Painting Mist With Acrylics 

Thank you so much!! Appreciate that! Good luck in starting your oil paintings, I hope some of my videos can be helpful!

Thank you so much! I'm hoping to do a video about painting one of the swans in the future.

Thank you so much!!

You're welcome! I'm happy to share!

You're welcome! I'm glad that is was helpful! I hope that it works out for your painting. Thank you so much!

Thank you! Appreciate you saying that. It can certainly be a lot of work, taking quite a bit of patience, but is definitely worth it in the end!

Thank you!! Appreciate that! I do have plans in the future for videos of more birds and animals. But for this one I wanted to cover the mist part of the painting, since I've had a few questions about the backgrounds in my paintings, especially these misty scenes! Thanks for watching!

You're welcome!! I'm happy to share, thank you!!

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate that! It's my pleasure to help and share what I'm doing with my videos!

Thank you so much! Really appreciate the kind comment! Happy to share, and will hopefully be sharing a video some time this year about how to paint Swans in sunlight.

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate that!! There can definitely be a lot to learn, and being self taught myself, I'm still learning new things every time I paint. I'm happy to share what I've learned, and I'm glad to hear that my videos are helpful!

Thank you so much!!

Thank you so much! Appreciate that! And hopefully the longer drying time with oils helps with the blending and natural look. Good luck and I hope your painting goes well!

Thank you so much!! Really appreciate that!

Thank you so much!! I'm glad this was helpful, especially if painting in a dry climate. And yes, especially for larger paintings, doing wet on wet with acrylic would require tons of paint, and working very fast. This way I can be a lot more methodical about how the mist will look, and I can take my time in getting it just right.

You're welcome!! I'm so happy to hear that this was helpful for your painting!

Thank you so much!!

You're welcome!! Happy to hear it was helpful!

Thank you!!

Thank you!!

Thank you!! Happy to share!

@Joseph Koensgen No problem. Wish a resource like this was available when I wanted to learn paint in the 80s and 90s. Drawing, no problem, but there's an obvious knack in painting one can't get from books or magazine articles. And my one course oportunity 1-1 back then was a disaster for my confidence.

I'm glad that my videos have been helpful. I was the same way, in that when I was a kid wanting to learn how to paint, all I could find were books which only helped to a point. So I'm really happy to make these videos and try to share the things I've learned in the last couple decades of my painting journey, and provide a resource that we both didn't have in the 90s.

Thank you! I'm very happy to share and I'm glad this will be helpful in your upcoming painting!

Thank you, that is incredibly kind of you to say.

Thank you so much!!

Thank you!!

Thank you so much!!

Thank you!! I'm happy to share, and I hope it works out for your painting!

You're welcome!! Glad to hear it!

Thank you!!

Thank you!! Yes, acrylics can be challenging because they dry so quickly, so painting with them tends be about doing many layers. In the next few months I am planning on making a video about how I painted one of the swans and the details that go into it!

Thank you!!

Thank you!!

Thank you!!

Thank you so much!!

You're welcome! Thank you so much!!

You're welcome! I'm happy to share and I'm glad it was helpful!

Thank you!!

Thank you so much!!

When I searched how to do mist and saw your RU-vid video I said to myself the name sounds familiar…..I have seen your work in Algonquin Park! Thanks for sharing the video!

You're welcome! I'm happy to share! And that's great you saw my paintings in Algonquin! I'll have a bunch of artwork there all summer this year if you happen to be in that area.

Thank you! Because I've had a number of requests for the swans, I'm going to try and do a video to show how to paint one of them. However, it won't be for a while as I have some other videos planned before that, and some other projects on the go keeping me busy. But the plans are in place for one, so stay tuned!

Yes please

You're welcome!!

I'm hoping to make some videos in the future that go into how to paint feather details like this one!

@@JosephKoensgen oh that would be great!! I will be attentive. Thank you 😌

Thank you! I'm using a smooth board like masonite that I've primed with gesso and sanded smooth. Helps get the very fine look for the detail that I want.

Thank you!! Glad this was helpful! I'm using a round 12 brush - but one that's quite old and the pointed end is completely rounded off. You can also use a brush that already has a rounded end like a blender brush or something similar that won't leave hard edges when you apply the paint.

Thank you! For misty scenes with the background showing through, there's 2 ways I've gone about it. I've done it where I do layers of washes with a large brush or sponge over the background I already have painted - building up the mist until you get it to where you like it. You may want to use an acrylic medium and experiment with this, as I've found that way a little more difficult to get right in the past. So most of the time now, I paint the background with the light and low contrast colour of the misty area right from the start and then do some very light dry brushing in areas to soften edges that may need it. This way can take a bit more time, because there's lots testing of the subtle colours that make it look right. But I like that I can control the look of all the background elements and give them the soft edges and light scattering look that misty scenes can have.

Thank you!! Yes, the brush I'm using is a Round 12 that's quite old and the fine point is completely worn down so the end is more rounded. So even if you don't have an older brush like that, you want something with a rounded or dome shaped end, like a blender brush that won't leave strong lines and edges.

@@JosephKoensgen Thank you! I'll find one the cats have gnawed on. 🤗

Thank you so much! I only used water to thin the paint, and I like to get it to a consistency that's a little bit thicker than the fluid paints you can buy. For me this seems to be just right texture for doing the dry brushing for the mist.

