Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 More Small Paintings

Mark Daniel Nelson studied classical sculpture and drawing at the prestigious La Scuola Classical Sculpture School and holds a degree in Visual Communications from the Colorado Institute of Art. He has taught courses in Human Anatomy, Art History, and Oil Painting at the Art Students League of Denver and at the Curtis Arts and Humanities Center. His work can be found in numerous public and private collections around the US. He lives in Arizona in the US.

Chapter One: Introduction To Materials And Techniques

Choosing a surface

Acrylic paint

Brushes

Palettes

Colour and value

Basic design principles

Transferring your drawing

Displaying your work



Projects will include:

1. Basic paint application: Door

2. Mixing tints and shades: Envelope

3. Opaque layering: T-shirt

4. Simple shadows: Child's chalk drawing

5. Using simplified shapes: Toy duck

6. Exploring brush size: Pastry with sprinkles

7. Introduction to Massing: Daisy

8. Textured layering: Red barn

9. Simple reflections: Hot-air balloon

10. Understanding fabric: Theatre curtain

11. Painting a rough surface: Brick wall

12. Painting wood: Artist’s palette

13. Combining rough and smooth surfaces: Egg on toast

14. Painting negative space: Swan

15. Expressive brushstrokes: Banana peel

16. Hatching brushstrokes: Thistle

17. Combining large, medium, and small shapes: Paintbrush

18. Introduction to cubes: Butter and knife

19. Introduction to ellipses: Pineapple slice

20. Introduction to spheres: Pincushion

21. Introduction to cylinders: Pancakes

22. Introduction to cones: Birthday hat

23. Light and shadow on a cube: Sandwich

24. 'Slicing' a cylinder: Cake

25. Intermediate cubes: Building block giraffe

26. Combining a sphere, ellipse, and cone: Ice-cream cone

27. Light, shadow, and value: Paper bag puppet

28. Reflected light: Takeout carton

29. Subtle drybrush layering: Misty mountains

30. Luminosity: Iced tea

31. Translucency: Teabag

32. Transparency: Butterscotch candy

33. Luminosity and transparency: Lightbulb

34. Luminous glazing: Hazy city