Experimental Nature in Acrylics

Book excerpt: New and experimental ways to capture landscape in acrylics. Landscape artist Paul Bailey's fascination with the natural world is sensationally conveyed in his colourful and semi-abstract paintings. In Experimental Nature in Acrylics, he reveals his techniques for the first time – making it simple for readers to produce their own work that is abstract, evocative and full of vivid colour. Through easy-to-follow explanations and step-by-step demonstrations, Paul describes how to manipulate the medium in surprising – yet often simple – ways. Readers will learn how distil craggy cliffs, rolling farmland hills, tidal rivers or flat, open-skied wilderness in striking and unusual colour palettes. There are tips on how to paint organic shapes and using abstract elements in the natural landscape as the basis for a painting, and how to create a compositional sense of rhythm. Paul's beautiful and contemporary work appears throughout the book and acts as a masterclass in scraping, pulling, weathering and splattering the paint. As well as showing how to build layer upon layer, the process of construction and how to tease a sense of movement from a static image. This essential guide is a must for anyone wishing to augment their understanding of the acrylic medium and appreciation of composition and colour, and to liberate their own beautiful paintings.