learning to paint with acrylics?

Question

I'm trying to improve my skills at painting with acrylics, any suggestions for good practices to help me learn?

Answer 1

Some tips I can pass along --

Mix plenty of each color. It's hard to match the same exact shade if you run out.

I use a foam plate as a palette and can then put it in a freezer bag and put it in the freezer to keep my unused paint from drying so quickly

If a brush dries with acrylic paint on it, it's ruined, so don't let that happen!

Unlike oil paint, acrylic can be painted directly onto canvas or heavy watercolor paper

You can add some acrylic paint to your gesso to tint it

Don't buy Liquitex Basics. They just don't give the coverage.

Try adding some texture to your painting with Impasto -- applying thick paint and then adding texture with your brush or palette knife. It works good with acrylics

And finally, read read read!

Answer 2

Your best subjects to practice with are from life. You can also practice mixing colors by doing value scales. However, just remember that acrylics dry pretty fast, so you can't leave them sitting on your palette very long, and it's much harder to work them on the canvas.

Answer 3

Don't be afraid of it, it's not like oil paint.
You can start again, and let it dry some.