Are some Acrylic paint brands better than others?

I have used many different brands of paint in my Paintings and in my Acrylic Painting Lessons. I have a preference for the thicker paints with more color pigment in them. Some of my favorite brands of Acrylic paints are Liquitex, Blick, and Utrecht because of their thick consistency and color. It pays to spend the extra dime when it comes to some of the shades of color. I have asked my students to purchase higher quality paint when purchasing brown or blue. I have noticed that some of the less expensive brands have more white or less pigment in them. It is difficult to make your own black by mixing brown and ultramarine blue when the colors are lighter than the more expensive brands. No matter what brand you purchase all paints will be trying to dry and get thicker as time goes on until they dry to the point where they are unusable. The brands I listed can be purchased at an art store online. I do not recommend mixing water into the tube of paint. You can add water to the paint you have on your palette, but do not put this back into the original container. Tap water can sometimes introduce bacteria into your paint. I can tell when this happens because the paint develops a foul odor. I really have not figured out how to counteract this. I usually toss paint that has developed an odor.

I do not recommend craft paints in bottles or paints that have less pigment in them, appearing lighter in color. I have Artist friends who have used the craft paint for their paintings.  In my Acrylic Painting Classes, we recycle our leftover paint into airtight containers. If you mix all the colors together it makes varying shades of grey and works great to paint rocks in future paintings.   Check out my original Paintings for sale at http://www.dkboljat.com/home.html

Complimentary Colors in my paintings.

• As an Artist and Acrylic Painting Instructor, I love painting color! I really enjoy mixing colors too. I like to use Complimentary Colors in my paintings because the visual contrast is visually intense and they just happen in nature. In Spring flowers bloom and you see examples of Complementary Colors. For Artists, they are found directly opposite each other on a Basic Color Wheel. One color is cool the opposite color is warm.  One example of complementary colors would be Red and Green. You see this at Christmas time, red and green decorations everywhere. When Red and Green are mixed together you can make Brown. 

• Examples of Complementary Colors are... 

• Cool    /  Warm

• Violet  /  Yellow

• Green /  Red 

• Blue   /  Orange

• Each pair contains combinations of three Primary colors. Mixing Complementary Colors neutralizes them, making them less brilliant or completely changing them to a different color. When Complementary Colors are placed next to each other, the result visually is simultaneous contrast. I am an Acrylic Painting Teacher in Sherwood Oregon. To see more about my Acrylic Painting Classes please visit D.K.Boljat's Painting Classes.

Acrylic vs Oil which is the easier Medium?

Part of  "Inspiration" Painting

 I start most of my paintings in my home studio with Acrylic paint. I use multiple reference photos. When I am creating a painting the beginning layer is painted with Acrylics, I typically sketch the image using Acrylic paint.  I can also easily build up texture using acrylic paint. I build texture for things in nature that look realistic with it. It is difficult to build texture using oil paint due to longer drying times.  After the Acrylic paint has dried I layer oil paint to achieve depth and detail in the painting. Although I enjoy Acrylic painting, I really enjoy painting with Oil Paints. If I had to choose which one was easier to paint with, Acrylic Paint is easier because it dries quickly and builds up texture fast. Oil paints are easier to blend as well as paint in layers but Oils are messier to use. I used these images because I love Hummingbirds and painting Waterfalls. I was inspired to paint a muted background behind the hummingbird.

Remember if you paint using both in the same painting, always start with Acrylics because you can paint Oil Paint over it. It does not work the other way, Acrylic will not stick on top of Oil Paint for long. As a Painting Instructor, I teach step by step painting with Acrylic Paints. Click here to see more about my Acrylic Painting lessons  Check out my Original Paintings for sale http://www.dkboljat.com/home.html .

Painting helps me see things differently

A Small part of my "Crater Lake" Painting

Are you an Artist, specifically a Painter? How long have you been Painting? I have been Painting since 2004, I became a professional Artist in 2005. I am a Painting Instructor at the Sherwood Center for the Arts in Sherwood Oregon. I noticed when I started painting, I started really seeing the trees, leaves, branches and more. I started taking notice of the beauty around me. Where I might have commented previously on a beautiful sunny day, I now notice beauty in every day. I think as I painted my mind's eye was on the lookout for new subjects to paint. I soon found myself really noticing the bark on trees or clouds in the sky.
Water has always intrigued me and painting it was more fun than I could have imagined. I am just wondering how many other artists out there have noticed that they literally see things that they have been creating in more detail than before they started creating Art. I really enjoy the fact that it has raised my awareness of the world I live in and the beauty I might have taken for granted before I picked up a paintbrush.
The two trees on the left are a small part of my Two Trees painting. I was inspired to paint the Beautiful bark on the trees. You can check out my art for sale and learn more about Acrylic Painting Lessons  at http://www.dkboljat.com/home.html

What is your favorite place to create paintings in?

My favorite place to paint is at my dining room table. If I have my art supplies set up at my table, I can do chores and clean house or work in the yard. I am able to interact with my family. I have a place set up at my dining room table with my brushes, a canvas tablecloth, and painting supplies.

Canvas works great for a table cover because it also serves as a good place to wipe the excess paint off of your paintbrush. I keep my painting supplies set up and available daily on the table (unless we are expecting company). When I have time I can stop and paint. With it set up and ready to go, I remember to paint daily. I am an Acrylic Painting Instructor and you can see more about my Acrylic Painting Lessons at http://www.dkboljat.com/home.html . 

Color Mixing

Having difficulty finding the exact Acrylic paint color you need? Have you thought about making the color for your painting? As an Acrylic Painting Instructor, I would recommend getting a color wheel to help you mix colors. These are available at any art supply store and will help you see what color to add to create your paint. After using the color wheel to make the colors you need, you might get better at mixing your own colors. With practice soon you will be able to mix them without referring to the color wheel. When I am mixing color for painting Acrylic Paintings or in my Acrylic Painting Classes, I leave the original colors as well and just put a little of both in the middle, so I can always use more of either color to get it just right.

If you need to lighten the color try adding a little white paint. You can always add more if needed. This will create a lighter tint of the original color. If you would like to attempt mixing a color now, you could try making your own black. A professional quality Burnt Umber Acrylic paint on one side and about the same amount of a professional quality Ultramarine Acrylic paint on the other.

The benefit to making your own black is, it is a natural black hue, great for painting shadows. It also works well in thin layers or as the darker color when painting animals. Both Mars and Ivory Black have their own tint when you mix with white. Ultramarine and Burnt Umber together make a very natural black hue that can be used in most paintings as the shadow. I am an Acrylic Painting Instructor and you can see more about my Acrylic Painting Lessons at

http://www.dkboljat.com/home.html 

Paint ocean water!

I am an Acrylic Painting Instructor. I live in Sherwood Oregon. If you would like to try painting an ocean with me, please first watch my blog post about painting a sky, except paint your sky with the paper horizontally, and let it dry completely. Here is a video of how I paint waves. You will need a tiny fan brush, a painted background sky, Titanium White Acrylic paint, both Ultramarine and Phthalocyanine Blue acrylic paint.

I had to stop the first video because my cat was chasing my dog around the house. Here is part 2. Next time I will make sure they are not running around when I start recording.

This is how I paint ocean waves, in my Acrylic painting Classes, you can see more or come take a class with me at  http://www.dkboljat.com/painting-classes.html