Hi i am new to painting. I’m going to practise a red rose on canvas. There are dark shadows almost black. I’m not sure how to approach it. Should i start with the red then darken the shadows? Thank you 
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If you are a member of The Virtual Instructor website, you can sign in to the live lesson which is tonight a 7:00 p.m. Central time. The current project is acrylic painting, and you can ask Matt and Ashley questions through the chat board.
I’m not an acrylic painter, but I’m giving this project a try. I’ve learned a lot. We probably have about three more lessons with it, on Wednesday’s at 7:00 p.m. Central time
Brenda
Hi Mand -
I also agree with Brenda about attending the live lesson if possible so you can ask the pro’s yourself.
Otherwise you can watch the last couple of Live Lessons as recorded and see how Ashley is adding the waves to the background. The rose will be similar.
Basically he is starting with one background color (the water) and then adding the darker areas, and adding the lighter areas. The trick is to use a slow drying medium so that the paint stays wet long enough so that you can blend the transition from mid-tones to dark tones.
Hope this helps.
Terri Robichon
PS. There is also a class at The Virtual Instructor called . . . The Acrylic Painting Academy - getting started with acrylics. You may want to give it a watch. Lesson 4 is on direct painting and has a tube of paint with red where darker tones are being added.
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Thank you so much Brenda and Terri, your advice is so helpful. I really appreciate it 
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That is the way I would do it. I always do the dark values last and work around the light values.
Hello Mand,
Everyone has given you really good advice.
One thing to remember with acrylics is that the dry quick and if you don’t like how something is turning out or how a shadow or highlight looks you can paint over it and fix it easy.
This is one of the reasons that I like acrylics so much. The painting medium that I started with.
For example, I have done many acrylic paintings, landscapes, animals and birds.
On all of them there were things I did not like, so I stepped back, took a couple of days and then painted over to fix the area that looked out of proportion, or the color shade was not right.
This way I could see and fix what I did not like taking my time and not rushing through…
Also, Matt has a free lesson of some still life on the website, If you are a member, you have access to everything, if not you can still watch the free ones.
There are two art- along lessons on YouTube that Matt did last year. They are on the website: Just go to Painting, Acrylics, Still Life and you will see them there.
I’ll put a bird and rose I did here when I was just beginning, full of mistakes. l generally do the main subject first then the background around it but it also depends on the project.
You also can do a block in first with a neutral color to lay out your rose with a thin layer and then start painting with the colors you plan to use.
Have fun with the acrylics! I look forward to seeing your rose finished. Acrylics is a fun medium.
Teri(w 1R)
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Thank you Denise, thats great x
Thank you Teri. You have taken so much time to explain your approach. I love your pics and its so helpful to see the results of acrylics. X
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Mandy,
My pleasure!
One thing I don’t think I mentioned is that I use golden open acrylic paints and they dry much slower if you feel you need the time but are a little pricy.
I also use a Rubbermaid container that you can let the air out of and spritz a bit of water on top and the paints so they will last longer. I just put my pallet inside of it.
I look forward to seeing some of your artwork!
Teri
Thanks Teri, this is all so helpful. I am looking forward to having a go with acyclics now. 