An Exercise in Blending Acrylic Paint

While I understand the concept of blending acrylic paint, the artists I've observed who are successful at it make it look so darn easy! Yes, I can do this are the words I kept muttering to myself while painting this face. I let it be okay to mess up . . . a lot! Maybe it works and maybe it doesn't just change direction accordingly.

Let it be okay to mess up

The reason she has such a distressed look to her here is because I painted her and scraped the paint off twice. I excavated more times than that around the mouth and nose but I was determined to find out what she was supposed to look like when I finished painting her.

Seek your own Truth!

There are some things I would do differently next time. Some are obvious and some not so obvious but I'll refrain from launching a full on self critique. Since this exercise was meant to be practice, the important thing is that I learned, improved, had fun and grew as an artist.

Mixed Media Face Painting

I am finding mixed media face painting with acrylic can be challenging because of the short drying time. I spent the better part of a month perfecting my drawing techniques. It's important for me to keep in mind that my painting deserves no less attention. How else will I learn what will work best for me right? I am determined to overcome!

good blending, could go darker in places

In my second and third painting attempts I thought I was using my extender but realized later I was using glazing medium instead. I found I could actually lift the paint layers beneath just by overworking an area with glazing medium. While this may have its uses, I found it difficult to reclaim the area after that had happened.

colored pencil used to add detail

I've read that acrylic painting actually has something called an awkward stage at which many beginners give up. I must admit that I too have felt the urge to give up but have pushed through. I keep hearing that little inner voice as it nags at me again whispering for the 800th time, "don't give up!"

Painting the Face

My first attempt at painting the face was not as successful as I had hoped. Not only did I begin my collage underpainting upside down but I became so disenchanted with the painting process that I literally ripped the face from the page. I think I just gave up too soon. Was it fear? Perhaps.

I come from an oil painting background although it's been eons since I've used that medium. The reason I enjoyed oils was because they could be blended so nicely. Now I'm teaching myself how to use acrylic which dries so fast that I find blending is nearly impossible.

I tried painting the face again with more success. This time I used a retarder in the paint which allowed me to blend it the way I wanted to. After the paint dried (which took several hours), I covered the entire face with clear gesso. I then went back over some of the details with water pencil. This is a great first start and I'm very happy with it.