How to Get Better at Acrylic Painting

How to get better at acrylic painting is a question I get asked all the time! I want to help you and share some of my tips! Ever wondered how you to get better at acrylic painting? You want to improve but are unsure where to begin and what acrylic painting tips to follow?

Learn from artist Jackie Partridge for how you can improve your acrylic painting fast with these acrylic painting tips!

I am a certified teacher and artist with my Master of Fine Arts. I have noticed common mistakes that beginner acrylic painters to make and want to help you so that you can avoid them! I want to help you improve your acrylic painting and transition you from a beginner painter to a more confident painter!

How to Get Better at Acrylic Painting

Mistake #1 -They use the paint straight out of the tube


By mixing your colours and not using them straight from the tube not only can you show off your colour mixing skills but you can create stronger paintings that have more detail, more colour, more variety and are more interesting.

In a painting, it is good to avoid having large solid areas of a plain flat colour especially if you are wanting a more realistic style or to capture something like a landscape. Think about a small patch of grass -there is more than one shade of green. There is light green with green+white, bright green with green+yellow, dull green with green+red, dark green with green+black and even blue green with green+blue. Make sure you practice and experiment with your colour mixing. Read this blog post on colour mixing!

Mistake #2 -They don’t vary their brushstrokes or types of brushes


Just like practicing colour mixing it is important to practice different brushstrokes. In a painting you can use a different brushstroke in a different area. For example you might want a smooth brush stroke in a sky and a textured brushstroke in the grass or leaves. Check out my YouTube channel for tips!

Although you don’t need a ton of brushes it is good to have options. I recommend starting with 1-2 small detail round brushes for fine details, a 1-2 inch flat brush for the painting large areas like backgrounds and a medium round brush size #6 for painting medium sized areas like tree branches and shading. These are the main brushes I use in my painting and they are great brushes to start with. As you continue painting you can add extra brushes to your collection to experiment with.

Mistake #3 -They buy a ton of supplies they won’t end up using


You don’t actually need a lot of art supplies to get started painting with acrylics. Read this blog post for a list I recommend you to use to get started. By purchasing only what you need, you will be able to save money and not have extra supplies sitting around waiting to be used!

10 Tips to Help You Become a Better Painter - click the image to download now!

10 Tips to Help You Become a Better Painter - click the image to download now!

If you like these tips I have created a FREE 12 page guide for you to download - that includes a list of 10 common mistakes beginner painters make and how to avoid them! I share a lot of great acrylic painting tips with you in this guide!

You can also check out my YouTube channel - where you can see helpful step by step painting tutorials for beginner painters! Subscribe to my channel here!

Helpful Blog Posts

Read this blog post to help with landscape painting

Read this to help with still life painting!

Learn how to paint better clouds

Try painting coaching to improve your skills quickly!

click the image to download this free guide!

click the image to download this free guide!

Fall YouTube Painting Video Recap!

Check out my acrylic painting YouTube channel >>Jackie Partridge Art<< Here is a list of YouTube videos that were posted to my channel over the last couple months as a little recap. In case you might’ve missed some of my acrylic painting tutorials! There are some great pumpkin painting tutorials and even a pumpkin painting kids tutorial!

You can read the descriptions of the videos before clicking the link to see the video.

You can watch these videos for free at anytime. If you have a YouTube account you can click the clock in the top right corner of the video to save it to your “Watch List” to watch it for later.

Be sure to subscribe to my channel —you can click the bell beside the subscribe button on YouTube to receive notifications of when new videos are added! - I release NEW videos every month!

If you like a video be sure to hit the “thumbs up” to like it or share it with a friend!

Let’s take a look at the videos for this month!

Posca Pen Zentangle

Learn the relaxing art of zentangle and unwind learning about this technique to incorporate into your acrylic paintings. This short tutorial is simple enough for kids to try!

Watch Posca Pen Zentangle- HERE

Video Length: 11 min. 33 sec.

9 different brushstrokes with acrylic paint example by Jackie Partridge

9 Different Brushstrokes for Beginners

I will teach you nine different brushstrokes that you can use to elevate your acrylic paintings. This tutorial is short and easy for beginner painters to try or even kids!

