we will have fun creating an interesting surface that can be displayed as is or, as in other workshops, layered with imagery to create a finished painting.
Directions:
Using acrylic ink and a paddle brush (or large house painting brush) and plenty of water (a spray water bottle also works well), apply colour liberally on the canvas.
Allow to dry well in between layers in order to keep colours vibrant.
Using another colour of paint and the 1 inch brush, add a transparent colour in spots around the canvas (don’t cover all of the initial layer). Wet with plenty of water and allow the colour to spread and drip.
Once that layer has dried, take your stencils and spray paint to a well-ventilated area and begin adding patterns. Pay attention to repeating pattern and colour around the canvas in order to keep the image interesting and the viewer’s eye moving around the surface.
NOTE: After living with the painting I had created in the video for a while, I decided to return to it with stencils, a white paint pen and teal spray paint.