Painting a Dolphin

Lesson #1

Materials The first thing I will start with is a list of what you will need: Colors: Titanium White, Turquoise green, Turquoise Deep, Brilliant Blue, Ivory Black, Yellow Oxide, and Scarlet. Suggested paint: Liquitex (jars, not tubes). Another brand other than Liquitex will work if you don't need detailed explanations of brush strokes and glazing techniques. Canvas: Fredrix medium grain. (red label) I am being specific again because the canvas I like to use with acrylic is textured to allow for some layering of the paint in glazing and scumbling (dry brush rubbing). Brushes: I use anything of quality. But to make it simple you will need to have a few basic brushes. 1/2" & 1 1/2 " china bristle.----- The hardware variety is fine. 1/4 " flat-----Synthetic is fine. Fine liner brush.------This is used for details and signatures. Old discarded junk brushes.--------These are used to do some of the coral---- I will sometimes cut them in a round shape to make them work better. kitchen sponge.-----I cut these in different widths. Then I cut the ends round. Other items: paper towels, sandwich paper, glass pallet (works best), easel, chair,and if needed a fresh cup of coffee. I do have all of the above available if your unable to find them. I even have Kona Coffee. But try to buy what you can find in your own area. Getting Started After you have bought the tools to paint with, then you are ready to start to paint. No you don't have to wait to get months of instruction first. You start to paint first and learn what you need as you go. So grab your paints and find a place that you will not be disturbed. Get a small bucket of water to clean your brushes in. Find some paper towels and come back and sit down. If you don't have a easel, you can place a box behind your canvas. Get relaxed and place your paints and brushes on the table. I like to squirt my paints out on sandwich paper, under layered with a wet paper towel. This keeps it wet. I am going to start you with practicing painting strokes. Dip your 1/2 in. china bristle brush in your paint and gently brush it on the the canvas. No it doesn't matter what color at this time. Just paint. Don't paint large areas. Just move around the canvas and paint small two inch blotches of color. Practice and make painting a daily exercise. Acrylic dries fast. If you cover a wet spot again before it is dry, it will wipe off as well as get a muddy look. Practice just painting, not painting something. No trees or fish at this time. Now rinse your brush and dip it into another color. Try putting a lighter color over a darker color. Again give the first color about 5 minutes to dry first. The lighter acrylic colors are more opaque. Opaque just means it is not a color that can be seen through. Translucent means you can partially see through. And you can figure out what transparent means yourself. Now do this for about 20 minutes and try also to place a darker color over a lighter color. If you do this and brush the paint hard over the dry light color, you will create what is called a glaze. What you should have about now is a canvas with light and dark colors in different places, this exercise will lead you to a familiarity of how the paint flows from the brush, layer upon layer. Try filling your whole canvas. As long as you haven't been trying to blend two different wet colors together, but only paint one color in one area and another color in another area, letting it dry, you will soon come up with a canvas that looks like this. You have just completed your first technique lesson! Congratulations! If you are ready to go to the next lesson, click here.