Textured Acrylic Flowers

Experimenting and painting with acrylic paints is very challenging ...they are such a versatile medium to use. With acrylic paint, I can achieve bright, rich, vibrant colors, in my across the border style .I especially like to paint flowers, so when I am trying to achieve an effect, I have seen in a mexican gallery shop, I try to take home the flavor and sometimes apply it to one of my personal art pieces.

This particular painting was born out of the need to experiment with dimensional texture.

• I painted the background, on a prepared canvas and then let it dry. Acrylic paint dries quickly.
• I opened a container of DAP spackle and began applying it to the canvas with plastic knives.When I had achieved the effect in the flowers, that was satisfactory. I cleaned up my knives, and then waited for the spackle to dry.Approximately an hour.
• I once again applied another layer of my background color, to the canvas with a very, wet brush, so that the color would sink into the areas surrounding the spackled flowers for a less mottled background look..
• I painted the flowers with flat based acrylic colors, using a round brush, and then used the metallic acrylic glazes to complete them. When I was done, painting in the flowers, I painted in my leaves, stems and designs with the flat based acrylics,and then added shadows with the metallic glazes, using a smaller round detail brush.

I have seen this type of dimensional painting used on animals, landscapes, seascapes, portraits and art deco pieces, with very interesting results. It is actually a very simple process, and if you are not ready to freehand it, try using a stencil or projector and drawing in your design before painting.