Know Your Acrylic Paints: Expand Your Palette
Mary Morrison
Class Preview
1:39
- In-depth Instruction; over 124 mins
- On-demand video access anytime
- Bonus downloadable PDF resources
- Access to class Q&A
Inside Color
9:34
Meet Mary Morrison, a full-time painter, teacher and exhibitor for the past 25 years, and your guide to the world of acrylic paints. Mary will first help you understand the primary colors, the building blocks of art, and recognize the subtle differences within them as you select your palette.
Modern Colors
20:58
Mary discusses how modern and mineral pigments differ at the microscopic level and how that alters their appearance on the canvas. Then she mixes brilliant secondary and tertiary colors and adds them to her color wheel, while also demonstrating how best to control tint strength.
Mineral Colors
14:31
Matted, muted and opaque may not sound like benefits, but they are on Mary's capable brush. Learn to use minerals, the same palette employed by the greatest painters in history. Then make a color wheel with this set of colors, and watch as Mary color-matches on a pre-made landscape.
Blacks & Whites
11:42
Even black and white can look dramatically different when paired with each other or with complementary colors. Explore a variety of shades, depths and effects by mixing and pairing blacks, whites and colors with Mary's guidance.
Neutral Grays
29:04
Neutral grays can help you expand your palette in the most surprising and robust ways. Mary creates a value scale from bone black to titanium white, an invaluable exercise in gradation. She also completes a tint, tone and shade board then mixes grays with other pigments to create unexpected colors.
Iridescent Colors
24:42
Add pop and brilliance to your work with iridescent paints. Mary walks through a primer on these unique pigments and shows where this molten-metal look can be featured in paintings. She also teaches a new method, the paper towel pounce, and introduces a new tool, the catalyst.
Interference Colors
13:22
Interference colors offer an exciting prismatic sheen. Mary demonstrates when, how and how not to apply dashes of this painting spice to add subtle contrast and depth. Also learn how to mix interference colors and see them applied to an almost-completed painting.
Whether you’re buying pigments or preparing your palette, artist Mary Morrison will help you choose from all types of acrylic paints with complete confidence! Start with how to select the primary color variations that will suit your work. Then, discover the properties of both modern and mineral pigments and find how to control them as you make two color wheels. Discover the black and white pigments available, and find out how to pick the right one for your work. Expand your palette further as you use neutral grays to create a value scale and a tint, tone and shade board. Next, learn to bring brilliant visual interest to your art with iridescent acrylic paints. Plus, add contrast and depth to your work using the prismatic effects of interference paints.
For more information on mixing acrylic paint, check out An Easy Method for Mixing Skin Tones with Acrylic Paint
Mary Morrison
From the time she was a child, Mary Morrison knew she wanted to be an artist. Today, she's a full-time painter and teacher with more than 25 years of experience. Mary's work can be found in both private and corporate collections. She holds a master's degree in visual arts from The Art Institute of Boston/Lesley University in Boston, Massachusetts. Mary also works with Golden Artist Colors as the company's working artist for Colorado.
Bonus materials available after purchase