Friday, August 28, 2009

Lush Poetic Acrylics by Alice Teichert



Last week I attended the opening for Alice Teichert's latest oeuvre at the Oeno Gallery, at the Huff Estates Winery just outside of Bloomfield, Ontario. What a gorgeous, wondrous exhibit! Her work has always spoken volumes to me, as she is one of the most articulate and eloquent practitioners of the acrylic language.

If you have the time to take a drive out to Prince Edward County, do yourself a great favour and explore Alice's visual poetry in our burgeoning wine country.

Read about the reactions to the
new text'painting composition performed by Alice accompanied by vocalist Alex Samaris and Jazz bassist Bram Geilen on Oeno's facebook page.

Learn more about Alice Teichert by visiting her website!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Get busy with Acrylics in Edmonton!



Register online now for my series of workshops at The Paint Spot in Edmonton!!! Acrylic fun at an extraordinary art materials retailers!


The Naked Truth about Acrylics

Tuesday, October 27

7 PM – 10 PM

Fee $25.00

Everything you ever wanted to know about acrylics but were afraid to ask! An open discussion and demonstration on the unvarnished truth about modern acrylics by Rheni Tauchid. She will explain what they are, how to use them, how to avoid the pitfalls and how to stretch your art dollar. She will also address the question of "To varnish or not to varnish." No question is out of bounds. There will be many samples on hand to examine and enjoy.


Speed Dating with Acrylic Mediums

Wednesday, October 28

7 PM – 10 PM

Fee $45.00

A fast and furious round-robin tactile exploration of acrylic mediums, hands-on stations will be set up to examine, manipulate and play with a stunning variety of Tri-Art Finest Quality Artist Acrylic Mediums in conjunction with Tri-Art High Viscosity and Liquid acrylic colors. This class is the perfect way to get to know the intimate working properties of the most fascinating and multi-faceted painting tools available today. Be seduced by the possibilities and versatility of acrylic painting mediums and find your creative match!


Acrylic Bling:* 3-hour workshops

Thursday, October 29

7 PM – 10 PM

Fee $45.00

A splashy dip into the sparkle and shine of Tri-Art acrylics.

Iridescent colours, Interference colours, Liquid mirror, and Spectral Colour. This is an exploration of how to use these types of pigments and paints as accents, light enhancers and tools to get an opulent surface. Tri-Art Liquid Acrylics, High Viscosity Micaceous Iron Oxide and Spectral Colour will be used.


Sculptural Acrylics

Friday, 7 PM – 9 PM

Saturday 10 AM – 2 PM

2 days Workshop

Fee $80.00

Experiment with the most malleable art material of our time. Taking acrylic paints beyond their traditional supports, we will work with them to create sculptural artworks. Use acrylic skins, acrylic texture mediums and application methods to produce two and three dimensional pieces. Gather a cornucopia of ideas to apply to your own styles and projects. A wide range of Tri-Art paints, mediums and palettes will be available for your use during this hands-on workshop.

Friday, August 14, 2009

NEW REVIEW on my first book, The New Acrylics

Fresh off the blog presses, go to Billie's Craft Room blog to read a brand new review on my first book, The New Acrylics, which was published by Watson-Guptill in 2005.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Billie!

Read it:

Welcome Back

If you have decided to try acrylic paint for the first time, gone to the art store to purchase some paint, brushes etc and been bewildered by the choice, this book is for you. If you were too embarrassed to ask for help in the store, this book is for you. I started an art journal in May 2009, and soon discovered that layering water colour paint, or water soluble wax crayons, didn’t really work. I had seen people using Liquid acrylics and had some of my fathers Cryla paint to try, but all the gels and mediums were a mystery. I wanted a book that would explain the different kinds of acrylic paint, what the differences were and what I could paint on. This book did just that. Today I will be reviewing the following book

The New Acrylics;

Complete Guide to the New Generation for Acrylic Paints

by Rheni Tauchid

Rheni Tauchid's Excellent book

Published by Watson-Guuptill Publications

ISBN 0-8230-3159-4

Chapter 1; The language of Acrylics

Here you are introduced to just what acrylic paint is. The differences between the very fluid acrylics through to the heavy body (thick) acrylic paint. There is an explanation of the difference between student and artist grade paint.

Chapter 2; Materials and Equipment

The most comprehensive description of the different surfaces you can paint on to and how to prepare them. The different kinds of implement that you could use to paint with.

