Hello again friends! Today, I thought we could talk about paint. Within the past couple of years, I’ve delved a little bit into the crafts of “arts and crafts”. Making little ornaments, key chains, charms. But painting is my passion. Specifically focusing on movement or dance. I’ve connected with several different photographers and they have graciously allowed me to use their photos. And by painting dance, or ballet, I’ve taught myself to paint. I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. I choose certain brands of acrylic paint and use specific brushes to achieve the perfect amount of “light” or darkness. So that when someone sees my painting, they can almost hear the dress move, or feel a gentle breeze. Shall we begin?
Here is the paint I use for painting either ballet or black and white portraits.. Windsor & Newton. Now it says Mars Black, but if you look closely, when enough water is added, it becomes blue-like. So really, my black and white paintings, are black, white and blue.
Now, as far as brushes, there are hundreds of different types of brushes. Brushes made of sable, nylon and synthetic. Those are typically used for watercolor. Oil painting brushes are sable or bristle. Acrylic brushes are usually nylon or synthetic. There are different shapes of brushes that create different ways the paint flows off of it. Flat, filbert and round are the most common that I use. I also like the angle brush. They come in all different sizes. The large brush in my hand in the photo, is a 1 inch filbert. The rest of the brushes are round detail brushes. Perfect for working on facial features or hands.
I have two or three different glass jars that I use for rinsing brushes. One is used only for black and white paint. And I have a cup of brushes that are used only for black and white paintings. Once a brush is used for any other color, it can no longer be used for a black and white painting. I consider a brush to never be 100% clean. There always remains a tiny amount of pigment or color left in that brush. Acrylic paint dries incredibly fast. So to keep it from drying out while I am painting, I use whats called a stay-wet pallet. Basically a air tight container with a thin sponge and stay-wet paper. I have 3 stay-wet pallets and one of those is specifically for black and white paintings. So I try to keep every brush, cup of water and pallet separated.
So, there you go! My product list for painting a black and white portrait or ballet painting. In my next blog/possible video, I will walk you through the process of me getting ready to paint. I wish it was as simple as just sitting down and painting, but sometimes it can be a 20 minute process! But, it’s worth it when I can sit for hours and focus on just the painting!