Painting Techniques

People who have not had the benefit of formal arts training are often baffled by the effects that a skilled painter can produce. In this article we will review a number of different paint techniques that you can use to create art, decoration, or even just clean, smooth walls. Once these processes are demystified you’ll [...]

People who have not had the benefit of formal arts training are often baffled by the effects that a skilled painter can produce. In this article we will review a number of different paint techniques that you can use to create art, decoration, or even just clean, smooth walls. Once these processes are demystified you’ll find that your creativity loosens up, and you will be able to invent all kinds of techniques and tactics that you never would have thought possible. The whole trick is to simply learn to think a little bit outside the box and to consider the nature of your media and your medium. You can even begin to figure out ways to make money as an artist.

Acrylic Painting Techniques

Acrylic paints are highly versatile  and very easy to paint with. The key is to choose your brushes effectively in order to achieve an even coat over whatever surface you have in mind. If applied correctly acrylic paints provide a smooth and even coloration. They can range from a shiny candy-like surface to a nice matte.

You may not realize that acrylic paints are also ideal for lighter, more uneven painting effects. Because they tend to be light in texture and semi-translucent, you can easily layer them to create faux finishing effects. By lightly applying acrylic paint with a dry brush, you can accentuate textures inherent in your materials and bring out a nice zippy look.

Oil Painting Techniques

Unlike the ease and versatility of acrylics, oil paints are much more challenging to work with. It takes a much more skillful application of this interesting material.

Oil paint can be layered intricately, or intermingled like clay. It is a highly opaque and maleable media, and can almost be thought of like a form of like sculpting.

The key to effective oil painting technique is to carefully plan each brush stroke before beginning it. Painting with acrylic is like directing the flow of water, but painting with oil is like laying down moist earth. You must think like a world-builder when you are painting with oil.

Faux Painting Techniques

When you’re talking about faux finish painting techniques, you’re almost certainly going to be working with either acrylic or latex paints. The tactics used for these two types of paints are very similar, although latex tends to have more opacity and so many professional faux finish artists will use acrylic and then polyeurythane over the dried paint in order to seal it. That is a secret of the pros, so don’t tell anyone that I told you.

The key to effective faux painting is in analyzing the colors and textures of the surface you wish to emulate. This is not as complex as it sounds. Since faux paint techniques tend to imitate natural surfaces, you are going for a certain degree of randomness, so it is never necessary to match anything exactly. This is, however, very much an art rather than a science, because you will need ot have a good sense of spectral range of the surface at hand.

Once you have studied and mixed your colors, you need to lay them down in an order that will naturally lend itself to mimicry of the target surface. So ask yourself, “what is the base color of this faux surface?” Once you have laid down your base color and let it dry, you can begin layering your accent colors. The trick to this is to do just one color at a time. Go along with the general shape and texture but don’t worry about the details. It will all come together as long as you are patient let each color take its place in the underlying scheme of the faux finish.

Wall Painting Techniques

When people think about artistic painting they often try to distance this from the idea of painting a wall. But in fact, interior painting techniques are just as important as any of the finer and more detailed painting operations. In fact, even if you are painting a tiny, intricate oil painting you will still need the basic skill of coating and smoothing your background in order to set your scene.

The general house painting technique involves using a roller. You want to focus on the texture of the roller very carefully, because it will make a huge difference in the outcome. For a thick and rich wall covering, use a denser, thicker roller. This will cost a little bit extra but it will allow you to more easily deliver paint into the tiny cracks and crevices of your wall. This will often let you get away with just one coat, and will in general produce nicer results.

You will also need to paint around fixtures and edges that you will not be able to comfortably reach with a roller. For these, you will definitely not want to use a brush with modern painting materials. Instead, choose a nice high-quality, dense foam brush to smooth the paint into these areas. It is best to do these areas first, because the roller will have an easier time of smoothing out the edges for you once you’re done.