Impulsive Artistry : “Sunburst” - Textured Acrylic Painting

Whenever you find yourself in a creative rut, revisiting an older idea can sometimes inspire you once again, causing you to see new possibilities. It had been a while since I had worked with textured canvases, and I felt that it was time to resume that style. The last time I dabbled with the medium of PVA glue, about four months ago, and I created two abstracts that I felt were very successful: “Autumn Leaves and Spring Leaves.”

My last painting, “Cornfield Impression” used a panoramic style canvas, 6x18 inches; a unique 3:1 ratio that I have not seen often. I actually bought two canvases of this size and decided to use the second one for today’s abstracted sunset painting, titled “Sunburst.”

"Sunburst," Original Abstracted Landscape.

Acrylic on Canvas, 6x18in. Artist Charles Wolf.

Texturing a Canvas

While there are certainly several ways to texture your canvas in preparation for painting, I am currently using pure PVA glue, also called “Tacky” glue, that I purchased from my local art supply store. One bottle costs about $5-6 currently, which is more than enough for an average sized canvas.

Some artists use modeling clay or plasters, but to keep things simple, I will only be using the PVA glue, which is Acrylic based glue like the paint. Squeeze out a good amount, looking for somewhat even coverage, spread it out with an old 1-inch brush that you do not mind ruining (glue is hard to clean off!).

Here is the glue that I used:

Take a hairdryer and dry off the canvas for about 5-8min, continuing to work the glue as it dries. The glue will form small mounds, but will give you a semi-flat surface to paint over. You should be able to touch the glue once it is sufficiently dried, which will be pliable but not sticky.

I do not wait any longer to let the glue dry, but get right to painting. Because the surface of the canvas is uneven, the paint will collect in the shallower parts of the glue, which might shift as well, giving you a wonderful cracks throughout the canvas and allowing the white to show through. I really like the look of this effect, because it adds a textured dimensionality to the painting.

If you do not want this to occur, allow a day to let the glue fully dry and then use a brush to apply the paint; I will employ a large metal spatula and be generous with the paint. You can encourage the cracks further by standing the canvas up on its side for a minute, allowing the paint to be pulled by gravity.

The Painting Process

"Sunburst." Original Acrylic Abstract by Charles Wolf.

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Apply the acrylic paint directly onto the canvas, spreading it out with even strokes using a metal spatula. Here are the colors that I used in this abstracted landscape painting:

Cadmium Yellow Medium

Cadmium Orange Hue

Cobalt Blue

Ultramarine Blue (optional)

Orienting the canvas vertically, like a portrait, and then dividing it into 3rds, place the Cadmium Orange Hue in the top section, Cadmium Yellow Medium in the middle and then Cobalt Blue at the bottom, blend only upwards, Yellow into the Orange, Blue into the Yellow. Blending the Yellow into the Orange will create a sunlight effect, and pushing the Blue up into the Yellow creates Green, which I formed into trees.

Taking the edge of the spatula, cut-in some tree trunks through the paint, revealing the white underneath. Use the corner to pull up little holes in the Cobalt Blue to create a stone path, add some sharp vertical lines for flower stems, and then lightly add Yellow and Orange above these and in the tree, cleaning off the spatula with a paper towel after every application, to add some layers of interest.

Instructional Painting Videos!

Check out my YouTube painting video below to watch me create, “Sunburst.” This video contains audio and text instructions on how to paint this piece.

There is a small jump forward in the video, due to an issue I was having with my camera at the time; however, I do explain how I created everything above, and you can watch me create the previous two abstract paintings in the style below, which use the very same techniques:

"Sunburst," Instructional Painting Video.

Acrylic on Canvas, 6x18in. Artist Charles Wolf.

"Spring Leaves," Instructional Painting Video.

Acrylic on Canvas, 6x18in. Artist Charles Wolf.

"Autumn Leaves" Instructional Painting Video.

Acrylic on Canvas, 6x18in. Artist Charles Wolf.

Feel free to paint along if you are trying to learn to paint, you can also share these videos with your friends on social media, just please do not use it for commercial endeavors, which violates copyright law. Thanks!

Painting Video Links:

If you would share my videos it would make my day!
Just paste the following URLs in your post or tweet on your social media page to link to them!

Sunburst URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs9mgBLNFZ8

Spring Leaves URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX_nuN_qcGU

Autumn Leaves URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziFzY4G5Ed8

Questions of the day:

Have you ever painted before? What type of painting are you interested in creating? Does this seem simple enough to do, or would you like me to share something even simpler?

Let me know in the comment below or on the ImpulsiveArtistry Facebook Page!

You can find all of my YouTube painting videos on my art channel here; there are over 40 videos to choose from:

YouTube Impulsive Artistry Channel LINK!

Thank you so much for stopping by Impulsive Artistry today! I hope that you found this article to be informative and engaging. If you try to create a painting similar to “Sunburst” or one my other paintings, I would love to see it! You can tag me on Facebook @ImpulsiveArtistry or Twitter @ArtImpulsive!

Have a fantastic creative week,