Chapter 3; About Colour

Here you will find descriptions about colours and the differences between various pigments, both natural and synthetic. This is a kind of Features and Benefits description of different colour groups. If the descriptions on the labeling of paint tube, jars bewilders you, there is an excellent description of what the various terms mean. Metallic, iridescent and other unique colours are also described.

Chapter 4; Acrylic Mediums

This is one of my favorite chapters in the book. As a total novice to acrylics, mediums were a mystery, they look the same in pots, they sound similar in their names. Before this book I had written off experiment with mediums, as too costly. This chapter starts with a review of the main groups of mediums and uses pictures to compare different mediums, to various food stuffs; honey, icing, cream. Things that most people can relate too…inspired! After this there are dedicated sections on each of the mediums, showing applications for which each medium is suited. A perfect glossary to refer to, for future projects. No more blind date buying of mediums, just to see what they do.

Chapter 5; Basic Applications

This chapter has a description of techniques - not a step by step but enough information for you to understand techniques; under painting, glazing etc and their effects on colours. How you apply them to your own creativity, is still wide open. This is a very clever book, at no point does the author attempting to ‘push’ the reader into any particular style. It is so refreshing to read this style of work, plenty of inspiration, without feeling forced into a particular style of working.

Chapter 6; Alternative Approaches

Techniques a plenty! Here is where there are some excellent step by step tutorials. Interestingly, even here the tutorials are just for a specific technique – still not trying to ‘tell’ the reader where these ’should’ be used. You might expect me to want to be told where to apply these techniques, since I’m a total beginner but everyone has their own opinion about what art is to them, so this is actually perfect. I had so many ideas while reading this book, about how I could use the paints/mediums and techniques. Maybe if the book had tried to ‘tell’ me where I should be using them, I might not try my own ideas and either think my way was wrong or just follow a particular project and not experiment.

There is a generous section on using acrylics for printing. Some great ideas to try, 3D work and mixed media are also covered.

Chapter 7; Decorative Objects

A selection of step by step projects, using the techniques described in the earlier sections of the book.

Summing Up

What I love about this book, is that it gives you a comprehensive description of the different paints and what they do, without pushing you toward any particular style of painting. Other art books want to teach me how to use acrylics to look like watercolours or to paint in the oil painting style. This book could have been called ‘The Dictionary of Acrylics’ or ‘All the things you’ve always wanted to ask about acrylic paint, but were afraid to ask.’ If you are passionate about colour you will love this book, the author is clearly passionate about the subject and her style of writing is inspiring and engaging as well as informative.

This book is a perfect reference guide for the new painter, and for more established artists who want to try some new mediums or techniques. There is some superb artwork in the book and each new page, just makes you go WOW. I defy anyone to look through this book and not be desperate to get to their paint after reading it.

I started reading this book knowing NOTHING about acrylics. Intimidated by the choices of paint available and not knowing what kinds of products to purchase. I did have a clear idea of how I wanted a finished piece to look but needed advice on what products would be suitable to achieve this. This is the most inspiring book on art I’ve ever bought. I have learnt which paint to buy to get the effects I’m looking for, which mediums would be suitable and how to use them. I am now very excited about all the amazing things that acrylic paint can do. I now can’t wait to get some paint and start experimenting. My fear of painting has, at least in part, been replaced by excitement about all the possibilities of what can be achieved with acrylics.

This is a fantastic book, thank you Rheni for the wealth of information packed into this book and for allowing your reader space, to use the materials and technique’s in their own way. This is a MUST have book for anyone interested in acrylics, a fantastic reference and research book for all your acrylic questions. Would I buy it again? Definitely and I’ve recommended it to all my friends too.

Monday, August 10, 2009


Is it time to plant your colour garden? As I'm clearing the space, and setting up my studio for what I hope will be a productive fall, I'm thinking of colour. One of the first things that will go on my studio wall are my colour charts. These are so crucial to my process. Not just as shopping tools, but reminders of some of those other colours that I forgot I had forgotten. If you don't already have one, ask about getting a hand painted colour chart from your favorite paint lines. These little swatches are nuggets of inspiration, drops from the acrylic rainbow. Make sure you have one in your playground.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Drama Queen question answered

I was recently asked how I kept the facing pieces of the Drama Queen acrylic paint jacket from fusing together, and it's a very good question! The tendency for even cured acrylic facets to polymerize with each other is an issue that all acrylic artists have, whether they are working in three dimensions or two.

