On this section of the website we will present ideas for using the Traditions multi media paint system. We will provide painting lessons which showcase the versatility of the Traditions paint system along with many tips and hints to make the experience successful. Traditional acrylic painting lessons, global painting lessons in which acrylics are adjusted to perform in the manner of oil paints, and lessons in which acrylics are manipulated to perform as watercolor paints will be presented.  You will find simple lessons that teach and explore the three separate media uses of this versatile acrylic paint in various genre’s and styles of painting.

Each of the three media applications require different preparation for the palette. Please read and follow the instructions and recommendations below as correct palette set up will help the paint perform successfully.

JansenArt Traditions Multi Media Paint System

For Acrylic - Watercolor - Global Blending (oil emulation)

• Traditions Performs as an acrylic - It will perform as an acrylic because it is an acrylic.
• Traditions Performs as an oil - If we would like the Traditions paint to perform or behave like an oil paint for blending techniques, i.e. have a long working time for blending and other wet in wet techniques (that's why many artists like oils) we have to prepare the paint in a manner that will change the working properties of the paint. This is, what we refer to as setting up a 'Global Palette' For detailed instructions on setting up a Global palette you can read the instructions below. You will read about the paint and how we can add one medium called 'Extender' to the paint - over a short period of time (about a week) this transforms the paint into a paint that will last a very long time and provide us with extended working time on the palette and surface about 40 minutes of open blending time. Traditions pure pigments also allow us to emulate many traditional fine art painting techniques.
• Traditions performs as a watercolor - because Traditions paint is fine art grade with pure pigments and water based, it will perform as a watercolor as well - The pigments themselves are diverse, the semi-transparent and transparent nature of some pigments are wonderful for transparent watercolor techniques.

The processed global paints are easily poured from one container to the next. You can see through the progression of the slides below, how fluid the viscosity of the processed paint is. Here in the images below, artist Sue Pruett MDA transfers paint back into her storage containers for travel teaching with the paint.

 

If your paint is too thick, it will not pour. Remember to add extender from time to time, and stir well to keep the paint smooth and blendable.

• Stirring the paint: You can use a battery operated 'frothers' that is popular for making foam toppings on drinks and gourmet coffees. These are inexpensive and can be found in boutique food stores. Caution; never lift the frother out of the paint container while it is turned on. You will have quite a mess to clean up if you do! Otherwise, stir the paint with a wooden craft stick as artist Sue Pruett, MDA is demonstrating in the images above.

Global Blending - Instructions for setting up the Global Palette - for extended acrylic blending.

The new Traditions Global Blending Technique gives the acrylic artist further control over the blending and drying time of their Traditions paints.  With this new method, the Traditions artist can now slow down the drying time to that of oils, and actually give the Traditions paint a longer and better control over blending than what is found with oils.  Why Global Blending?  We decided to call this Global Blending because for the first time acrylic artists can use old world oil techniques and paint or glaze all objects in a painting at the same time.  They can use all the old world techniques that require the painting to stay wet and blendable. 

By David Jansen, MDA

Click on this link to view and save the instructions for Global Blending

Global palette comes with a 2 hr instructional DVD This 'Global Palette' can be purchased in our Online Store

 

The Global palette as shown in the image above, comes with a 2hr instructional DVD by David Jansen, MDA demonstrating how to set up the palette for all three media systems - 'global' for oil emulation, watercolor set up and of course acrylic set up. Visit the 'Products' page of this website to order your Global Palette container.

Global hints and tips...

Here are a few tips if you prepare a full 3 oz. bottle of paint for your global blending techniques.

