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!
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!
click the image to download this free guide!
