Acrylic Process Board Discussion Board 5

My 3"x 3" basic acrylic technique experiments are shown below, all complete on 90 lb. mixed-media paper.

Acrylic Wash with Water Technique
Double-Loaded Brush Technique
Impasto Technique
Acrylic Wash with Gel Medium Technique
Scumbling Technique
Sgraffito Technique

After completing the experiments, I decided I wanted to explore my new pack of mixing mediums further. I have not used mixing mediums much in the past and I was intrigued by the potential paint application possibilities.

This image was taken on my recent visit to the James A. Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania to view their new Charles Sheeler exhibit. I was amazed with his work and decided to draw upon this experience as inspiration for this lesson.

I was particularly inspired by Sheeler's architectural paintings, his geometric simplicity and bold color schemes.

"Variations in Red" by Charles Sheeler 1949
I began by photographing the exterior of my home. (Pardon the snow and salt remnants!)
Then, I used Photoshop to select the large shapes of the house, leaving out small or unnecessary details. Here, I am using a color scheme generated on Coolors to experiment with adding color to the selected shapes.
Next, I printed my complete photograph and used it to guide a simplified sketch of my home. Here I am using 10" x 7" 90 lb. mixed-media paper.
Then, I began to add blocks of color, each with a different mixing medium. Here, this periwinkle was mixed with an iridescent medium.
The red was mixed with a medium body gel medium.
The navy was mixed with a course pumice gel.
The green was mixed with molding paste.
Finally, the orange was mixed with a self-leveling clear gel.
Here is my complete Acrylic Painting, inspired by Charles Sheeler.

If I were to teach this lesson, I would allow students to use any building exterior, not necessarily their own homes. I also prefer the look of the smooth gel mediums and feel the composition would be more unified and harmonious if I had not added texturizing mediums.

After looking at my painting for a couple days, I decided to test out my theory.

A few more shapes, a different color scheme and only smooth gel mediums later...

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