What to paint on?

Johnny

Double Actioner
I need tons of practice - tons. I'm brand spankin' new and not an artist.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some of this......
Coal Black Strathmore 400 Series Artagain Artist Paper - 19" x 25" | Hobby Lobby | 64260

...to practice Mick Neil's 'Grim Reaper' painting here: (3) 15 Minute Painting- Keep it Simple - YouTube

The problem I'm having, aside from being totally inept at this so far, is the paper is too absorbent. It blots the paint and then curls from the moisture.

Would someone please recommend an inexpensive medium that will work for a beginner to practice on?

Thanks,
John
 
I started airbrushing in the early to mid-80's. I did it on a whim, buying an airbrush and various supplies without ever even seeing one in person before. In addition to a couple of beginners books (which all shared the same cube, sphere, etc. lessons), I also picked up a magazine. Somewhere in that magazine one of the articles suggested learning to Airbrush on T-Shirts. The reason being is that the material is absorbent, and will mostly do away with issues you may have with applying too much paint. I didn't get it at first, and started working on illustration board, but it was not more than a few hours before I had turned that illustration board into a t-shirt form, and had one of my old t-shirts stretched over it. I did it not because I wanted to paint t-shirts, but rather because I wanted to learn how to airbrush something recognizable even though i had terrible control of the brush. I wound up painting a lot of very cool t-shirts, that is for sure. I eventually put my attention back onto illustration board, which forced me to tighten up my control. I could still see where I was applying too much paint on a shirt, but it was not as obvious as huge spidering blob on illustration board, so I did gain an understanding of what the brush was doing when...

For just learning dots and daggers, you can do that even on paper towels. Coloring books also get recommended a lot to help gain control as far as placing your paint.

Once you feel like you are ready to take the trainig wheels off, I highly recommend practicing on the surface you intend to paint on the most.
 
Back
Top