Your Art Should Feel Like Play–Not Work

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Your Art Should Feel Like Play–Not Work
// Artist's Network

Blue Danube by Nancy Reyner, acrylic painting and gold leaf.

Nancy Reyner Leads an Acrylic Revolution

Sometimes we just need a little revolt. Just a little push or change to make us take nothing for granted. It's that way in art and in life. For life…I'll leave your personal revolts to you, lol. But in painting, you never want the work to feel like anything other than play. I look to Nancy Reyner to see where she leads in this regard. An accomplished acrylic artist, Nancy creates incredibly powerful paintings by playing through techniques that aren't taught in any class I've taken before. Instead, she pushes the medium and experiments with gesture and layers, and the results are kinda wondrous. You can almost feel the joy they are steeped in.

Play with Your Tools

Nancy stress that you can paint with acrylic on so many different surfaces. The same is true about the tools you paint with. Here are a few to try:

Feathers

Toothbrushes

Combs

Straws

Coins

Branches, leaves, or flowers

Hidden Rainbow by Nancy Reyner, acrylic painting.

Playing with Your Surface

Nancy is also a big advocate of playing with your surface. It is your starting point and can yield a lot of inspiration. So consider staining it beforehand. An underpainting allows for subsequent layers of color to really pop. Add texture. If you are using a panel, scuff up the surface. If you are using canvas, abrade it. You can also paint on paper. Or mold that paper to a three-dimensional shape and paint a literal sculpture. Or you could crumple the paper before you start and allow the creases and folds to carry you through.

When Your Painting Is Done — Quick Tip

Acrylic has a two-part drying process. The first part, known as "dry to the touch," means the top layer of the paint skin has dried due to the evaporation of the water in the paint. The second part involves the polymer or acrylic in the paint, which takes several days to several weeks to fully cure. The actual curing time is dependent on the layer's thickness and environmental factors. During this curing time, it is important to not tightly wrap or store the artwork in a closed environment and to avoid exposing it to extreme temperatures.

Ready for the Revolution?

Nancy Reyner is an artist who, I would claim, never worked a day in her life…at least when it comes to painting. The joy and freedom of play and rule-breaking is an essential part of who she is as an artist. Let her show you the way to revolution with the video download of her Acrylic Revolution workshop. Nancy shows you how to take basic exercises like painting skies and trees and turn them into creative powerhouse moments. And right now, we are having a super sale on video downloads, where you get 2 for 1! Double up on your resources now and enjoy!

Courtney 

The post Your Art Should Feel Like Play–Not Work appeared first on Artist's Network.

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