“I want my paintings to be so vibrant they pop out of the frame,” says Steve Browning. “I enjoy seeing brush marks on the surface, and the way a painting can come to life with just a few strokes. Outdoors, acrylics enable me to quickly produce expressive paintings that capture the moment, something I would find challenging to achieve in the studio. People sometimes say they didn’t realize I was using acrylics instead of oils; I take that as a compliment.
“When working with acrylics, I don’t do preliminary sketches, as I can make changes to the composition and tone as I go along without causing any detrimental effect on the final painting. With acrylics I’m able to paint fast and build up layers; acrylics are so versatile I can apply paint light-to-dark or dark-to-light with-out the colors becoming muddy.
“The weather in Ireland changes quickly, so I have two to three hours to complete a painting, if I’m lucky. Acrylics are quick-drying, easy to set up, don’t smell, and there is no need to worry about transporting wet panels. I can use a big brush on a small panel and experiment, knowing that within minutes I can change an area without any effect on the vibrancy of the painted panel.”
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Blog post prepared for the web by Cherie Dawn Haas, Editor of Plein Air Today
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