I was inspired to start learning to paint with acrylics as part of my ongoing artistic self-training.
At first I was nervous, because I don't know how to paint. I worried that I would be terrible.
Then I discovered this amazing YouTube channel called makkochino where the creator posts many tutorials on learning to paint in different mediums (mainly acrylics and watercolours).
My friend Toby Marshall, who is an illustrator, recommended that I start learning from YouTube when I said wanted to begin my artistic training.
I have painted a few different scenes based on makkochino's tutorials, including these:
A trio of beautiful landscapes
A cherry blossom landscape
The borders in the paintings were created by painting over washi tape (the colourful tape that originally came from Japan), and really make all the difference.
It actually wasn't that hard to start painting using the videos – and this is coming from someone who was laughably bad at painting. Each painting only took me about an hour, and the time I spent painting flew by.
Find a few video tutorials of paintings that you really like and inspire you. I was drawn to the warm, soft colours of these natural landscapes.
So far, acrylics are one of my favourite mediums to work with. They're easy to use and produce amazing colours. They're not that expensive to buy, either.
Painting doesn't quite come naturally to me, but I love the colourful results. It's also very satisfying to work in a physical medium such as acrylic paint, versus digital art. It's fun to learn painting and try to express myself in a more visual way.
It's interesting to learn these particular techniques and try to build a skill in a new medium. I believe that everyone is born with the capability to be an artist in some way, and you don't need inborn "talent".
You don't become an artist. You are already an artist. Instead, you need to develop your creative practice so you have the skills to express yourself.
Are there any new skills you have tried to learn that turned out to be easier than you thought?
Published: Tuesday 6 November 2018
Main image: by Simon Matzinger on Unsplash
By Catherine Heath. I'm a freelance writer based in Manchester. I'm community builder for KnowledgeOwl, who also make this website.
