My First Time Trying OPEN Acrylics
Painting Brandon Schaefer Painting Brandon Schaefer

My First Time Trying OPEN Acrylics

Slow-drying acrylic paints. I have been using Golden paints for a few years now and have found them to be of exceptional quality. The Open Acrylics are a bit expensive, but luckily I purchased mine from the UC Davis University Store where most of their paints and supplies are 30% cheaper than other stores - so, for 4 tubes of paint it was around $34. They will last me quite a while though so it is worth it.

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How to Key a Painting Using Value Structures
Painting Brandon Schaefer Painting Brandon Schaefer

How to Key a Painting Using Value Structures

Keying a painting deals mainly with value [black and white], although it can also deal with color. But for now, I'm only going to discuss it in terms of value. Basically, keying a painting is determining which sets of values you are going to use throughout your work.

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6 Keys for Developing Your Own Style
Painting Brandon Schaefer Painting Brandon Schaefer

6 Keys for Developing Your Own Style

Many aspiring artists get stuck in the rut of copying work from artists they enjoy but when attempting to create a piece of their own, they fall short. There is nothing too wrong with this in the beginning - the main problem comes when this is repeated and becomes habit. Now that we know one of the problems, we can fix it before it happens.

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Painting is a Sport - A Mental Exercise
Painting Brandon Schaefer Painting Brandon Schaefer

Painting is a Sport - A Mental Exercise

I always enjoy coming up with new ways to think about painting and art. The process of creating a painting or any kind of art can become stressful or even a burden after a while. So, When you change your perspective, you’re able approach your art from a different angle to make it fun and new again.

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30 Day Painting Challenge - How It Helped Me Improve
Painting Brandon Schaefer Painting Brandon Schaefer

30 Day Painting Challenge - How It Helped Me Improve

I decided to take on a challenge of painting 1 small painting (6" x 8" canvas board) every day for 30 days with a time limit of one hour. Not only was it a physical challenge to create these paintings, but it was also quite a mental challenge to do this much work in such a tight schedule.

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