Acrylic Works

Every painting, regardless of subject matter or medium, begins with a spark of inspiration. These sparks might spring from something specific—a roundup of wild mustangs, the paintings of Edward Hopper, a walk through Beijing’s hutongs—or from something more intuitive—a memory, a mood, the intense gaze of a live model. AcrylicWorks 8 is a stunning and colorful collection of 116 paintings that all began with just such a creative spark. While artistic inspiration is uniquely experienced by the individual, it’s the fast-drying properties and flexible nature of acrylic that’s so universally embraced by the 100+ winning artists featured in this special issue. Artists and non-artists alike will find the paintings in this showcase relatable because each is so deeply cemented in our common experience as humans and how we engage with…

When we go outdoors to paint in the field, we are engaging all the senses. Painting quick plein air studies is invaluable for recording light sensations, and the process strengthens our visual memory. The experience requires quick decision making in order to keep up with the changing light. For this reason, acrylic paints are an excellent medium for these studies. The paints are fast drying and permanent, and can be manipulated to produce a full range of opacity from opaque to transparent. Each lighting situation produces unique atmospheric conditions, especially depending on the time of day, the season and the various weather conditions. By utilizing multi-layering techniques within paint passages, artists can emulate the naturally occurring light effects that we encounter in various outdoor conditions. To get started painting plein…

Acrylic is the medium of our age. One out of every three painters uses acrylic paint, to some extent, in their artwork. It’s compatible with other drawing and painting media and will adhere to any non-oily support. It’s also believed to be the most permanent painting medium available. Because it wasn’t invented by Sam Golden and Leonard Bocour until the mid-20th century, however, we won’t know the true extent of its permanence for another 500 years. Acrylic can be used in a variety of exciting ways, as is evident by the works showcased in this competition. It can be applied in a thick juicy, opaque manner, or with very thin glazes and transparent washes. It can be used to create unsurpassed luminous and powerful color, or as a simple collage…

Ken Goldman’s first-place award winner, A Touch of Red (Serenity), stands out in all the right ways. In this riveting portrait, the elements of a cool-toned palette, fluid patterns and a powerful composition coalesce to reveal something of the ineffable: a mesmerizing interpretation of striking feminine beauty. The work presents a young woman seated in an upright yet relaxed posture. Her attentive gaze is fixed directly on the viewer. Strong light bathes her and her summery, floral-patterned dress. Goldman notes that similar floral patterns are “repeated subtly in the background, creating a dynamic textural echo. A simple triangular composition gives the subject stability, while the dominance of cool neutrals sets off her warm, reddish hair.” It’s the woman’s vibrant auburn-red hair that pulls viewers to her face, disclosing her exquisitely calm,…

The title of Susan Martin’s Second Place award-winning work, Divine Marriage, is both a description and a pun. “The subject matter derives from my photograph of two trees on a wooded hillside, inextricably bound together by ‘da vines,’” Martin says. “The resulting composition, reduced to its essence, both defines that connection and highlights the spaces (or differences) between them.” She goes on to explain that the red and green vines on each tree unite, as if inseparable, by many years of “marriage.” It was the textures and complex colors of the subject that inspired Martin to paint this piece. She has always been attracted to color—even going so far as to immerse herself in a five-gallon bucket of blue paint when she was a child. That love of color pairs with…

The line begins in a serene turquoise pool and cuts a path between the sunlit rock face on the left and another rock face trapped in shadow on the right. It continues its descent into a small, deep green basin, over an amber shallow, gushes into a white rapid at an abrupt turn and finally cascades into a deep aquamarine pool, obscured by shadow. “The lighting was perfect for creating a breathtaking scene on canvas,” says Lynn Neuman, the artist behind the Third-Place award-winning artwork Canyon Song. “The bright light at the top of the piece draws the eye up and then down the river to the lovely emerald pools of water. It carries you all the way down into the canyon, guiding the eye through the composition.” The piece…