Hello everyone! I hope you all have been enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful outdoors. For this weeks posting, I will be delving into the medium of acrylic paint. I do consider myself an artist, but I am not all that familiar with composing with acrylic paint. I have been trying to expand my horizon of skills in regards to art making.

Acrylic paint is a water soluble pigment that becomes water resistant when it dries. This fast drying paint can be difficult to work with because it leaves little time to blend and mix colors together. This medium was developed in the 1940’s and was meant to portray aspects of both oil paint and watercolor. Acrylic paint can be used on a wide range of materials such as paper, canvas, wood and mixed media. This paint can enhance a painting through depth, scale and color. It can produce soft effects similar to watercolor or even a sharp layered effect such as oil paint. Many artists were initially drawn to acrylic paint because the drying time was almost nothing compared to an oil painting, which could take days to dry. Acrylic paint used in mixed media such as collage can evoke an experimental tone to the overall work itself. Another benefit to acrylic paint is that is it less prone to cracking after drying unlike oil paint. This is due to a binder found in the acrylic paint which is an acrylic polymer emulsion, it allows the paint to be more flexible.

I have been experimenting with acrylic paint and layering until I have my desired composition. I have found this to be not only exciting but also relaxing. I tend to take my time and travel to another place in my mind which allows me to create freely. These two particular works of mine were inspired by the sky. Being inside my home for months now because of the pandemic, I have realized that I spend most of my day staring out my window looking at the world around me. The sky is ever changing, I do not believe I have ever seen the same sky twice. Each cloud is so unique and one of a kind, that I want to make my own sky. Listed below, are two different works I composed with acrylic paint. Each is my interpretation of different skies I have looked at and captured images of. My ideal sunset contains tone of orange and peach, which led me to creating the top piece. Large, white, and fluffy clouds across the sky, at rest waiting for the sun to set. The bottom sky is scattered with cirrocumulus clouds of all shapes and sizes. Looking as though they’re being whisked away by the wind.

All in all I feel as though this medium was easy to work with. I allowed the paint to dry and just added layers on top to create the color and effect I wanted. I will need to spend more time blending and learning how to mix the medium. I feel as though that may of have been one of my downfalls, but I will try again! I highly recommend trying out a new medium for all you artists out there wanted to try something new. I realize that the only way to find my style of art is to create! My goal is create one piece everyday, even if its bad! Creating bad art allows you to experiment and pave your way to finding your artistic style. Remember, Rome was not built in a day!