Acrylic Painting for Beginners, A Series of 8 Classes

Acrylic Painting for Beginners: Students will be given the basics and fundamentals of acrylic painting on canvas. In each class, the students will have the chance to paint a simple tabletop still life, as well as tackle assignments and challenges to take home during the week. They will learn the basics and fundamentals of preparing a canvas for acrylic painting and the methods to do so along the way. Each class will end with a friendly group critique and discussion, as well as additional challenges to take home. Students will build on their skills as they work on a personal painting project of their choice.

Good for:

(14+ Y/O and above) wanting to learn the basics and fundamentals of acrylic painting on canvas.

What to expect:

A greater understanding of acrylic painting, the tools to create their own paintings on canvas, as well as the chance to create one tabletop still life painting and at least one fully completed acrylic painting of their choice.

About the Teacher:

Mike Delcollo is a Bay Area based artist/painter who also goes by the name Daydream Maker.  He lives in the house where he grew up in El Sobrante with his wife and daughter.  Mike is a lifelong artist with an ever increasing passion for painting in both oils and acrylics.  His style ranges from serious portraits to fun miniature still life to revenant landscapes. With a wink and a nod toward his totally rad 80’s childhood and an appreciation for fine art Mike is excited to bring new chapters and new daydreams to the East Bay and El Sobrante art scene. His work can be seen on instagram at the_daydream_maker@instagram.com

Materials Needed if you sign up for the class:

This is a minimized list of Items required for the first session of Acrylic Painting for Beginners class held at the Shed in El Sobrante this summer 

•One Water container: 6-12oz. plastic or glass with secure lid. Recommendations jam jar, mason jar or Tupperware w/ lid

•Small plastic or metal palette knife 

•2-4 paper towels 

•paint palette of any type:

Recommendations: plastic, disposable palettes or paper plates 

•4-6 paint brushes to start: Recommendations: 

Flat or Bright #4,#6

Round #4

Filbert #2,#4

One Flat 1-2”

Not sure? Some brands offer a multi-pack of small/medium brushes 

•Acrylic paint 9 basic colors: 

White, Black, Red, Yellow, Blue, Brown, Orange, Green, Violet/Purple 

Eventually in the following weeks it will become necessary to get many more colors (for example buying varying hues of some of the colors listed above) 

What brand of paint should you buy? 

Craft paint: very inexpensive and comes in small bottles which is fun and convenient but they lack in quality and luster. Some brands to choose from are Deco Art, Folk Art and Craft Smart. Price range from $.79 to $1.99 each  

Liquitex Basics acrylic: 

Thin but smooth. good for beginners. comes in generous size tubes and cost is relatively low $6.49 each 

Golden High Flow acrylic: 

small bottles but nice quality extra thin style paint. Good for small details and lasts a long time 

$10-$15 each

Golden artist acrylic:

And 

Liquitex heavy body acrylic:

Both higher quality, thick lustrous paint. A little more expensive but a tube of better quality paint will last longer and get better results. $12-$20 each

What will the teacher provide? On the first class the teacher will provide a charcoal pencil, a brown paper art pad and a small canvas board. In future classes students will be instructed to get canvas boards or stretched canvases on their own as well as other supplies as they become necessary. 

•Attire: 

Consider an apron, just don’t wear nice clothes or your favorite sweater. Acrylic paint dries permanently on fabric.