Watch 9 Different Brushstrokes for Beginners-HERE

Video Length: 11 min 52 sec.

Pumpkin acrylic painting for kids or beginners! Perfect art lesson for kids!

Pumpkin acrylic painting for kids or beginners! Perfect art lesson for kids!

Paint a Pumpkin

This is a perfect full painting tutorial for beginners or kids age 7 and up! Learn how to paint a pumpkin complete with a spider and spider’s web. Learn about colour mixing, painting shadows and highlights and more!

Watch Paint a Pumpkin- HERE

Video Length: 16 min. and 11 sec.

Abstract Pumpkin Painting -painted with a palette knife by Jackie Partridge

Paint an Abstract Pumpkin

In this video learn how to create texture in your acrylic painting using a brush and palette knife. Paint an abstract pumpkin perfect for some fall decor in your home. The perfect Thanksgiving or Halloween art project. Learn about mixing green, orange and grey as well as how to choose the perfect background colour.

Watch Abstract Pumpkin Painting-HERE

Video Length: 25 min. and 32 sec.

If you would like to improve your acrylic painting - sign up to receive my FREE painting guide where I share 10 tips to improve your acrylic painting and the 10 common mistakes beginner painters make and how you can avoid them!


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August 2020 YouTube Painting Tutorials Recap!

I started an acrylic painting YouTube channel >> Jackie Partridge Art << on Sunday July 5, 2020. Here is a list of YouTube videos that were posted to my channel this month as a little recap. In case you might’ve missed some of these painting tutorials on my YouTube acrylic painting channel!

You can read the descriptions of the videos before clicking the link to see the video.

You can watch these videos for free at anytime. If you have a YouTube account you can click the clock in the top right corner of the video to save it to your “Watch List” to watch it for later.

Be sure to subscribe to my channel —you can click the bell beside the subscribe button on YouTube to receive notifications of when new videos are added! - I release NEW videos every month!

If you like a video be sure to hit the “thumbs up” to like it or share it with a friend!

Let’s take a look at the videos for this month!

Painting With Posca Pens -The Basics!

In this acrylic painting tutorial for beginner artists I show you the basics of working with Posca Pens and incorporating them in your acrylic paintings! This video is perfect for people of all ages - I recommend age 9 and up for this video as having coordination with drawing, fine motor skills will be helpful for this art material. Learn how to use a Posca Pen, What are Posca Pens?, Ideas for using Posca Pens in your painting and more. This is video is for people who have never used a Posca Pen before and to provide them with a basic introduction.

Watch the Painting with Posca Pens Video Here!

Video Length: 12 min. 14 sec.

Palette Knife Basics

How do you use Palette Knives? What are Palette Knives? What Palette Knife is right for you? I will help you answer these questions in this quick video paint lesson. Learn about the difference between plastic and wooden palette knives and find the one right for you. Gain confidence in learning about palette knives to be able to create beautiful and textured abstract acrylic paintings! Fall in love with palette knives and explore the possibilities of palette knife painting.

Watch the Palette Knife Basics Video Here!

Video Length: 5 min. 8 sec.

Palette Knife Cloud Painting

This painting lesson is perfect for beginners with no experience using a palette knife before! Recommended age is 9 and up! This is an easy art technique and painting lesson to try --- learn a new simple acrylic painting technique to add to your skill development today! In this video art lesson -learn how to paint a cloudy sky with a palette knife. Learn about colour mixing with a palette knife, painting layers, creating texture, palette knife technique and how to paint clouds.

Watch the Palette Knife Cloud Painting Video Here!

Video Length: 27 min. 40 sec.

3 Acrylic Painting Tips To Save You MONEY!

3 Tips for Saving Money on Acrylic Painting! Check out this video and learn three tips for saving money on acrylic painting. Perfect tips for a beginner painter or intermediate painter of all ages.

Watch the 3 Tips for Saving Money on Acrylic Painting Video Here!

Video Length: 7 min. 53 sec.

Would you like to improve your acrylic painting? Grab my FREE 16 page guide where you can learn the 10 mistakes beginner acrylic painters make and how to avoid them!

Flower Printing is a great technique to create an abstract painting and is a fun project to try with kids!

Flower Printing is a great technique to create an abstract painting and is a fun project to try with kids!

