Painting with Acrylics
Course Overview
Explore acrylic painting techniques!
This acrylic painting course is designed for anyone with an interest in acrylic painting who wants to enrich and develop their skills in a fun and supportive environment.
The exercises and projects are flexible and adaptable to all skill levels. Throughout the course, there is a strong emphasis on class discussions and peer-to-peer feedback, ensuring a well-rounded and engaging learning experience. The first few weeks focus on building a strong foundation in acrylic painting, covering essential techniques and concepts. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of historical and contemporary artists across various genres, students will experiment with different approaches and methodologies. In the second half of the course, they will refine their focus, honing their skills and developing their personal artistic style.
Course Breakdown
This is a general overview of the course structure and planned lessons but may be subject to adjustments based on the needs of the class.
Week 1:
Introduction to Acrylic painting materials, techniques and processes.
Learning about a range of acrylic painting surfaces, mediums, brushes.
Colour mixing and mark making exercise and beginning of first painting.
Week 2:
Understanding tone, value and underpainting with acrylics.
Identifying tone/value, learning how to paint a tonal painting, to then be painted in colour if desired.
Week 3:
Understading form, volume and perpective in the picture plane through still life composition. Rendering with consideration of the play of light, texture and colour in the group of objects.
Week 4: Landscape & Expressive Techniques
Understanding colour, using expressive gesture, layering and composition in landscape painting.
Interpreting the landscape through memory, lived experience as well as photographic reference.
Week 5:
Exploring experimental techniques, incorporating other materials with acrylics, opening up the concept of abstraction, interpretation and the materiality of painting.
Weeks 6:
Final project/s building on techniques and concepts learnt in past weeks.
Student-directed with ongoing tutor guidance and demonstrations, with the aim of producing approximately 2 - 3 original finished student works depending on individual choices and methods.
Outcomes
After attending the painting with Acrylics course students should:
- Feel more confident handling acrylics as a versatile and interative medium for approaching a range of painting subjects.
- Have begun to express their own style and interests using a variety of acrylic painting techniques and processes.
- Take home their own documented learning, exercises and studies to see their progress from week one and be able to revisit the skills learnt through out the course to continue building on their painting approach.
- Finish with 2-3 (or more!) finished original paintings, as well as the skills to continue developing further paintings beyond the course.
Materials List
Small to Medium Canvas/primed MDF board/canvas paper for acrylic painting
Sketchbook - Any size from A5 to A3 - for making notes and drawing
Brushes – Majority synthetic brushes and a couple of hog hair brushes • 3 flat bristle brushes in sizes that are approximately 15mm, 10mm and 5mm wide • 3 filbert brushes in sizes that are approximately 15mm, 10mm and 5mm • 1 wide 3-4 cm cheap hog hair brush • 1 or 2 small round brush for detail
Acrylic paint (recommended brand: Atelier, Matisse, Golden, Liquitex):
· Titanium White
· Ultramarine Blue (warm blue) • Pthalo Blue (cool blue)
· Cadmium Red (warm red) • Alizarin Crimson (cool red)
· Cadmium Yellow medium hue (warm yellow) • Lemon Yellow (cool yellow)
· Burnt Umber • Burnt Sienna • Yellow Ochre • Naples Yellow •
· Viridian
Medium: Clear painting medium, acrylic drying retarder, acrylic impasto medium (optional)
1 palette knife with a pointy tip for mixing paints.
1 large flat plastic palette
Masking tape(optional)
*If you are not a beginner and would like to use oil paints please bring a jar for you to use odourless solvent (no turps), there is nowhere to dispose of the solvent in the art room and so this must get taken home after class.
Receive 10% Discount
If you join any of our creative courses, you will receive a 10% discount off full-priced items at Eckersley’s Art & Craft. Discount applies on presentation of course receipt. Stores included are Eckersley’s Chatswood & St. Leonards.
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About the tutor
Shelly Du
Shelly attended many classes at North Sydney Centre from life drawing to watercolour painting, acrylics and pottery. Shelly enjoyed all the classes and says now it is her time to contribute as a tutor. 'North Sydney Community Centre holds a very important position in my heart because I started my art career here when I sold my first painting in the North Sydney 2014 Student & Tutor Exhibition. It greatly encouraged me. A few years on, I've won quite a few prizes in art exhibitions in Sydney and sold more than 200 paintings with collectors from 10 countries. I would like to share my experience and my passion for art with the students in the centre.'
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