November 28, 2009 - Day 110

Acrylic on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

Generally I like this painting but I am still having problems painting realistic fur. I finally had to quit because I didn't know what else to do with this. I think that my paint wasn't thick enough and I let it dry out a bit too much. I have to just get comfortable with the fact that Iwill have to mix up more paint. This will mean that I will end up wasting some paint but it will mean a better painting in the end.

November 27, 2009 - Day 109

Acrylic on 140 lb Bockingford cold press watercolor paper

I ran out of the illustration board so I decided to use my watercolor paper instead. A lot of the acrylic artists making and selling ACEOs (2 1/2 inch by 3 1/2 inch paintings) on eBay use watercolor paper instead of canvas or illustration board. I like using the paper because I can tape it down to my board and it doesn't move around on me. The paper is also much thicker than the linen canvas that I was using.

For my palette, I am using an old dinner plate with plastic wrap on top. This works really well because when I am done painting all I have to do is peel the wrap off and throw it away. It makes clean up a lot quicker.

I found today's painting to be challenging. It is very hard for me to paint thick fluffy fur. The painting turned out OK but I think that I have to learn that sometimes less is more. I think if I would have painted a dark base coat and then just added some lighter fur detail I would have achieved the same effect with half the work.

November 26, 2009 - Day 108

Acrylic on Strathmore illustration board

Very happy with today's painting. It turned out very well. The only thing that I would do differently would be to have more variations of light and dark in the background.

I think that I should have stayed with acrylics rather than painting with watercolor for the last three years. While I was able to produce some nice watercolors I like my acrylics much better and they are a lot easier to paint.

I stopped painting acrylics when I moved into an apartment. I make such a mess when I paint that I was afraid I would lose my damage deposit. Well, I guess I will just have to lose that because I have only been painting acrylics for 8 days and I already have paint on the floor. I don't know how it got there but there it is. I am sure that it won't be too long before I have paint on the walls and ceiling as well!

November 25, 2009 - Day 107

Acrylic on Strathmore illustration board

I am really enjoying working with acrylics again. They have such a different look to them compared to the watercolors. I had started a couple of lion paintings in watercolor last week but now I can't decide whether I should scrap them and do them over with acrylics.

November 24, 2009 - Day 106

Acrylics on Strathmore Linen Canvas

I really did not want to paint tonight. All I wanted to do was sleep. In hindsight, perhaps this project should have been a painting a week rather than a painting a day but I am committed now to completing it. Only 259 days to go!

I am finding that I am having problems with my backgrounds. With my watercolors the problem was mixing the paint too light but with the acrylics I am mixing it too dark. I don't why that is but I have to make a conscious effort to lighten up on the background.

November 23, 2009 - Day 105

Acrylics on Strathmore Illustration Board

Started this painting on the Strathmore linen canvas but tore the canvas when I tried to lift the masking off the Chickadee. So I started again using the Illustration board. The painting is OK but I definitely want to improve my backgrounds. I like the ones that I was doing with the watercolor but don't know how to reproduce that with acrylics.

November 22, 2009 - Day 104

Acrylics on Strathmore Illustration Board

When I started to paint the log I had my paint very thick and that is when I remembered that one of the great things about acrylics is that you can blend wet-in-wet to create great effects like the ones on the log and on the feathers.

In my previous acrylic landscapes I had my paint much thinner and it was almost drying on contact. In those paintings I was painting layers of thin glazes rather than blending wet-in-wet. While there are a lot of artist who paint acrylics in thin glazes I like the feel of painting with thick paint.