Painting Techniques You May Not Have Heard Of

While stuck indoors, creativity has begun to take over in ways we would not have expected. Many have taken to DIY projects, new business ventures, or even Paint by Numbers Kits for Adults. Painting is perhaps one of the most popular options due to the versatility of the art form and also the convenience. 

There are so many techniques you can use when painting. For some, using Just Paint By Numbers is a convenient way to begin to get the idea of how to place colors and compose a piece. It also allows you to choose your desired picture and bring it to life. There are, however, some techniques that you may not have heard of. As fanciful and out-of-the-box as they may be, they’re a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Let’s explore some of them.

The Art Of Pouring

Pour art or acrylic pouring, is a technique that has recently gone viral. With YouTube videos amassing millions of viewers, it is a newer technique that creates visually pleasing pieces. The premise of acrylic pouring works within the notion of layering liquids. The method is as follows:

1. Begin with your desired color and slowly pour color upon color, till you fill the cup you are using. 
2. Place white acrylic paint on your canvas as the base 
3. Pour your cup of layered paint onto the white which has been placed on the canvas
4. Once the cup is entirely poured, pick up the canvas and tilt it so that it is entirely covered
5. Once covered, lay the canvas flat to dry

Other than being a tad messy, it sounds simple enough! The process and results have been described as ‘incredibly satisfying’. The motion of the paint is similar to waves and forming a beautiful and colorful waved effect.

Body Painting

Human canvas’ have not only become a way of showcasing artwork, but also a marketing technique. There are entire TV shows dedicated to finding expert painters who can convey a story and showcase a brief on a body. 

Body painting is quite different from traditional painting forms. As a human canvas moves, the design and paint have to move alongside each other. This gives body painters a unique challenge and why some love it so much. There are so many variations of body paint and each artist has their own preference of tools, paints, and makeup which they use to create a final product. 

Is it the same as make-up? Well yes, but no. Body painting encompasses the entire body, while make-up tends to focus on just the face. With make-up, you want to showcase the products you use, whereas body paint endeavors to create illusions, different contours and get the viewer to question what is being shown. Body-painted clothes have been used as social experiments and trickery, often people not even realizing what they have seen. Is it all an illusion?

Airbrushing

The airbrushing technique is popular with artists who want to avoid brush strokes. For this reason, airbrushing is often incorporated with the aforementioned body painting techniques. Airbrushing works by using liquid pigment which is spray-painted onto a surface. Often, it is a thinned version of acrylic paint that is used to achieve the results.

The result is hyper-realistic as the surface is consistent and the application is even. You are not able to see painterly brush strokes and often, the illusion is so great that the piece may look as though it is printed, rather than handmade. Though it sounds difficult, this is one of the easiest techniques to learn, you just have to have the right equipment and patience to do so.