Flower Printing

Flower Printing is a fun painting technique for any age! You could even try this technique with toddlers. This is a great technique to add to your painting. You can create a beautiful texture and layer your designs. Flower printing is great for abstract painting, fun experiments, collage or mixed media art.

Watch the Flower Printing Video Here!

Video Length: 16 min. 26 sec.

If you have an idea of a video you would like me to do- let me know in the comments. I appreciate every subscribe, like and comment on my channel - it helps me to make money as an artist!

I release a new video every other week- so be sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss a thing!

July 2020 YouTube Painting Tutorials Recap!

Check out my Jackie Partridge Art YouTube Channel. Here is a list of YouTube videos that were posted to my channel this month as a little recap. To see some acrylic painting tutorials you might’ve missed!

You can read the descriptions of the videos before clicking the link to see the video.

Read this blog post about what supplies you need to get started with acrylic painting! Click here to read!

You can watch these videos for free at anytime. If you have a YouTube account you can click the clock in the top right corner of the video to save it to your “Watch List” to watch it for later.

Be sure to subscribe to my channel —you can click the bell beside the subscribe button on YouTube to receive notifications of when new videos are added! - I release NEW videos every month!

If you like a video be sure to hit the “thumbs up” to like it or share it with a friend!

Let’s take a look at the videos for this month!

Art Supplies

I recommend watching this video first! It is a great introduction to acrylic painting and I will show you and explain the different acrylic painting supplies you need to get started. It’s nice to visually see the supplies you need. Buying art supplies can be a bit overwhelming at first but I help guide you to make this process easier!

Watch the Art Supplies Video- HERE

Video Length: 11 min. 40 sec.

In this video I go over basic supplies needed for acrylic painting to get you started! Check it out here:https://youtu.be/r3LPp25h9mI

In this video I go over basic supplies needed for acrylic painting to get you started! Check it out here:

https://youtu.be/r3LPp25h9mI

Related Articles

You can also read this blog post here if you prefer seeing a written copy of art supplies you need!

Check out my blog post on my favourite painting supplies here!

Colour Wheel and Value Scale

If you haven’t painted before and don’t know much about mixing colours - I recommend watching this video. I explain the basics of colour theory. You will learn about primary, secondary and tertiary colours and how to mix them. You will also learn about making a tint or shade with a colour. This is a great educational video perfect for beginners, teachers, parents homeschooling and daycare providers. Colour mixing is the foundation of acrylic painting!

Watch the Colour Wheel and Value Scale Video- HERE

Video Length: 25 min. 9 sec.

Grab a FREE Guide to Mixing Green/Grey here!

Mixing Green

This video is great for developing your skills. Mixing green is not as simple as mixing yellow and blue paint. If you are great at mixing greens then you will be able to mix a variety of greens and will be able to paint more realistic landscape paintings.

Watch the Mixing Greens Video- HERE

Video Length: 13 min. 20 sec.

Mixing Grey

Mixing grey is not as simple as black + white. The more variety you have in your colours the more interesting your paintings will be! This video is a quick way to develop your colour mixing skills and make more professional looking paintings!

Watch the Mixing Greys Video- HERE

Video Length: 8 min. 15 sec.

Mixing grey paint with paint palette and colour chart

Mixing Brown

You have probably made brown before when mixing a bunch of colours together on your palette. Maybe it was even on accident! There is such a difference between mixing your own brown and using brown straight from the tube. Learn more about colour mixing and improve your paintings with this video!

Watch the Mixing Browns Video- HERE

Video Length: 6 min. 15 sec.

How to Paint a Campfire

Learn how to paint a campfire! This video is a workshop I have ran with kids as young as 7 and adults. This video tutorial is recommended for kids age 7 and up! (it can be challenging for the younger ones but if a child is creative and loves learning -this is for them) Learn how to paint trees, paint a night sky and of course a campfire. This is a great introductory painting for a beginner to try!

Watch the Campfire Painting Video- HERE

Video Length: 40 min. 41 sec.

Campfire painting tutorial by Jackie Partridge

Painting a Mermaid Tail

This is the perfect video lesson for age 7+ an amazing painting for beginners to try! This fun painting will explore mixing greens, printing with household objects to create texture and more! Learn how to paint this fun underwater mermaid tail!

