Becoming Comfortable Painting Faces with Acrylic

The greatest challenge to painting faces with acrylic is the quick drying time of the paint which can make it difficult to get the nice blended look that oils produce. I am, discovering that the effect can indeed be achieved by working smaller areas of the painting and blending your colors that way rather than trying to tackle the piece as a whole. Genius!

Mixed Media Face Painting

I am delighted with how fast my progress has been with these mixed media faces. Looking back at some of my earlier posts there is a remarkable difference between faces painted as a whole rather that being worked and blended one small area at a time as in this example. My work is actually taking on a more life like quality. Yes!

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.