Some artists will prepare the entire 3 oz. bottle of the paint and let it sit open for the water to evaporate then pour the prepared paint back into the bottle.  I have 4 and 5 oz. containers to let the paint sit in when going through the evaporation process.  I took these containers with me to Anaheim to show in our booth, now they have been sitting open for 3 weeks.  No kidding the longer these paints set open the better they perform.  After three weeks there is absolutely no skin on the top and they are so creamy they will stay wet on my palette paper for days.  I still use the Global Palette Container as I squeeze the prepared paints from the bottles into the Global Palette.  Once in a while I still have to add a few drops of extender to the paint in the Global palette if I have it open for long periods.
You know I was a die hard oil painter for 30 years, I’m actually finding it more enjoyable to use the ‘globals’ than the oils.  The oils would still get sticky after being open for hours; I’m not having the sticky problem with the ‘globals’.  We are very lucky to have this paint!!
Tip #1 – Don’t do dots with the Global Paints, use the Traditions Paints in their original consistency for this.  The dots will take longer to dry and when drying them with a hair dryer they will move.  Voice of experience!!
Tip #2 – Don’t feel like you always have to use the Global paints, sometimes the original formula will suit the need like base coating, line work, dots, etc.  You can use both simultaneously together depending on what you are trying to do.
Tip #3 - Use clean water to clean up background as water is the solvent and will clean up edges very well.
Tip #4 - Use extender in the brush when changing colors or values, water will thin the paint and defeat the blend ability of the ‘globals’
Tip #5 – 30% extender to paint works wonderful, which is why I like to prepare a full bottle and have the 30% measured out, I don’t usually have to add more extender unless I’m working with earth colors, or pine green.

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Try the ‘globals’ if you haven’t already done so, it is a learning experience but the most important thing to learn is how the artist can control the paint whether, you wish to or want to use an Acrylic, Oil, or Watercolor Technique.  Remember that all Traditions pigments are non toxic and safe to work with!

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Global Blending DVD with Sue Pruett MDA

If you would like to learn more about the 'Global Blending' techniques, visit our Online store and Products page of this web site to read about this DVD.

Palette is Jansen Art Traditions Acrylic Paints, painted in an oil technique using the Global Painting technique. 125 minutes of painting instructions on DVD, along with a CD including written instructions, line drawing, and many photos. Sue Pruett, MDA takes you step by step through painting this lovely floral of Roses, Carnations, Iris', Leaves and a Glass Vase. The focus is on form, values, intensities and how to paint realistic flowers.

 

'Global blending' with Traditions

Paint with Sue Pruett, MDA for 125 minutes Visit our Online Store for details

Global Blending Mini Lesson #1

by artist Sue Pruett, MDA

				Title: Single Pear and Leaf Artist: Sue Pruett, MDA Media: Traditions Acrylics (Global method) Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate
FREE TO PRINT: Single Pear and Leaf By Sue Pruett, MDA
Try 'Global blending' with Traditions
If you would like to try using the Traditions Global Method of painting, prepare the paint for your palette as suggested in the global palette paint set up. This information is available for printing from the Art Apprentice Online website on this page. This simple pear provides an opportunity for the artist to use popular refined blending techniques using the creamy consistency of the Traditions paints.  The Global palette method provides the artist with an extended time window necessary for blending acrylics like an oil media. copyright: You are welcome to use these instructions with JansenArt Traditions paints to teach your students.  The name of the artist, Sue Pruett, MDA and www.artapprenticeonline.com must appear on the paperwork.  The selling of these instructions is prohibited.
				Title: Apple Artist: Sue Pruett, MDA Media: Traditions Acrylics (Global method) Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate
FREE TO PRINT: Apple By Sue Pruett, MDA

 

'Global blending' with Traditions

Paint with Sue Pruett, MDA for 125 minutes Visit Art Apprentice Online Store for details

 

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Global Blending Mini Lesson #2

by artist Susan Abdella, MDA

		Title: Lilacs Artist: Susan Abdella, MDA Media: Traditions Acrylics (Global method) Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Try 'Global blending' with Traditions
FREE TO PRINT: Lilacs By Artist, Susan Abdella, MDA

Instructions for setting up the palette with JansenART Traditions Watercolor Medium

The Art Apprentice Online Watercolor 'Palette Collection'
Visit Art Apprentice Online Store for details about 'The collection' and the Traditions Watercolor Medium

 

Shake well before using.
Directions : Mix Traditions Watercolor Medium with Traditions paints (1:1)
Important : Use a palette knife to mix paint & medium vigorously before using.
Increases the transparency of color. 

