Fall 2018 Acrylic Class

Acrylic Project: Dancing Boots Week 2

  In our last class I worked on under painting the boots. I showed 2 ways of doing this: Wet into wet and just a straight under painting.

For both boots my basic starting color was a mix of thalo blue, a little touch of crimson and gesso (white) to lighten it to a middle value.

In the back boot as I painted and looking at my reference photo, I would pick up little touches of white when I was in an area that was lighter or had a highlight or more thalo and crimson where the boot looked darker. This isn't the final shading on this but it is a start and working wet into wet gives you a slightly different finished look.  The front boot was mostly just my original mix of color though I did add a little dark along the front top of the boot to remind me of the curve.

When I finished under painting the boots my painting looked like this.

Remember not to paint your boots like a wall. It is better to scrub and scumble as your brush follows the curves and dents of the boots because that will give them texture in the finished painting.

With my under painting dry, I went back to my original pile of paint and made a darker version with the thalo and crimson on one side and a lighter version adding white to the other so now I have three different values of the blue, I also added color as I painted right on the boots blending it in as I went (wet into wet).

You need to have the actual photo in front of you not my painting because mine can and will change as I go along the actual photo shows you exactly how the light was falling on the boots when I took the photo.

There are things you need to see when doing any shading, especially on material. There is the dark cast shadow, there is a middle tone or form shadow and a highlight. On the folds of the boots you will have all three and be sure that when you are doing these changes in value and your brush is also following the shape of what you are painting,if it is rounded, you should be making curved strokes as you are blending your colors. I have been using my #4 bristle brush for this part.

The interior of the boots is a light tan with a little darker tan as it goes down into the boot. Mix the darker color with white (gesso), sienna and a little blue, start where it is going down into the boot and as you come up, add white blending it into the darker color.

This is where I left off in class. I am guestimating that we have another couple of weeks before we finish this be sure to have your tooth brush with you for that part.

Keep painting and I will see you in class.