Art and representation: responding

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Experimenting with paint and colours
   1. The colour circle
   2. Mixing secondary colours
   3. Complementary and tertiary colours
   4. Mixing black and darkening colours
   5. Paint effects
3. Investigating other artists' works
4. Experimenting with still life arrangements
   1. Collecting the objects for a still life
   2. Arranging the objects
   3. Selecting a viewpoint
   4. Alternative arrangements
   5. Other artists' ideas
5. Task
6. Copyright/disclaimer

Experimenting with paint and colours

There are some practical things to consider before you start experimenting with acrylic paint.

1. Protect the work surface.
   Wherever you are working make sure that you protect the work surface. For example, acrylic paint can stain the surface and is difficult to remove once dry. The same applies to yourself; protect your clothes as it is very easy to get paint on you without noticing it.
   
   
2. You will need a brush, but which one?
   1. Soft brushes
      These are very good for painting detail but not for mixing acrylic paint. They are too soft to hold the weight of the paint and become clumsy and difficult to control.
   2. Hard-bristle brushes
      These are great for mixing acrylic paint.

3. You will need a palette.
   It does not have to be an artist's one with the special hole for your thumb. An ice-cream container lid is ideal because paint stains will not matter, but any flat, shiny surface that is easy to clean (like an old plate) is fine.
   
   
4. You will need a container for water to clean your brush.
   A plastic ice-cream bowl is excellent, as it is harder to tip over than a jar with a brush handle sticking out of it. (It is important not to leave your brushes in the water after you finish painting, as they will lose their shape and become difficult to manage if you do.)
   
   
5. You will also need a sponge by the side of your water to wipe the excess water off your brush.