At Tri-Art, the issue was one that we had to deal with very early on, as our hand-painted colour charts are painted on 11 x 17" cardstock, and folded so that the paint swatches face each other. Even after drying, the swatches stuck fast to one another and the chart was rendered useless. After testing a slippery stack of serviceable samples, a thin, parchment-like baker's tissue was chosen. NOTHING sticks to this stuff, not even duct tape (I don't know why I keep trying).

So that is what I use when storing the jacket. I realize that this may not be accessible to anyone, and I don't recommend using just any tissue, as many of them stick and/or leave a residue. Glassine paper leaves a residue or a glossy "afterimage" sometimes as well. What does work is freezer paper. For larger pieces, I have used fabric as well to good effect. For example, the inside of the sleeves of the jacket are partially lined with a polyester fabric that has no nap.

Everyone has their own solutions for this issue, and these are mine. Different things work in various situations. I have found that older paintings that have accumulated a patina of dust or whatever, can be stored with brown wrapping paper between them...but be aware that this does not always work.

Test out materials on your own and find what is most practical for your work. The best thing, always, it to simply never store acrylic surfaces face to face, although as I have found, this is sometime unavoidable.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Colour of the day

I think that my colour of the day is Tri-Art Liquid Mirror.

Inspiration in a jar, this stuff. Made from the same pigment used to produce mirrors, it has a tiny pigment particle size and a mercurial, highly reflective quality. Add a layer of clear medium over top to enhance it's reflectivity. Magic!

Use it as an underpaint instead of white for layering glazes, it will bring far more light through those transparent colours and add gorgeous luminosity.

What's your favorite colour?

Do you have a "band-aid" colour? One that fixes everything, no matter how far gone it is? For me that colour is Payne's Grey, although sometimes Iridescent Copper does the trick.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Canadian art educators conference

Coming up in October, the CSEA/BCATA annual conference will be taking place in and around Granville Island in Vancouver, BC.

I will be there, hovering between the OPUS and Island Blue booths, talking about paint, signing books, and getting into the spirit of art education!

A workshop is in the works as well but not yet confirmed, I will post when it is solid.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Learning & Product Expo: ART! Pasadena workshops


One of the best places all year to get INCREDIBLE DEALS on art materials and take a wow selection of art workshops all under one roof. The Learning and Product Expo: Art! takes place October 15-18th in beautiful Pasadena, CA.

I will be teaching two workshops there:

  1. Speed Dating with Acrylic Mediums: A fast and furious round-robin tactile exploration of acrylic mediums. Hands-on stations will be set up to examine, manipulate and play with a stunning variety of Tri-Art Finest Quality Artist Acrylic Mediums in conjunction with Tri-Art High Viscosity and Liquid acrylic colors. This is the perfect way to get to know the intimate working properties of the most fascinating and multi-faceted painting tools available today.
    Be seduced by the possibilities and versatility of acrylic painting mediums and find your creative match!
    All materials supplied by Jack Richeson & Co. Inc.
  2. Sculptural Acrylics: Experiment with the most malleable art material of our time. Taking acrylic paints beyond their traditional supports, we will work with them to create sculptural artworks. Use acrylic skins, acrylic texture mediums and application methods to produce two and three dimensional pieces. Gather a cornucopia of ideas to apply to your own styles and projects. A wide range of Tri-Art paints, mediums and palettes supplied by Jack Richeson and Co. will be available for your use during the workshop.
Along for the sunny ride is newcomer to the Tri-Art Art Education Team, mixed-media vixen Sharlena Wood. Check out her exciting workshop! (Yes, she's the cutie in the picture at the top of this post).


Tri-Art Breaks Ground with Acrylic Grounds, Gels and Mediums:
Oh, what a textured life we lead! And thanks to the people at Tri-Art, the art of creating textures has taken on new meaning. This inspiring workshop will introduce you to Tri-Art's versatile new Dry Media Ground, as well as demonstrating the innovative and unlimited possibilities of their gels and polymers. Used on their own or combined with colour, these products produce extraordinary textures on an impressive variety of supports.
This hands-on Tri-Art workshop will prick your curiosity about drawing and painting with textures and answer your questions as to which mediums are perfect for marker, pencil, charcoal, pastels, acrylic paints, and other media.
Tri-Art paints and mediums supplied by Jack Richeson and Co will be available for your use in this must-do workshop.


Register for the Learning & Product Expo: Art! here