Painting with acrylics

So, now you've got your basic colors of paint and all your painting equipment, you're ready to start painting. Here's the basic sequence:

Set up to start painting.

Fill up your water jar and put some paper towels within reach. Grab a blank canvas (or canvasboard) and put it where you can reach it, and where it won't slide around too much. Put your brushes where you can reach them (stand them bristle end up in an empty jar).

Tape down a piece of the freezer paper to your table for your palette (or tape it to a piece of cardboard for a portable palette).

Squeeze out your paints onto your palette. Yep, that's artist-speak. You unscrew the tube of paint, gently squeeze from the base like toothpaste, and put a small glob of paint on your palette, preferably somewhere near the edge. You should leave most of the palette empty so you can mix colors in the big empty area. Squeeze out only a little bit of each color to start out, until you know how much you're likely to use. The paint dries pretty quickly, so whatever you've squeezed out is going to have to be used up or else it's wasted. I'd recommend putting the colors in a particular order (like the rainbow, perhaps) and sticking with that same order every time you paint. That way, you'll get used to where the colors are because they're always in the same places, and you'll paint more efficiently.

If the paint on your palette looks like it's trying to dry up on you, mist it with some water from a spray bottle, or sprinkle some water on it with your fingers.

Now, grab a brush, dip it in one of the paints, and start painting! You can use the colors as they are, water them down a little by dipping the brush in the water and then mixing the water into the paint, or you can mix new colors on your palette. See my paint mixing article for color-mixing tips.

On holding the brush. There are actually two different ways to hold a paintbrush. You can hold it in a "precision grip" (like holding a pen), or a "power grip" (like a hammer). If you're sitting down and painting flat on a table then you'll be using the precision grip, but be aware that the power grip is considered preferable, especially for larger paintings. To get the most benefit from a power grip, however, you'll need to be standing up, painting at an easel. Don't worry if you're not equipped to do that yet, it can wait. Just remember to switch to the power grip if you ever get the chance to paint at an easel. It will feel awkward at first, but it's really the better way to go in the long run.

Keep your brushes wet! The best way to ruin a brush is to let acrylic paint dry on it. Dried acrylic paint is plastic, hard and permanent. Don't let that happen to your brushes! All you need to do is thoroughly rinse each brush in your water jar every time you finish using it during a painting session. When I say thoroughly, I mean so thoroughly that you can't see any paint on the brush after you're done rinsing it. Lay the rinsed brushes down, still wet, in a special place while you're still painting. You might be tempted to just stand them bristle-end down in the water jar, but I don't recommend doing that for more than a couple minutes, because it'll eventually bend the bristles over. Just lay the brushes down wet (and make sure they stay wet) while you're still painting. You then wash them in soap and water when you finish painting for the day.

Clean-up

Wash your brushes. When you're finished for the day, take all the brushes you've used that day and wash each one with soap and water. Here's the method I use: swish the brush in circles against the bar of soap, like you're painting on the soap. You'll probably see a little color tinge in the lather, which means that there's still paint in the brush. Get a lot of soap worked into the bristles, then rinse the brush out by painting circles on the palm of your hand under running water. Repeat this soaping and rinsing at least 3 times for each brush to get them really clean. You'll know they're clean when no more color shows on the soap. You can shake the excess water off the brush, or gently press it off using a paper towel. Make sure the brush is in the correct shape when you put it away. Round brushes should "repoint" themselves when you flick the water off them, but you'll probably need to use your fingers to get the flat brushes to lie flat. Store your clean brushes bristle end up in an empty jar.

Clean up the mess. Untape the freezer-paper palette and carefully throw it away. I say carefully, because this is usually the part where I drip wet paint from the palette onto myself or the floor. You should also store your painting somewhere safe, where it's not likely to be trod upon or brushed against. Contrary to popular opinion, acrylics do not dry instantly, and they can remain tacky up to an hour, depending on the thickness of the paint.

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Articles on Acrylic Painting - Getting Started

Why paint with acrylics?
Basic equipment for acrylic painting
Buying acrylic paints
Painting with acrylics
Mixing colors