AVI 2O UNIT 2 Chapter 2 Acrylic Painting Basics How To Complete This Module You will work through this module step by step, reading each section and completing any of the activi- ties in the investigation as well as any formative and summative assignments. Be sure you spend the appro- priate amount of time on each of the activities and assignments. All of the investigations must be completed properly before this module is considered complete. All formative work will be placed in your portfolio within a separate folder of paper to be evaluated for feedback and assessment of learning skills. Summative work is to be handed in for assessment by the deadline given. Rubrics are provided for evaluation of all summative work. Good luck with the assignments and remember to ask for help when you encounter problems! Unit 2: Expanding Techniques | Chapter 2: Acrylic Basics Course Code: AVI 2O INVESTIGATION ACRYLIC PAINTING Acrylic paint is fast-drying paint containing a pigment suspended in an acrylic emulsion or binder. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is thinned with water or modified with acrylic gels etc. the finished acrylic painting can resemble awatercolour or an oil painting - it may also have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media. a student acrylic painting YOUR NOTES ON ACRYLICS APPLYING PAINT 2 Unit 2: Expanding Techniques | Chapter 2: Acrylic Basics Course Code: AVI 2O INVESTIGATION ACRYLIC TECHNIQUES BLOCK-IN/BUILD UP APPROACH TO ACRYLICS It is important that every painter knows how to create depth, and three dimensional form. This is best accomplished by understanding how to use perspective properly together with the building up of highlight, middle tone and shadow detail over a base colour to suggest form. This traditional technique is called a block-in/build up approach. build up adds detail and texture over the blocked colour block in fills in approximate colour over a pencil sketch in the build up layer overlap tones and use a damp brush to blend transitions of colour values YOUR NOTES ON THE BLOCK IN/BUILD UP APPROACH TO ACRYLICS 3 Unit 2: Expanding Techniques | Chapter 2: Acrylic Basics Course Code: AVI 2O INVESTIGATION CREATING HIGHLIGHTS AND SHADOWS A REVIEW OF TINTS AND SHADES Tints and shades are similar to the tones in a value scale. The difference is that you are making a colour lighter or darker than its pure “hue”, by add- ing either white or black. For the following assign- ment you will make a large tints and shades chart to use as a reference for future painting assignments. It is extremely important to practice creating a range of colour values that gradual change in tone before you build up adds detail and texture over the blocked colour attempt to create a painting that captures a sense of realism and depth. YOUR NOTES ON TINTS AND SHADES YOUR NOTES ON TINTS AND SHADES HUE: TINT: SHADE: 4 Unit 2: Expanding Techniques | Chapter 2: Acrylic Basics Course Code: AVI 2O The religious strife of the Reformation was set- INVESTIGATION tling down and in the Catholic church an emotional CONTRAST IN PAINTING emphasis replaced an intellectual one. Rome became The word Baroque comes from the Portuguese the art center of Europe. and means grotesque or irregular. The term was used The art works of the Baroque vary through the by historians to describe its flamboyance. The Ba- time period and even from artist to artist, but in gen- roque has now come to include the art, music and eral they shared some common artistic goals. the architecture produced in Europe from the 1600’s A sense of drama and an emotional appeal to 1780 (approx.). In Europe many countries were were very important and in the visual arts. This colonizing various parts of the world, which brought translated into strong contrasts of light and dark, a great deal of wealth to an established middle class. intense swirling movement, vivid colours and a scale for paintings that was often larger than life. MICHELANGELO MERISI, (CARAVAGGIO) (1573-1610) The Rococo refers to a style of art that followed the Baroque in the early 18th century in France, Ger- many, Austria, and Spain. The Rococo style empha- sized light hearted subjects with a romantic appeal. Caravaggio uses extreme contrasts of bright and dark to heighten the intense mood each character is involved in some sort of motion or action that lends an energy to the “The Supper at Emmaus”. oil on canvas. Caravag- gio. 1597. 