ARTSPEAK AT HOME -
During 2020 we worked with Artists to deliver a range of online creative workshops.
Our live programme of workshops has now ended, however, there are still resources you can use to stay creative at home including the ArtSpeak Art book and recorded painting tutorials with Artist and illustrator Ben Sherwin.
ArtSpeak At Home
ArtSpeak At Home Art Book
ArtSpeak at home is a book of activities, ideas, resources, and news for anyone wanting a bit of inspiration and motivation whilst looking for ways to stay creative and digitally connected at home.
It can be browsed at your leisure and is designed for you to dip in and out of as you please. Have a go at some of the activities, find out what some other ArtSpeak members have been up to, and see what's coming up in our programme.
New Art Book now available click here to view the May 2022 issue
If you would like to download a copy of the colouring templates featured in the book click on the links below.
Click here to view and download the November 2021 issue
Please get in touch with us if you would like a printed copy sending to you.
Click here to view and download the August issue.
Click here to view and download the May issue
Click here to view and download the February issue.
Click here to view the November 2020 issue or view as a PDF document here
ArtSpeak Create
How to Paint in Acrylics - Video Tutorials
Artist Ben Sherwin has put together a short series of videos specially for ArtSpeak to introduce the medium of Acrylic painting and give tips and advice on how to work with this medium.
Throughout the three sessions Ben will discuss and illustrate the various stages involved in the painting process. He'll show how to approach observational sketching and cover the rules of composition, colour mixing and colour balance. Different painting techniques such as dabbing and dry brushing will be explained and you'll gain understanding of how to use your artistic license.
The workshops have been split into three sections making them easy to follow along to from home and give you time to work on the techniques you've learnt after each one.
As the workshops have been prerecorded, they can be revisited as you progress and work towards completing your own unique artwork.
How to Paint in Acrylics - Part 1
How to Paint in Acrylics - Part 2
How to Paint in Acrylics - Part 3
Frequently asked questions
Q. My paint dries quickly on the paper, how do I stop this?
A. The speed at which the acrylics will dry does depend somewhat on the brand of paint. Some brands of paint dry faster and others slower. When you add lots of water to the paints, the paint molecules spread out more and the water has more room to evaporate more quickly. The thicker the paint is, the more concentrated it is, so it takes longer for water to evaporate.
The best way to help your paints dry slower is to think in terms of water evaporation, so working in a spot that isn’t directly next to a heater, or using icy cold water to add to your paint. Acrylics do dry fast so it’s normal and you do still need to work relatively fast, but you can layer over your paints if you’re worried about a mistake you’ve made.
You can loosen up your paint a bit simply by adding more water on your brush and mixing that in.
Q. What is the best paper to use with acrylics?
A. Paper that is thick, ideally 300gsm. You can look for acrylic pads. They’ll be your best option. You can get different levels of paper texture. Some people prefer smoother paper which doesn’t have as many bumps that show through your picture, others like coarser paper.