Camellia Cream: Combining Acrylics and Oils
Camellia Cream is a great project if you'd like to try mixing acrylics and oils in the same painting. The background is loose and abstract, while the flower and vase are painted in a more realistic way, and the two sit well together. Here's how it comes together, step by step.
Step 1: Start with a loose, abstract acrylic background
We start with the background in acrylics, keeping it loose and abstract. I want the warmth and atmosphere in there first, without getting caught up in lots of detail.
Step 2: Switch from acrylics to oils
Once the background is finished, we switch to oils for the camellia, foliage and vase. I love the contrast between that looser acrylic background and the more realistic painting we’re going to do over it.
Step 3: Paint the camellia
The camellia is painted alla prima, so we’re completing it in one session while the paint is still wet. Working wet into wet, we’ll build those soft cream petals and the subtle changes in colour that give the flower its form.
Step 4: Paint the foliage
We’ll paint the foliage alla prima too, working wet into wet as we build the leaves around the flower.
Step 5: Paint the vase
The vase is also painted alla prima, concentrating on the changes in colour and value that create that lovely rounded form.
Bringing it together
This one is a lovely example of how you can mix different approaches in the same painting. We’ve got that loose, abstract acrylic background sitting behind the more realistic camellia and vase, all painted alla prima in oils.
If you’d like to paint this one with me, the full tutorial is available now inside MazArt Academy.
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