Watch the Mermaid Tail Painting Video- HERE

Video Length: 28 min. 38 sec.

Mermaid tail painting done by Jackie Partridge

Painting Clouds

This video is a bit more challenging than some of the other videos. I recommend trying some other painting tutorials first. This video is great for an intermediate painter but of course beginner painters are welcome to give this a try! Painting clouds can be hard! In this video you will learn to paint more realistic clouds, how to paint a sky and creating highlights and shadows.

Watch the Painting Clouds Video- HERE

Video Length: 16 min. 46 sec.

This is a Painting Tutorial all about painting Skies and Clouds - Perfect for an intermediate acrylic painter! Check it out here: https://youtu.be/RNGKfQ2B20k

This is a Painting Tutorial all about painting Skies and Clouds - Perfect for an intermediate acrylic painter! Check it out here: https://youtu.be/RNGKfQ2B20k

Painting Round Realistic Forms

In this video I show how to paint round forms and use the example of eggs in a nest. You will learn about brushstrokes and direction of shading. Learn about colour mixing, shadows and highlights to create a realistic round form. This is the perfect video for beginners or youth to try!

Watch the Painting Round Realistic Forms Video- HERE

Video Length: 15 min. 5 sec.

Painting a Lemon

This video is about painting a still life or a lemon in this case. Learn colour mixing, painting texture, highlights and shadows, choosing a background colour and more. This is a great video for beginners or intermediate painters.

Watch the Painting a Lemon Video- HERE

Video Length: 29 min. 41 sec.

How to paint a lemon with a real lemon still life

If you have an idea of a video you would like me to do- let me know in the comments.

I release a new video every week- so be sure to subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss a thing!

Check out my YouTube Channel and Subscribe to see new video tutorials every week!

Do you want to get better at your acrylic painting? Learn how you can avoid the 10 common mistakes beginner painters make - by clicking the button below and downloading the FREE 16 page guide!

Happy Painting!

Paint Tutorials - Full Videos on my New Youtube Channel

View painting tutorials for beginner acrylic painters on my YouTube Channel. Check out my New YouTube channel where you can access free painting video lessons including small short videos on tips and techniques like colour mixing. Learning about what art supplies you need to get started. As well as full painting tutorials from start to finish that are creative and simple for beginners.

I am a trained painter in acrylics. I have my Master of Fine Arts and I am also a certified teacher. With my teaching experience, I make my painting tutorials easy and simple to understand. My videos are perfect for beginner painters and there are even videos that are easy enough for kids to do!

Click the links under the images to access these YouTube videos!

Paint a campfire from start to finish - easy enough for kids age 7+ to do! https://youtu.be/EjcHdErkTyQ

Paint a campfire from start to finish - easy enough for kids age 7+ to do! https://youtu.be/EjcHdErkTyQ

If you like these videos be sure to subscribe new videos come out each month!

You can view my channel here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJQ33KVL3NJpZ7ahIeLEpeA

Paint a Mermaid Tail perfect for beginner artists age 7 and up! https://youtu.be/bIdw1EcqEQo

Paint a Mermaid Tail perfect for beginner artists age 7 and up! https://youtu.be/bIdw1EcqEQo

Not sure about what art supplies you need to get started? Check out this blog post! I share all the painting supplies you need before you watch any of my acrylic painting tutorials!

If you complete a painting I would love to see it and give you feedback and a virtual hug! Tag me on Instagram @jackiepartridgeart or use the hashtag #jackiepartridgeartclasses

Click the Image to Pin it for Later! Learn acrylic painting by watching these painting tutorials

Click the Image to Pin it for Later! Learn acrylic painting by watching these painting tutorials

If you are new to acrylic painting and you would like to improve your painting skills - click the button below where you can download my FREE guide on how to become a better acrylic painter by avoiding the 10 common mistakes beginner painters make!

Is there something you are dying to learn about painting with acrylics. Leave me a comment below!

Happy Painting!

Check out more of my kids acrylic painting lessons on my blog!

Other Popular Painting Lessons for Kids:

How to Paint a Simple Bee

How to Paint a Halloween Pumpkin

Painting Desserts