Here is an excellent step by step acrylic painting tutorial that I found on YouTube the other day. It is by a very talented  Artist by the name of  Adam Maslowski.  I am happy I stumbled upon this Artist and I am sure you will be too once you finish watching the following video.  What I like most about Adam is his very relaxed, “no rules” approach to painting.  Painting shouldn’t be so structured and technical. It should be a relaxing and enjoyable process that allows your inner creativity to shine.

This demo is in 6 parts that is roughly 40 minutes total, so try and free up some time to relax and enjoy this free painting lesson.

Step 1

Adam will be using a photo that he shot in France as a reference. This is going to be an impressionistic style painting.  Adam likes to work with only two or three colors at a time.  He begins with Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue and Cadmium Yellow Light. With a large brush he begins to cover the white of his support .  It may look sloppy at this stage, but he is actually establishing his composition and getting a feel for where everything will ultimately go.  He will now let this first application of paint dry before proceeding.

Step 2

With a smaller brush and some Ultramarine Blue, he begins to suggest some of the people.  He does this quickly as he believes the faster you work, the more accurate you will be. If you take too much time and over think things, you may not get the best results and I tend to agree with that.  But of course, everyone is different.

Step 3

Adam Mixes up some Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber for his darks. He quickly blocks in his darks where he sees them from the photo reference.  Adam does not focus much on the objects that he is painting. Instead, he is just looking for the dark shapes. In other words, do not have any preconceived notions about what a particular object should look like, just paint the darks and lights that your eye is seeing. Think in terms of value, mass, shape.  Paint what you see, not what you know.

Step 4

In this step, Adam begins adding the lights. Adam makes an excellent point in this video.  Don’t worry too much about making the painting exactly like the photograph. Don’t try and copy. No one is going to see the reference photo to make any comparisons.

Step 5

Again, working with only 2 or 3 colors, he adds in some more color.  He makes certain to use the same colors throughout to unify the painting somewhat. Adam is not looking for recognizable objects while he paints.  He is just painting colors and shapes. As the colors get lighter, Adam likes to paint them thicker. He adds the most detail near the center of the painting, which is his focal point.

Step 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vt_FvcyL-0Ifcw

In this last video, Adam is just adding the final details that will bring everything together.

I hope you enjoyed this step by step acrylic painting video tutorial. A big thanks to Adam Maslowski for sharing this demonstration. Follow this link to view more of his videos over at his YouTube Profile. Follow this link to visit his Website.