Acrylic Painting

Throughout this 7-week course you will explore portrait, figure, still life, nature, landscape and abstract painting using acrylic paint.

This course will help you to make the most of your creative potential, providing practical information and guidance for beginners and new inspiration for more experienced artists. 

Materials

Acrylic Paint:

Most brands have good starter sets of paint available in a variety of colours but sometimes it can be cheaper to buy specific colours in individual tubes.  

If you are buying individual tubes then suggested hues are: Lemon and Cadmium Yellow, Permanent Rose and Cadmium Red, Cerulean, Ultramarine Blue, Viridian, Burnt Siena and Payne's Grey. You will need a large tube of white because is usually the colour that runs out first.

After getting confident with basic acrylic, I would suggest some high flow acrylic, water-based acrylic spray and a few mediums.

Brushes:

• 2inch Flat Brush approx.
• 1inch Flat Brush approx.
• 1/2 inch Brush (Flat/Bright) approx
• 1 small round brush for details
• Fan Brush
• Daler Rowney System 3 Skyflow Acrylic Brushes make good flat brushes to work with acrylic
• Palette knives

Support:

As support for your painting, you can use the paper available in the class or bring a board or canvas to work on. If you use paper 2 inches of masking tape would be advisable to fix the paper on the board and keep the edges tidy.

You will need a palette to work on; you can buy palettes or even just bring in an old ceramic plate or tile to work on. There are disposable palettes available in most art supply shops which save time cleaning but are a bit more wasteful. A "stay wet palette" is my favourite choice. You can make one using a recycled tin box or A4 craft plastic box. I will show you how to make a “stay wet palette” in the class!

About the tutor

Daniela Balmaverde is a visual freelance artist who lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Born in Italy, she studied at the College of Art in Turin in 1998. She went on to study in Holland (Groningen) and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Turin where she graduated with a BA (First Class) in Stage Design in 2003.

She has been commissioned to create pieces of art including public art, community arts, portraits and paintings, sculptures, trompe l’oeil, and different types of decoration and ornamentation on both the inside and outside of buildings in Italy and Northern Ireland.

She has been teaching in Northern Ireland, France and Italy since 2005.
Her work is included in many private collections in Canada, France, Germany, Holland, Italy  and Northern Ireland.

For more info:

DanielaBalmaverde.com

Instagram.com/DanielaBalmaverdeArt