Painting Techniques
October 12th, 2007 | by Art Supplies |Painting is an art that requires you to be very innovative and thought provocative. As an artist or painter you can put forth many ideas or even convey many things which are difficult for people to otherwise express. To become an artist is demands hard work but with dedication you can reach to the objective without much problem. Once you are in the business then you have to decide the technique that you want to employ in your paintings. There are different techniques employed by the artists for painting. They are appended as below:-
- Stenciling. In stenciling the artists cut different shapes from a piece of paper or cardboard. In this way a stencil is formed. This is also known as masking technique. After the stencil is cut it is placed on a painting surface. Then the unmasked areas are painted. The paint used should not be very wet. The stencil can be brought to use many times provided the no wet paint is present on the stencils backside. It is extensively used for making monotone shapes.
- Knife Painting. In this type of painting a painting knife is used. It is a type of Impasto painting. The knife is used to apply the paint in thick layers. For this purpose both sides of the knife are used. A variation can be brought in the marks by applying different amount of paint. Also by changing the direction of strokes the marks can be varied. Reinforce lines can be made by using painting knifes. This technique requires the use of both acrylic paint and oil paint. Instead of a panting knife a palette knife can also be used.
- Sgraffito. In this technique the surface underneath the top layer of paint is revealed by scratching. The scratching is done by the artist. The method is very much applicable to oil paints. This is because they remain wet for long durations. If acrylic paints are used with a retarder then the method is also applicable to them. In this method thick layers of paint are applied and then these layers are scratched using a knife or a blunt object. The thick layer builds up the image and the scratching brings out a surface that is either white or in some other color. Then the background can be painted in white color. Monotone colors are also used to paint the background. For these painting different combinations of knives, brush handles and needles can be used. Sharp edged tools should not be used so that damage to the painting is avoided.
- Spattering. In this technique a paint brush or tooth brush is used to spray paint on a painting surface. A spray diffuser can also be used for the purpose. The artist uses a stick to carefully hit the brush which is laden with paint. Droplets of paint cove the area where the paint is sprayed. This spraying can be done on colored and white surfaces. Water colors, oil paints and acrylic paints can be used for the technique. If you want that the spattering is targeted to specific areas then the areas other then the target areas should be masked.
Learning these techniques is essential to give your painting knowledge a new dimension. Now you have to choose the right painting technique for yourself. You have to follow your instincts and see that which one is best for you.
