If you’re in the mood to start an artistic hobby this summer, acrylic paints are a great way to test the waters. Acrylic paints can be inexpensive, and they have the ability to mimic both watercolor and oil paints.
You don’t have to spend a fortune, and with all the books, DVDs and online classes available, you can learn from the comfort of your own air conditioned home.
Sets of paints and brushes are available at all price levels, so there’s a set that’s right for your budget. Just add a palette, an easel and a canvas or pad of paper. You’re all ready to start creating.
Acrylic Paint Sets
Sets are an easy way for a novice to start. The colors, size of tubes and number of colors will vary by manufacturer and set. It’s quick, easy and takes the guesswork out of choosing between 12 different blues.
Liquitex Basics Acrylic Paint Set
Liquitex Basics Acrylic Paint 12-Piece Set By Liquitex ASIN: B001G6L7VS
Liquitex has been providing artists with reliable and inexpensive paint for many years. Their quality is consistent and you always know what you’re getting.
This set contains 12 – 22 ml tubes of heavy body paint that’s great for painting alla prima or diluting to create pale, luminous watercolors. The colors include Alizarin Crimson Hue Permanent, Primary Red, Cadmium Orange Hue, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Primary Yellow, Light Green Permanent, Phthalo Green, Primary Blue, Dioxazine Purple, Ivory Black and Titanium White.
Golden Principal Color Mixing System
Golden Principal Color Mixing System Set By Golden ASIN: B0015ME1B6
Golden manufactures a wide array of paints, and their products have long been associated with quality and superior craftsmanship. This package of eight 2-ounce acrylic paints is a good basic selection of colors to learn color theory and mixing.
The set includes Hansa Yellow Medium, Napthol Red Light, Quinacridone Magenta, Phthalo Green, Phthalo Blue, Yellow Ochre, Zinc White and Titanium White.
Reeves Acrylic Paints
Reeves Acrylic Paints 10 ml 24 Assorted Colors By Reeves ASIN: B008R0BU8G
If you’re interested in trying out loads of colors, this set by Reeves will whet your appetite. The tubes aren’t large, but you certainly get enough to see the kinds of colors you like best.
With 24 colors, this assortment has a little of everything, from pure basics to unique highlight colors. The colors include Titanium White, Lemon Yellow, Medium Yellow, Orange, Flesh Tint, Brilliant Red, Crimson, Violet, Blue Lake, Phthalo Blue, Light Green, Viridian Hue, Phthalo Green, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Payne’s Gray, Mars Black, Deep Yellow, Vermilion, Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine, Grass Green, and Raw Umber.
Acrylic Brush Sets
Brushes can be an expensive investment. However, good tools make the job easier. You don’t need a lot of brushes, but a set is an easy way to get started.
Winsor & Newton Paint Brushes
Artists Acrylic Brushes – Set Of 5 By Winsor & Newton ASIN: B003ZT648U
Winsor & Newton has been providing art materials to professional artists for many decades.
This set of five different brush shapes allows you to perfect various brush strokes to achieve a variety of effects with your acrylic paints.
Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 2.2 x 1.1 inches; 15.8 ounces.
Princeton Series 9000 Brush Sets
Princeton Series 9000 Brown Handled Brush Sets 9143 Set Of 7 By Princeton ASIN: B000H431OQ
Princeton brushes are a good value for the price. These nylon brushes have short handles, so they are perfect for painting in a small, detailed piece, or for using your acrylics to create watercolor paintings.
The Princeton Golden Taklon brush set includes one ¾-inch wash, one #2 flat shader, one number 6 flat shader, one number 2 round, one number 4 round, one number 2/0 liner and one ¼-inch flat angular shader.
Nicole Student Paint Brush Set
25 Piece Student Paint Brush Assortment For Acrylic, Oil And Watercolors By Nicole ASIN: B004IFS8IY
If you’re planning to use your acrylic paints as watercolors as well as for oil painting style work, this set of brushes has something for every medium. This all-inclusive set includes every shape, size and bristle type for almost any painting style.
The set includes both long and short handle brushes in different bristles.
Acrylic Painting Instruction
Times change, and now you don’t have to leave your home to learn how to paint. Today, there are thousands of instructional books with high quality photo demonstrations that can give anyone the basics in painting with acrylics.
Even better, there are hundreds of video classes you can view over and over to learn the basic or the finer points of painting.
Painting for the Beginner
Painting for the Absolute and Utter Beginner By Claire Watson Garcia ISBN-10: 0823099474
This delightful little book takes through all the steps to becoming a competent beginning painter. Ms. Garcia walks us through the materials we will use, mixing paint and creating the colors you want, handling your brushes and trying out some sample projects.
She then goes on to address perspective, still life composition, the human figure and portraiture. Like a sumptuous array of appetizers before the main course, Ms Garcia gives you a little taste of everything.
Acrylic Painting for Dummies
Acrylic Painting For Dummies Colette Pitcher ASIN: B004NNV0KE
Of course, there’s a Dummies book for acrylic painting. What topic doesn’t have a dummies book? And, just like all the other books with that same moniker, it’s written in simple language that takes all the mystery out of the odd words and ambiguous instructions one may get from other books.
This book is filled with common sense instruction. It explores fundamentals and explains lots of tips and tricks. It also discusses styles, the use of acrylics on a variety of supports and helps with jump-starting your creativity.
Introduction to Acrylics
Simply Painting: Introduction To Acrylics Frank Clarke ASIN: B0002OXUQA
Frank Clarke is Ireland’s answer to Bob Ross.
This DVD provides a wealth of basic painting instruction, all with a lovely Irish brogue.
A well-loved PBS fixture, Mr. Clarke introduces a novice painter to subjects such as Still Life, Brush Techniques, Landscapes, Perspective, Seascapes, Using Colors, Flowers, Wet to Wet, Foods, Washes, Trees, White Gouache, Mountains, Light & Dark Properties, Water, Painting On Alternative Materials, Woodlands and Misty Hills.
Acrylic Painting Techniques
If you’ve watched Susan Scheewe on PBS, you know just how well she explains and demonstrates techniques. Now, you can follow along with Susan at your own pace with this information-packed DVD. Start and stop as you please, replay segments time and again if you need a little extra help.
Ms. Scheewe has easy-to-understand explanations of painting techniques to use acrylics like oils or watercolors. She shares lots of tips and tricks, shortcuts and techniques, and provides viewers with 10 easy-to-follow-along landscape and still life projects.
So, dust the sand off your flip-flops, throw the wet towels in the laundry hamper, and get started with your new summertime hobby – acrylic painting.
