Lana- I use a variety of acrylics, mostly inexpensive brands. For better coverage or better opaque colors I'll use heavy body stuff. Thanks for watching
Beautiful painting. I too like your explanations vs music. Also, please let the video run all way through, as you cut away a lot and everything changed with no explanation.
I am curious about the layering, verses just painting the colors you end up with. Does the process determine the final outcome of colors (if that question makes sense)? For instance, why did you paint so much gray or dark on the right of the canvas if you eventually were going to paint the bright orange and yellow of the sun rays, etc.? Love the painting, by the way. I am just trying to understand how to create it. I would go straight for the final colors right away. But that probably shows how much I don't know. Keep painting.
Hey Matt- Thanks for watching. On most of my landscapes I approach things from an "organic" perspective; what comes first in nature...the sky, the ground, the deep water. Other objects are placed "on top" of that such as clouds, trees, waves, reflected light etc. My studio lighting isn't the best for shooting vids so the base layer of the sky is really dark blue with the initial cloud layers being done in dark blue/purple....vs gray. I find it easier to paint large sky masses first leaving areas for clouds and then come in later and build up the cloud layers. I find oil paint a bit easier for skys because you can work wet into wet and the blending seems to allow for more subtle effects. Hope this helps. Of course all this is just one man's opinion :)
Michael, thank you very much for your answer, and so soon. I do appreciate that. I am a novice at painting canvas, really. While I now live in Maryland, I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where there are some of the greatest sunsets you can see. So I definitely want to paint them. I hear what you are saying about painting what is first in nature, the foundations, etc. That makes sense, and I will think about that in painting. I am still "tentative" in my painting, but I am learning to be bold, discovering the freedom to 'mess up'. All a process. Your paintings are amazing. Have you gotten them into any restaurants or public places where you live? I hope you continue to paint. Thank you, again.
First time on channel as I watched I thought what is he doing? But then the sky deepened and then the sunset was set ablaze and mirrored on the water and beautiful art was created and I subscribed!
Chubber- thanks for stopping by my channel. The front end of the painting process (for me) is like setting the foundation of a house; the end result is highly dependent on getting that part correct. Combination of luck and practice. Thanks for subscribing.
Loved seeing the big yellow scraper in there! I found a metal pie server at Goodwill, much cheaper than a giant "professional" palette knife. Did you spray it with water or an acrylic wetting spray?
Thanks for watching. Good idea on rummaging at Goodwill. I usually don't use water or any type of special spray unless I've got a lot of paint out and it's starting to dry and I want to do some blending. I also tend to wet the entire canvas during the block in stage.
My suggestion to new artists is always focus on drawing first. Understand shape, value, design, line, etc. THEN start with painting and learning your toolbox. Have fun and don't hold back.
Love this Michael. Full on or bust !!!!! I’ve commented on this before but accidentally deleted my comments ( all bloody thumbs ).🥴 I reckon this is terrific, all I have to do is master that painting knife. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and skill.. 😎🇦🇺🦘
I have dabbled with a knife but not been bold enough to do a whole painting like this. Abstracts yes, and I like this style as it is what I would like to do. I noticed with the dark sky, you basically covered most of it up in the end. Did you blend the sunset sky in at the end? I work in oils so the technique would be similar I guess, but I would not want the yellows turning green with the blue sky if working wet on wet. Any tips?
Great job.😎. You make it look so easy. But I know yellow and blue makes green. And no green.so,the blue cover-up with yellow and orange had to be completely dry. I'm thinking this painting had to take at least a week.
When I use acrylics, and try to wet the canvas/paint, it becomes a mess and starts lifting off the canvas. All my colors start getting “muddy” too. I can never get anything to stay bright and vibrant. Any tips?
Very intense colors in the sunset. I like the intensity for having that wow factor when you see it for the first time. Very nice colors in the blues and oranges. Thanks for sharing! Check my videos if you get a chance.
@Roxanne English- yeah, I dubbed the audio over the video and pick and choose what I talk about. Don't remember the exact palette but I can tell you I don't use any expensive paints or brushes for acrylics. Michael's for paint and Ace Hardware for cheap brushes. As for process, in general, I work top to bottom, background to foreground and dark to light. Very similar to how i paint with oils. Acrylics allow more quick layering vs time consuming glazes with oil. This one didn't have many layers. The knife allows for putting down some thick paint as I near the end. Some of this shit just happens and either it works or it doesn't. Hope that makes sense.
Saw your paintings at The Villages Art Show this a.m. Absolutely blown away by the sunset painting. Got your card, came home and watched the video on You Tube. Wish you would teach an acrylics class at the Enrichment College. Connie Mangrum
Hi Connie- Thanks for your kind remarks. TV Academy is cluttered with people teaching acrylics. I work in every medium except watercolor so a course that I think might be beneficial is how to loosen up and be expressive, no matter what the medium. So many TV artists are timid and afraid to make mistakes. Creating art is a journey in experimentation and realizing "failure" is nothing more than a personal realization a painting didn't express the emotions and feelings you had in mind when you made that first brushstroke.
