Bethany Fields Artist

Hi everyone!  Spring is breaking outside and for this week’s Youtube installment, I answered a few questions from viewers like you! I always love comments and questions and encourage you to post them on my channel, here on my blog, or by emailing them to me here.

Diane asked a great question about my decision making process regarding using an alcohol wash (surgical spirits) vs acrylic inks and why I choose one over the other.  Watch below to hear my reasoning!

 





An underpainting is a wonderful way to “set the stage” for your finished piece. I like to think of it as outlining a map to use to keep me in line during the painting process.  It also helps take away the blank page fear effect and allows us to tackle our work with a little less anxiety.  I love to use alcohol washes and the acrylic inks for different reasons.  If you haven’t tried these techniques before, make sure you test a scrap piece of paper to make sure your support can handle the wet media.  Alcohol can also take the grit off some papers!  I like to use Uart papers as they are tough and can handle pretty much anything!

Here are some links to some of the products I mentioned in my video.  If you don’t have a color wheel and don’t completely understand underpainting in a complementary color, this is a great one to use! I also linked some pastels I mentioned and also to some acrylic inks that I love.


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This was a quick and fun video to make! I love connecting with artists out there (you!) who have questions or comments.  Please subscribe to my channel if you haven’t so you can be the first to hear when a new video is posted! Also always feel free to reach out via email. I encourage you to work small and often to learn as much as possible without the fear of your paper being wasted or an experiment failing. I still love to paint small works to keep my skills fresh and alive and to try new ideas.

If you are interested in my mentoring or critique services, please email me!  I take on a few clients a month to help artists define and find their vision and to provide encouragement and feedback.  Youtube has been wonderful for me to connect with so many of you and I thank you all for reading and watching.

Here’s to another great week of painting!  I can’t wait to see what you create!

xoxo

Bethany

*this post contains affiliate links