Beginner | 2 hours
Taught by Lisa Solomon
An essential part of painting is learning how to create light and shadow. Using black and white acrylic paints, Lisa shows how to mix a range of gray shades (known as a “grayscale”) for your painting. You will learn how to set up a still life scene in order to practice painting highlight and shadow details. Finally, follow along as Lisa uses a black-and-white photo reference to practice laying in values, creating depth and helping shapes visually pop out of the painting.
Learn how to:
  • Determine “value”
  • Create a value scale
  • Set up a still life
  • Paint from a still life in black and white
  • Gesso paper
  • Paint using a black and white photo reference

Chapters
Chapter 1
00:59
Materials
01:44
Understanding Value
08:11
16:57
Creating Space
24:42
Materials
Here’s what you’ll need:
  • Acrylic paints in Ivory Black, Mars Black, Titanium White, Mixing White, Unbleached Titanium White (optional)
  • Gesso (white or clear)
  • Lamp and 3-10 objects for creating a still life
  • Light source for still life
  • Black and white photograph (see attached PDF if desired)
  • Pencils and kneaded eraser for sketching
  • Bristol vellum surface paper 
  • From Part 1, you’ll need:
  • Liquitex Matte medium, Liquitex Pouring Medium, or Liquitex Flo-Aid
  • Palette
  • Synthetic brushes for acrylic paint
  • Palette knives
  • Water, rag, paper towels, brush cleaner
  • Gloves or Art-Guard Barrier Cream
  • Discussion
    Notes
    Your timecode tags and notes for this section
    Transcript
    Acrylic Painting for Beginners
    Part 1:
    Acrylic Painting for Beginners: Getting Started
    Lisa Solomon
    In the first class, Lisa Solomon provides a thorough overview of acrylic painting tools and materials. You will learn how to use different brushes, blend your paints using palette knives and brushes and how and when to add water or various mediums to your paint to achieve different effects. Follow along as Lisa demonstrates how to use basic techniques to paint a nectarine, and then learn about cleaning and caring for your brushes so they last for years.
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    Part 2:
    Acrylic Painting for Beginners: Value, Light and Shadow
    Lisa Solomon
    An essential part of painting is learning how to create light and shadow. Using black and white acrylic paints, Lisa shows how to mix a range of gray shades (known as a “grayscale”) for your painting. You will learn how to set up a still life scene in order to practice painting highlight and shadow details. Finally, follow along as Lisa uses a black-and-white photo reference to practice laying in values, creating depth and helping shapes visually pop out of the painting.
    Part 3:
    Acrylic Painting for Beginners: Understanding Color
    Lisa Solomon
    Now for a splash of color. In this final part, you’ll explore how acrylic paint colors mix and match, and learn how to understand the interplay of hue and value. Lisa shares a fun exercise for creating your own signature color wheel using a personal palette. Finally, you will end on a sweet note with a lesson in matching paint colors to Starburst candies and candy wrappers.