138 x 194 cm. National Gallery, London, painting England. YOUR NOTES ON CARAVAGGIO THE ARTIST Caravaggio was a rebellious person known for outrageous behaviour and con- stant involvement in bar room brawls, (he met an early death while on the run from the law). His worked shocked people of the 1500’s and 1600’s by placing religious figures from the Bible in commonplace settings from his own time. THE PAINTING 5 Unit 2: Expanding Techniques | Chapter 2: Acrylic Basics Course Code: AVI 2O BACKGROUND READING CARAVAGGIO | PAINTER ON THE RUN *adapted from the Wikipedia entry on Caravaggio http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaggio Famous (and notorious) while he lived, Caravag- gio was forgotten almost immediately after his death, and it was only in the 20th century that his importance was rediscovered. Caravaggio was born in Milan, in northern Italy. His father was a household administrator and architect-dec- orator to the Marchese of Caravaggio. His mother came Chalk portrait of Caravaggio by Ottavio Leoni from a wealthy family of the same district. In 1576 the family moved to Caravaggio in northern Italy to escape a plague in Milan. Caravaggio’s father died there in 1577 and his mother in 1584. In the same year he was apprenticed for four years to a painter from Milan. Caravaggio fled Milan for Rome in mid-1592 after “certain quarrels” and the wounding of a police officer. He arrived in Rome without provisions or money. A high realism appeared in Caravaggio’s first paintings of religious themes. The works, viewed by a limited num- ber of people, increased Caravaggio’s fame with both experts and his fellow artists. Caravaggio preferred to paint his subjects with all their flaws and defects instead of as idealized.This allowed a full display of Caravaggio’s incredible talents, but the shift from idealism was very controversial at the time. He also preferred working in oils directly from the subject. One of the paintings at this time was his work, “Supper at Emmaus”. In 1599 Caravaggio was contracted to decorate a church and the two works were an immediate sensation. Caravaggio’s tenebrism brought high drama to his sub- jects, and his realism brought a new level of emotional intensity. Opinion varied but for the most part he was hailed as a great artistic visionary. Caravaggio went on to secure a string of impor- tant commissions for religious works featuring violent struggles, grotesque decapitations, torture and death. Each new painting increased his fame, but a few were rejected. because his realism was seen by some as unacceptably vulgar. Caravaggio led an adventurous life. He was notori- ous for brawling, even in a time and place when such behavior was commonplace. On 29 May 1606, he killed, possibly unintentionally, a young man and Caravaggio fled to Naples. His connections in Naples led to a stream of impor- tant church commissions yet despite his success Cara- vaggio left for Malta after a few months hoping that the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, could help him secure a pardon for his crime. Impressed at having the The Crucifixion of Saint Peter, 1601. Cerasi Chapel, Santa famous artist as official painter to the Order he was made Maria del Popolo, Rome. a knight By late August 1608 he was arrested and imprisoned, the result of another brawl, during which a knight was seriously wounded. Imprisoned by the knights he managed to escape and by December he had been expelled from the Order “as a foul and rotten member.” Caravaggio made his way to Sicily. In each city Caravaggio continued to win prestigious and well-paid commissions. His style continued to evolve, but his behaviour was becoming increasingly bi- zarre, (sleeping fully armed and in his clothes). After only nine months in Sicily, Caravaggio returned to Naples hoping he could secure his pardon from the pope. In Naples an attempt was made on his life, In the summer of 1610 he took a boat northwards to receive the pardon, which was thanks to his powerful Roman friends. With him were three last paintings. What happened next is the subject of much confusion and conjecture. A private newsletter arrived in Rome which said that Caravaggio had died of fever on his way from Naples. A poet friend of the artist later gave the 18th of July as the date of death, and a recent researcher claims to have discovered a death notice showing that the artist died on that day of a fever in Porto Ercole, in Tuscany. Human remains found in a church in Porto Ercole in 2010 are believed to almost certainly belong to Caravaggio. The findings come after a year-long investigation using DNA, carbon dating and other tests. 6 Unit 2: Expanding Techniques | Chapter 2: Acrylic Basics Course Code: AVI 2O INVESTIGATION A REVIEW OF COLOUR HARMONY Colour is the most important aspect of painting. To make the most of any painting an artist will often limit the colour palette to specific set of colours. Colour harmonies are sets of colours that work well together and will often inform a painters deci- sion about how to develop a painting.