Most of my acrylic abstract paintings I build up with layers. It is how I give my paintings depth and a wide range of color! I prefer to build the paintings with about 4 layers. I start with a base layer, then a dark layer, a light layer comes next and then my finishing layer is just final touches. Sound confusing? It can be, but I will do my best to explain my process.
I love working from dark to light. I start most of the time with a base layer just like I talked about in the previous post. I then lay out all the paint colors I want to use in the painting. Selecting my palette is probably my favorite part of this process. It gets me exited and gives me inspiration and kicks starts the creative process.
Then my color mixing begins. If you do not have a color wheel I suggest you buy one. Many people find Color theory challenging if they have not yet studied or explored mixing colors. Some painters even make there own color charts which can help aide them in faster mixing time. Mix two colors together and then dab a swatch of the color. Now you will Know exactly how you made a particular color. While this is a practical method, I will have to admit that I am not that organized. I pretty much eye it as far as mixing colors goes. And, if I run out of a color I will mix it again, but actually prefer for it not to look exactly the same as before. I like my colors to vary a shade or two. But, that's my process. Each artist has their own process. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Do what works best for you.
I highly recommend the color wheel and color chart method for someone who is just starting out. Especially a color wheel. Otherwise, tubes of paint can be wasted. The color wheel can help you prevent from making muck. Which know one wants to waste time or supplies on.
Art supplies can be rather expensive, if you don't have a lot of money to start with I recommend buying a tube of black, white, blue, red and yellow. This will get you started and can make a million different color combinations. Blue, red and yellow are your primary colors. If you have a bit more cash to drop add the secondary colors of green, orange and purple. You will now have more than enough to get started.
Laying down that dark layer. I may use paint straight from the tube or mix in some black or other colors to get my desired starting points. I enjoy in my abstract paintings to have a little of the dark layers shine through.
Don't get to caught up in this layers it's a building layer. It doesn't need to be perfection, more of just a map of where you are laying your foundations. Here are some examples of dark layers of my paintings.
This was commissioned piece I finished recently. It was acrylic on Canvas 24"x30".
This painting is Angels in Gathering it's also acrylic on Canvas 24"x48".
This painting is Untitled and is 30"x40" Mixed Media.
Not so pretty right? Don't worry they are building layers that will correlate with your final layers. They will all flow together, trust me you will see.
The next layer is the most important in my opinion, this is the layer where I add my light. These are the colors that are based off of my dark layer colors, but have been tweeked. Most of the time I am adding white to them or maybe adding other colors to give them a different tone than the dark layer. This is the layer in which my painting is created, it's the layer I spend the most time on. This layer will pretty much finish my painting.
The last layer is what I call finishing touches. Just tweaking things here and there. Adding spots I may have missed or maybe something dried differently than I thought and I want to change it. It's like the final edit of my painting. Sometimes, it can take a few minutes sometimes a few hours.
And, now you are done! I would wait 24 hours before you apply any type of sealer of fixative, maybe longer depending on the humidity in your area.
My Light layer.
Final layer and done!
Finished Painting, Angels in Gathering.
Finished Untitled Work.
See how completely different each painting looks, but you can see from the dark layer how they were formed. Hope this helps and have a happy week!