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Skillshare

Acrylic Painting: Brushwork For Beginners

via Skillshare

Overview

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In this class I’ll guide you from making your very first brushstrokes to painting beautiful acrylic paintings with confidence. 

Acrylic paints are a great choice for beginners. Vibrant, versatile and lots of fun! This class is designed to  get you feeling confident with your materials in no time. A great class if you're new to painting or if you want to level up your brushwork and explore more of what your acrylic paints are capable of.

You’ll learn:

  • All about the different brush shapes available and the types of marks you can create with them
  • How to control your brush and vary the pressure for best results
  • Ways to create smooth gradients and expressive blending styles
  • Creating texture with drybrush, sponge and palette knife techniques

After taking this class you’ll know everything you need to use your brushes with confidence and create your own beautiful artworks with ease. You’ll be able to put your newfound skills into practice with the class project where you’ll paint a gorgeous sunset sky scene along with me.

Materials needed:

  • A range of paintbrushes in different shapes and sizes. Don’t worry if you haven’t got all the same brushes as me, just use the exercises to practice with whatever you do have at home.
  • Acrylic paints. I'm using Liquitex Basics in the class but any acrylic paints are fine. I’d recommend a set with all your primary colours (Red, Yellow, Blue), plus Black, White and a Brown. 
  • Scrap paper or sketchbook to test techniques
  • Acrylic paper, board or card for your final sunset painting
  • Waterpot & tissues
  • A sponge (just an ordinary kitchen sponge is fine)
  • A palette knife or anything else you could scratch into paint with like a comb, stick or piece of card.
  • A hairdryer isn’t essential but can be handy for speeding up drying times!

Have fun and I can’t wait to hear how you get on!

Discover All My Skillshare Classes Here

Recommended Next Classes:

More of my Skillshare classes: https://www.skillshare.com/user/katebroadhurst
My website: https://www.katebroadhurst.com/
Join me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katebroadhurststudio/

Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Ways To Use Round Brushes
  • Ways To Use Flat & Filbert Brushes
  • Specialist Brushes
  • Blending Techniques
  • Texture & Layering
  • Final Thoughts On Brush Types
  • Class Project Introduction
  • Painting Your Sunset Sky
  • Painting Your Horizon And Trees
  • Adding Your Final Details
  • Closing Thoughts

Taught by

Kate Broadhurst

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