First trial acrylic piece on paper

I couldn't take it anymore. I had to go get a varnish spray to seal the Paint-by-Numbers canvas for my colleague (see previous post). I decided that the spray will come in useful for future acrylic works too.

Ah, that means I am starting a new hobby, which isn't exactly very novel, as I used to work with pencil and watercolor. I've decided to try a new medium.

I have been meaning to frame a printed brochure of Coplu's work, which was colorful and heartwarming, perfect for the bedroom. But then I thought to myself, why not frame my own work?

But of course, I am no artist. Hence I can only copy and play around with the medium.

With all the above in mind, I drove down to ArtFriend, and got a suite of equipment for my acrylic mission:

1. Daler Rowney System 3 intro acrylic set

2. Set of 6 Daler Rowney Simply acrylic brushes

3. Brush washing water container ( have always dreamt of this 3-in-1 set since secondary school)

4. Palette with containers (for paint, i think)

So I started copying a small portion of Coplu's Precious State of Love on acrylic paper, as I wanted to leave the canvas I bought for future use.

Some observations:

1. The brushes were really... terrible. The bristles started to split after a couple of strokes. I am now stuck with spoilt brushes.

2. The paint seems to dry much slower than the ones used for Paint-in-Numbers. I was caught by surprise at how runny the paint was without mixing water. This makes textured strokes a little tough for a total beginner like me.

3. The palette had to be scrubbed very hard to remove the dried paint after the session. I wonder if there is a better alternative. How else should I paint? I need a palette to blend colours!

Nevertheless, I am quite satisfied with the end product. As the brushes were not fine enough, I cheated a little by using color pencils at the sharp edges. So here is it (please note that this is an imitation practice piece, and is not my original work. Refer to Coplu's original expert acrylic works. ):








I wonder how Coplu did the beautiful skies. I will have to err to find out.

Next step will be to seal the work with the spray-on varnish. Again, this first piece will serve as practice before I do it on my colleagues gift.