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Crafts > DIY Decor > Experimenting with Acrylic Paint

Experimenting with Acrylic Paint

by Carla Schauer 2 Comments

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Week 1 of The Great Art Supply Experiment is in the books. Whew!  Here’s what I made in this week’s experiment- the good, the bad, and the ugly.

If you’re just tuning in, you can find all the “what”s and “why”s at The Great Art Supply Experiment Introduction.  I’m trying some new things, picking up my art supplies, and having fun, learning along the way.  No rules, anything goes!

Layered Acrylic Paint Background. Experimenting with Art Blog Series from Carla Schauer Designs.

Confession: I skipped the first page of my experiment notebook. Something about that blank first page always makes me freeze up.  I also chose acrylic paint and limited myself to a set of 8 colors, just for this first week so I didn’t get overwhelmed with possibilities right out of the gate.

I started with the background in the main photo, adding layers of paint with a large flat brush, and using magic mesh for a texture resist. This is a great way to start playing, since it’s all about adding marks without shape.

week 1 of Art Experimenting with Carla Schauer Designs. Acrylic paint.

I added these circle flowers and some hanging hearts the next day to experiment with different brush types.

Practicing brushwork with leftover acrylic paint.  Carla Schauer Designs Art Experiment series.

Practicing small brushwork in the Art Experimenting series with Carla Schauer DesignsI used the leftover paint on my palette to practice with my smaller brushes, making a variety of different flowers.  I look forward to trying something similar later when I’ve had more practice (and less coffee! Another lesson learned.).  I like some of the shapes much better than others.

1-large brush dash

Working with bigger brushes and the same color palette to make a bold, bright background.

 

What I learned this week:

  • I do not like waiting for paint to dry. More than once I created muddy colors because of my impatience.  Score one for digital.
  • There is no undo command in painting.  Ok, I knew this already, but I missed undo this week. I need a lot more practice working around things I did that I ended up not liking.
  • Letting go of perfection is just as hard as I thought it would be.  It’s also important, and getting getting a tiny bit easier every time.
  • I’m incredibly glad I started this experiment.  I hope you are too.

 

A few words on the creative process

One more thing before I sign off for this week…there will be good, bad, and ugly work in my notebooks, especially this first one. I’m not going to love, or even like, them all. But to get to the ones I love, I need to make lots and lots that I don’t.  It’s a process.  So if you’re not loving what you put on the page at first, it’s OK!

Take a minute to watch this video from Ira Glass on Creativity.  Whether you’re creating only for fun, or working toward a career, these words are inspiring!

Thanks for stopping by!  If you have done some art experimenting this week and blogged about it or posted somewhere, let me know in the comments.  I’d love to see what you made!

Until next time…

Carla

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Filed Under: Creative Growth Experiment, DIY Decor Tagged With: acrylic paint, art experiment, creativity, Sketchbook Share

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Comments

  1. Amanda

    March 30, 2015 at 7:52 pm

    I love those circle flowers and hanging hearts Carla!

    Reply
    • Carla Schauer

      March 31, 2015 at 11:55 am

      Thank you Amanda! So sweet of you to say!

      Reply

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