In my own art education, I did not experience oil painting until my senior year. Even then, I was in an advanced placement course.
One of my great loves is still oil painting, the saturation of the colors, the depth of tone, the smell, and the forgiveness the long drying time affords.
Considering that many of my future and past students may never become acquainted with the wonders of oil paint, I thought it best to try to love acrylics, which domintate art classroom supply closets.
Here is the first of my recent studies. Acrylics are tricky, and to coax them to obey, you need to work quickly or find a medium to bend them to your will.
This excercise reminds me yet again that students are constantly provided with materials that are unfamiliar and equally unforgiving to the learning process. So my advice to the art teachers of the world for the Summer is, take your least favorite medium - and fall in love with it.
As for acrylics, I’m still learning to love.
