“The only time I feel alive is when I'm painting.” - Vincent van Gogh

 Fast drying, and can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry.  Depending on how much the paint is diluted (with water) or modified with acrylic gels, media, or pastes, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media.

 Slow-drying. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the dried film.  Oil paints have been used in Europe since the 12th century for simple decoration, but were not widely adopted as an artistic medium until the early 15th century.

 The main difference between most acrylics and oil paints is the drying time. Oils allow for more time to blend colors and apply even glazes over underpaintings.  This slow drying aspect of oil can be seen as an advantage for certain techniques, but in other regards it impedes the artist trying to work quickly.

 Round: Long closely arranged bristles for detail  Flat: For spreading paint quickly and evenly over a surface. They will have longer hairs than their Bright counterpart.  Bright: Flat brushes with short stiff bristles  Filbert: Flat brushes with domed ends. They allow good coverage and the ability to perform some detail work.  Rigger: Round brushes with long hairs, traditionally used for painting the rigging in pictures of ships. They are useful for fine lines and details.

 1. Gently wipe off excess paint with a paper towel.  2. Rinse brush under lukewarm water and use your fingers to release leftover paint. Do not use hot water or pull on the bristles!  3. Wipe the brush on a paper towel again.  4. Use a DAB of mild soap to wash the brush again.  5. Rinse and repeat until the brush is completely clean.

 6. Be sure to rinse out all of the soap. Then gently shape the brush with your fingers.  7. Leave the brush to dry, with the head facing UP, so it doesn’t get misshapen!  TAKE CARE OF THESE BRUSHES! YOU WILL BE RETURNING THEM TO ME WHEN WE’RE FINISHED WORKING.

 Painting with a knife is a bit like putting butter or jam on bread and produces quite a different result to a brush.  Painting knives are excellent for producing textured, impasto work and sweeping areas of flat color as well as tiny shapes of color.

 1. Because acrylics dry so fast, squeeze only a little paint out of a tube.  2. Acrylics can be opaque or translucent, depending on how you use them. When applied thickly, they appear opaque. When diluted with water, they appear translucent, much like watercolor paint.  3. Because acrylics dry rapidly, you need to work fast if you wish to blend colors.

 An extremely heavy-duty painting surface, typically stretched.

 1. To mix a color you need, first decide which two primary colors will create the color you want. For example, if you need orange, choose red and yellow.  2. Use your brush to lift some paint onto a blank area of the palette, then wipe off your brush on a paper towel and use the brush to grab some of the other color you want to use.

 3. Mix thoroughly. It will take practice to get the exact color you’re looking for.  4. To lighten colors, you can use titanium white to create a TINT. To darken colors, use a tiny bit of black to create a SHADE.  TIP - You can neutralize a color that's too intense by using its complement (the color opposite it on the color wheel. For example, use a little dab of blue to tone down a too- intense orange.

 Using the materials provided, create your own color wheel using ONLY the primary colors. 1. Using your pencil and a ruler, draw a basic color wheel design. You may arrange it any way you wish, just keep it neat. 2. Set up your area. You will need red, yellow and blue paint, a paper towel, and a palette. 3. Begin mixing paints to create the colors in the color wheel. DO NOT WASTE PAINT. 4. Colors should be vivid and pure – no streaks! 5. When finished, make sure your name is on your paper and let it dry. 6. CLEAN your brushes and put away all supplies.

 1. Bring in an image of a landscape. It can be from a magazine, online, or a photograph you took (this is preferable).  2. The landscape can be a beach scene, mountainous terrain, or desert landscape, and it can be day or night. However, it can not be too simple and must have an interesting composition.  3. It must contain a foreground, middleground and background and be about 8 x 10 inches.  4. An extra point will be awarded to those students who bring in an ORIGINAL photograph.

 1. Research a landscape artist and choose one painting by that artist. Do a sketch of it in your sketchbook. Label the foreground, middleground and background and include the artist’s name, title of the work, date completed and medium used.  Next, answer the following question: What do you admire in this artist’s work? What drew you to it?

 After you have matted…  Using the paper provided, draw a color wheel, tint scale and value scale. You will be painting these in tomorrow.  You may arrange the color wheel and scales however you wish but you must have every color in the color wheel (12), 9 tints in the tint scale, and 9 shades in the shade scale.