Table Of ContentAcrylic Illuminations
Reflective and Luminous Acrylic Painting Techniques
Nancy Reyner
Cincinnati, OH
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Contents
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Introduction
About This Book
Crash Course on Acrylic
Your Acrylic Toolbox
Pigment/Color
Acrylic Binders: Mediums, Gels and Pastes
Inventing With Your Toolbox
Application Tips and Materials
Distinctive Metallics
Essential Tips for Metallics
Basic application of gold leaf
Mixing Metal Leaf
Textured Metal
Sanding Metal Leaf
High Gloss Leaf
Gold Leaf Backgrounds
Intensify Metallic Hues
Decorative Designs
Subtractive Glazing
Tarnish Effects
Faux Leaf Patinas
Drawing on Leaf
Glitter and Metal Flakes
Metal Paint
Prismatic Effects
Essential Tips for Reflective Paints
Multicolor Imprint
Veiling Layers with Pastes
Matte Skins Construction
Soft Melted Effects
Multiple Layering
Fake Wax
Underglow Effects
Overglow Sheens
Prismatic Layering
Embedded Pearlized Color
Secret Tricks to Pouring
Essential Tips for Pouring
Surfboard Finish
Dirty-Mix Pours
The Supreme Pour
Smoothing Pours
Poured Glazing
Deep Pouring
Embedding Objects
Pouring Veiled Effects
Halo Staining
Metallic Rainbow
Color Field Staining
Marbleizing Color Fields
Shaped Edge Washes
Hard and Soft Edge Pouring
Optical & Luminous Effects
Essential Tips for Optical and Luminous Effects
The Paint as Itself
Polished “Stone” Effects
Sheen Shifting
Subtractive Metallic Grisaille
Metallic Drawing Surfaces
Stained Glass Effect
Veiling Metal Leaf
Glass Refraction
Pouring Embedded Leaf
Fluorescent and Phosphorescent Paints
Vibrating Optical Effects
High Contrast
Contributing Artists
About the Author
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
Art enhances our lives. Whether we view it for pleasure or create it as artists, art
can serve us in ways both private and public. Making art just for ourselves is
similar to writing in a diary: the writing is personal and not meant to be read by
others, eliminating the need for editing. On the other hand, artists intending to
communicate through their work to others will first need to grab someone’s
attention with the work visually.
Getting attention has more up its sleeve than loud colors or provocative
imagery. This book offers fifty ways to “catch the eye.” The range of techniques
swing from subtle glazing on metal leaf, to pearly sheens of exotic beetle wings,
as well as boldly colored optical effects. Similar to my previous books, Acrylic
Revolution and Acrylic Innovation, Acrylic Illuminations is a recipe book of
techniques, meant to be used like you would a cookbook for a dinner party. Start
by selecting what inspires you and vary the ingredients to your liking.
Incorporate them into your current process or allow them to move your work in a
new direction.
All of my books, like my teaching, are created with the intent to offer ways of
inventing, not copying. Step-by-step instruction allows mastery of a technique. It
is up to the reader to transform the technique into a finished painting of his or
her choice. Some techniques just by themselves can produce a complete
painting. Often, however, working further than the technique dictates will push
the work from a singular technique into a more satisfying painting. Use the
techniques for personal or professional work, for abstract or realistic styles, as
backgrounds, top layers or for accents layered in between. Try combining
several techniques in one painting by layering each technique separately (see
Technique 19 for multiple technique layering). The instructions are not set in
stone, but meant to inspire you to change them, encouraging our wonderful
innate sense of play.
I’d also like to emphasize that techniques are not styles. This means that every
technique in this book can be used to create a representational or abstract image
in any style. I have purposely varied the artwork examples as reminders,
hopefully dispelling a myth that working in acrylic also means that the work
must be abstract. As an example, the pouring technique in Technique 26 can be
used to create some interesting organic and abstract forms, yet can also create
beautiful landscape elements and backgrounds for still life and portraits.
Each technique is demonstrated with concise illustrated steps and finished
painting examples. A bonus chapter, Crash Course on Acrylic, opens the book
and offers an overview on how to use acrylic paints and products to their fullest
potential. This first chapter has great tips to guide you through any technique
you choose with greater ease. Please read this section, as even experts can
benefit. Terms are defined, while general tips and information that pertain to
techniques are explained, allowing a fuller understanding of the technical
process. This chapter adds multiple ways to individualize techniques by
expanding and varying them to your preferences.
The remaining four chapters contain fifty techniques, grouped together by
particular materials or visual effects. Specific tips for those techniques are
included in the first two pages of each chapter. These tip pages are vital to obtain
best results. Please read these as they can save you both time and money.
Best wishes for inspiration, new ideas and eye-catching results!