@@JosephKoensgen thank you. This is helpful. 🙏🏻

Thank you! In this case a darker color would be adding the slightest amount of black or payne's grey to the mixture. When painting mist, it doesn't take very much to change value. Same with making the color lighter - I'm adding only a small amount of white. Most of this will come down to experimenting - mixing a color, then trying it, and making adjustments from there. The 2 main brushes I'm using are a round 12 that's a bit worn down, and a number 12 filbert.

@@JosephKoensgen Thank you so much for your response. I binge watched your videos last night. Stayed up much too late. Haha I appreciate your taking the time to do these videos. I'll never paint as well as you do, but it helps me learn how to be better. I am having a blast learning. Thank you for that.

Thank you! I don't use medium as I prefer to have the paint dry quickly so I can continuously add layers. However, adding a medium could make it easier to blend in a wet on wet style and create glazes. Definitely worth experimenting with!

You're welcome Michael!! Thanks for watching!

Thank you so much!! This painting took about 3 weeks to do. 2 weeks for the background and about a week for the swans.

Glad to hear my videos are helpful! At the moment, I don't have as much time to make videos, so I don't have too many on my channel. But there will be more to come as I keep making more!

Thank you! Glad to hear it! Yes, I'm using a bit of stiffer round brush and some filbert brushes. But I'll switch back and forth between them depending on how I want the paint to go down. It is a bit of experimentation at times, but those are the ones I use!

@@JosephKoensgen thank you so much for answering me, I appreciate it!!

I think I'd be able to put something together in the future that discusses a few different techniques. However, it wouldn't be for a while as my time for making videos is limited. I'm sorry to hear that it turned out looking more like clouds. What I might recommend if that's the case is potentially using less paint on the brush and building it up in thinner layers, waiting between each coat for it to dry. As well, depending on whether you've had a harsher edge to the mist, very slightly darkening the mist colours and slowly blending them into the background colour to soften the edge as much as possible. It may also be the kind of thing where you alternate lighter and darker colours to get it just right. As well, this is a very time consuming and slow process that also takes a lot of practice. So I'd encourage you to keep trying and experimenting!

@@JosephKoensgen thank you so much for the detailed reply - appreciate it 🙏🙏. I will try as you suggested and also wait for the video. Thanks again- you are an amazing artist - this particular painting looks more like a photograph than a painting ! It’s that real !!

Yes! I've got a couple other videos I'm currently working on, but I'm planning on making a video about the swans after that!

Thank you so much!! And you're welcome, I'm happy to share my work!! I love painting realism, and trying to capture what I've seen in nature in the best way I can. In the beginning I also did watercolours for my animals and did realism with them since it was faster for school projects, so I definitely support that endeavour! In the end, it's your work, it has to be what you're happy doing. And I'm sorry I didn't include the Swans in this video. It can be tough filming all aspects of paintings, especially for larger ones like this that take more than 2 weeks to complete. But I'll keep filming my work when I can, and as I go along I'll try and cover as many aspects of my work as I can! Thanks again!

@@JosephKoensgen Joseph you are doing a great job. Honestly, I wasn't having a go at you. I thought it may have been amusing as others brought it up also. I just wanted to make you smile. I have had a few run-ins with rude artists online, though those who really work hard are recognized. I am not sure if you know this, I suspect many like me just love to watch you work. You don't have to talk, just watching you is enough, and that's how I love to start my morning, watching videos and having my coffee. You have one hell of a gift Joseph, unlike anything, I have seen before and I hope you understand we are just curious creatures that like to learn. So Thank you. Thank you so so much.

Thank you!! I really appreciate you saying that. It's incredibly encouraging, and it spurs me on to think about more videos I can make. Hopefully over time I'll build a good collection of videos that you'll be able to enjoy! Thank you so much for your kind words and support, it means a lot!! And I like watching videos with my morning coffee too!

Yes, that is correct that a round brush is more pointy than this. However, this is an old brush where the pointy tip has been worn down over time. I save most of my old brushes that have lost their shape, as they can have some usefulness for various paintings like this.

@@JosephKoensgen yeahh i think its called mop brush in my country, very nice fog painting by the way!

Thank you!! For this I don't use an extender or retarder for my paint, just water to thin it out to the consistency that I like. I prefer if it dries quickly so that I can go over it with another layer not long after I've put the paint down.

This is all acrylic.

Thanks Ricky!! Appreciate that! I do have an idea for an eagle painting, but it will be a long time before I do that one, but I'll certainly keep that in mind for a video!

This is done on masonite primed with gesso and sanded smooth. It's a great surface for painting detailed work.

@@JosephKoensgen Thank you!!

You're welcome! I'm using Liquitex professional heavy body acrylics, and a combination of round and filbert brushes. And my brushes are usually the artist's loft brand, but if you can, the best thing is to be able to look at and feel the brushes in person to help in buying the best ones that work for you.

I'm sorry I don't have a video for whole painting, but I'm planning on making a video about the swans in a different painting that I have coming up in the future!

It may be little ways in the future, but yes, I will be making a video about the swans.

Thank you! 😊