Painting is a creative process where an artist tries to communicate his feelings. He employs graphic language of point, line, form, shape, texture, tone and colour. He uses these components in his own way, which is always guided by his aesthetic sense and sensitivities.
It is the medium which plays a very important role as a vehicle to convey the artist's vision.
During the process of painting, the artist experiences every kind of emotion, such as tension, pressure, fun, excitement, surprise, enjoyment and yes, even disappointment. The medium that he uses is a silent witness along with the artist to the process of the creation of a painting. The medium contributes in shaping the artist's vision into a concrete form, and thus plays a crucial role in the whole process.
The artist must know his craft well and must have a dialogue with the medium, as he has with his subject matter. This dialogue with the medium helps in understanding the qualities, limitations, advantages and also the disadvantages of that medium. When the artist becomes aware of the strengths of the medium and is able to open new avenues of the unique ways of usage of the medium, he can achieve innovative visual effects.
Acrylic is a versatile medium and comparatively new. It has been used by fine artists for painting since the 1960s and since then artists have been finding new ways to express themselves. Today it is one of the most preferred medium all over the world due to its fast drying quality.
In this century everyone wants speedy results in communication, travel, technology, food etc. People want everything to be fast and quick. Acrylic has that unique quality of giving fast results. Acrylic paints are made by mixing pigments with a synthetic resin, which acts as a binder. They are water soluble but after drying they become water-proof. They have good covering power and they can be applied on a variety of surfaces ranging from canvas, plywood, MDF boards, hard boards, paper, handmade paper, straw boards, mount boards, glossy art paper, walls, marble etc. This leads the artist to unlimited scope for experimentation.
One can paint on small surfaces of 3"x 6" scale and on large murals measuring 20'x 30' or even bigger.
Although I love all traditional mediums, most of my paintings are in acrylics. I love to experiment with this medium.
In this book I am going to share my acrylic explorations, along with a proper introduction to the basic techniques of using this medium.
You can learn, practice and combine these techniques for your own artistic expressions. Remember, your aim should be to refine your own aesthetic standards, and the medium you choose plays an important role in this process.
Acrylics allow you to approach painting in many different ways. I have used acrylics to create Indian decorative styles, pointillistic style, Impasto techniques with pallet knife, and a wide range of brush strokes, creating work from tight realism to graphic simplified approach. One can use acrylic paints like transparent watercolours, semi opaque like poster colours or gouache, or can work using oil paint techniques. The multi-dimensionality is what I love the most about this medium.
I feel that my experience with the medium can help you in many ways. I am still experimenting with this medium and every time, I am able to visualise a new avenue, it is always an exciting and enriching experience. However, it is important for an artist to establish a dialogue with his medium. I hope this book will induce you to do so.
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