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Updated by Joanna James on Mar 16, 2024
Headline for 5 Essential Painting Techniques For Artists - Creating timeless art one at a time
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Joanna James Joanna James
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5 Essential Painting Techniques For Artists - Creating timeless art one at a time

Every artist has their own way and process of creating art, and if you want to know what kind of painting techniques you must follow as an amateur artist, read on.

1

Underpainting

When you are using oils or acrylic painting, make sure you paint your canvas in a burnt colour or sienna before you begin your work. Never begin work on white. Acrylics are the best medium to use because they are quick-drying and permanent. After it dries, you can begin your painting. If you are starting to paint, make sure you paint from thin to thick especially when you use slow-drying pains. It's very difficult to walk on top of heavy, wet paint. Also, when you're adding highlights, add the brightest one at the end. To know more about heavy and light paint, you can take a look at Sri Lankan paintings and take a closer look at the various artworks at galleries like the Sri Lankan Art Gallery.

2

Blocking in

Various paint brushes come in different shapes and sizes and are made with different fibres. Therefore, using each paintbrush when creating art will give you varied results. The key is to try all of them before you stick to one when you think of an image. The most versatile kind of brush is the synthetic one. You can use this brush with almost all kinds of paint types. Brushes also come in round and flat types, and it is good to have a selection of both. As a budding artist, you will want to start collecting brushes during the beginning stage of your hobby or career. For your early works, you can get away with using flat, large or broad brushes. But once you get into more detailing, you will need different kinds of brushes.

3

Texture in your painting

If you want to add texture to your paintings and artwork, you will need to have a flat dry brush that you should use to blend your paint and create transitions within the painting. If you are an artist who likes to see a lot of texture in your work you can also leave your brush marks in the painting. Almost any item in the household can be used to add texture. You can even use things like eggshells and sand to add an interesting element to your artwork. Some people also use old toothbrushes to spatter their image with paint. This adds grain and noise to your art and can give you a really unique result at the end.

4

Dry brushing the painting

This is yet another method of applying colour that only partially covers a layer of paint you've already used. Add a drop of paint to your brush and apply it in fast quick strokes in one direction. This kind of brushing is used when you apply light paint over darker areas. People use this kind of dry brushing technique to add grass or rock textures to their artwork.

5

Glazing

This comes at the end of your work usually as it is the process of brushing a bit of transparent paint over the dry parts of your art. People use this to create shadows and modulate colours in their paintings. For instance, using light blue transparent paint over a dry, yellow colour will give you hues of green in the work.