I've branched out into painting abstracts with acrylics. I love their forgiving nature. If you don't like what you've done, you just paint over it!
In this abstract "Mixed Plates"
I actually painted over another painting I didn't like. This painting is a finger painting and in my new experience was a pleasure to do. As I smoothed the paint around with my fingers I could feel traces of the other painting underneath. Here and there I took advantage of those different textures I felt and lightly traced my fingers through the paint like you would a pencil over paper with a penny below. The results were some really cool images of lines and squiggles from the previous painting.
You could take advantage of these "ghost" images by strategically placing them ahead of time on your blank canvas. Create raised ridges, shapes, of your choosing using ordinary acrylic paint. Apply with a brush or finger. Let dry. Let the new paint catch hold of these raised areas you created to make really cool textures, shadows and interesting depth to your new painting.
I didn't have to pay extra money for any mediums to experiment this way. Since I am a beginner I choose the least expensive acrylics in the store. I only used high gloss medium to protect my final work.
