Acrylic paint is a versatile paint that comes in tubes or as a spray. Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint that can be diluted with water when wet, but it becomes resistant to water after it dries. Various usage techniques allow an artist to mimic the look of watercolor or oil paint with acrylic. Because it is so versatile and available in different application formats, acrylic paint is ideal for creating artwork using stencils.
Instructions
1. Choose your stencil design. You can purchase stencils in a hobby or craft shop. You can also turn simple coloring book pages into stencils. You can draw your own stencils if you have a talent for drawing. Tape your stencil design to your canvas. If you are using more than one stencil to create a painting, you might want to compose your painting by arranging all of your stencils and taping them to the canvas at the same time.
2. Decide whether you want to paint directly over the stencils or transfer the design. The great thing about acrylic paint is that you can get it in tubes like oil paint or you can purchase it as a spray paint. If you intend to use the spray variety, leave the stencils on and simply spray your acrylic paint over them to recreate the stencil image in paint. If you want more control over your painting, use a hard pencil and trace your stencil patterns onto the canvas. Another technique you can use is to spray a base of acrylic over your stencils and then add thicker tube paints on top of the design when you remove the stencils. This allows you to build up texture and depth on your designs.
3. Remove your stencils to paint your designs. Use an appropriate size brush to add acrylics to your stencil design. If you have applied a layer of spray acrylics, now is the time to build up acrylic paint from a tube to get the depth and texture you want. Since acrylic paint dries quickly, you should apply the colors fast, using the wet on wet technique often used by oil painters. You can also apply a paint thinner and use your brush to flatten and disperse the thick paint to create the look of a watercolor.