• Improves reconstitution of paint. 
• Enhances the luminosity of pigments.
• Decreases the staining effects of some pigments.  
• Provides additional control for ‘wet in wet’ techniques. 

Setting up your watercolor palette

It is very important to mix the Traditions paint with the watercolor medium well. Put out equal amounts of the medium and paint on a multimedia palette and with a palette knife, mix the two vigorously together. The medium must coat the entire pigment molecule, this is what allows for the reconstitution of the paint and will allow for even dispersion of the pigment and avoid streakiness. Use equal amounts, too much medium will make the paint too glossy and may cause unnecessary lifting off between layers. After the paint is mixed, transfer the mixture to your watercolor palette, place the paint in the well and dilute with water as needed. Store your palette in an air tight container or a sealed zip-locking bag.

Watercolor Testimonials...

This weekend we tested the new watercolor medium. We used Traditions paints as watercolors along with the new Traditions watercolor medium.  These students have painted with traditional watercolors in the past. They are comfortable using watercolor techniques and watercolor paint from prior experiences. Their response to using Traditions paint with the watercolor medium was exciting to listen to and from these artists the feedback was honest. Here are some of their findings which were recorded during and towards the end of the seminar.

1. After mixing the paint with the watercolor medium (1:1) the paints stayed moist in the reservoir palette.
2. The addition of the new watercolor medium made it easy to control the paint.
3. Layering techniques were easy to control and develop as pigments did not lift between the layers.
4. Paint mixes on the palette surface reconstituted without any problem and there appeared to be no granulation of the pigments.
5. Dried mixes that remained on the palette, were reconstituted with little or no effort, done simply with the addition of water from a wet brush.
6. Blossoms were basically a 'non - issue' - even when 'wet on wet' techniques were unintentional or accidental. 
7. Hard edges were simple to soften or remove, even after they had dried they were still trouble free.
8. Lifting out and softening pigment intensity was controllable without resulting in problems.
9. The new medium reduced the staining properties of certain pigments and made control or lightening of highlights very do-able.
10. Corrections were effortless and created no damage to the paper's surface from scrub or removal method or technique.
11. Pigment intensity remains true, and colors did not muddy through mixing.
12. Bleeding was very easy to control and was also a non-issue.
13. Paint seems to slide or glide over the surface, making washes simpler to apply.
14. The transparency of the pigments allowed layering techniques to result in beautiful clear glazes.
15. Blending two colors together on the paper was effortless, 'it moves 'like silk' and 'flows' across the paper' said one student. 
16. Neutral grays were lovely to mix and were created without resulting in muddiness.

What was even more special was this..............One teacher in the class who is an experienced veteran teacher and watercolor lover had brought her box of traditional watercolors to the class as a back up - said if this didn't work the way it had been explained, she would just paint with her original watercolors! ..................BUT...before the end of the class, she and another student donated her box and another bag of watercolor tubes to a local charity!!!!!! They didn't even take them home!!

Watercolor Tips - Controlling paint and moisture on the brush.

Here are tips for those of you just starting out with Traditions watercolors.

We all know that the artist's tools are important. But how we use them will either make or break what we are hoping to achieve. In watercolors, the brush is really important. We need a brush suitable to the technique and also built to carry enough moisture (water and paint) to and on the surface. Most of the problems new watercolorists suffer with are the amount of paint and moisture in the brush - either too much or too little. This results in too strong or too washed out color.

Too much means that you have used your brush to pick up too much pure pigment from the palette, too little color (washed out) means that you have left too much water in the brush and not picked up enough color - the problem lies with how you have set up your working palette and how you load the brush.

The following might help when you are getting started - have two areas where you work:

After you have prepared your Traditions paint with the Traditions watercolor medium, set up the following like this...

# One: The palette where the prepared paint is laid out; If the fresh pigment is laid out in a 'well' (those little in-dented separations) on your watercolor palette, make sure the paint is diluted to a liquid form, not too much though. This is called a 'juicy mix', where the pigment color is strong and rich.

# Two: Another surface where you can add water to make a more diluted version of the color for your different values as you need them (a wax palette or the mixing area on your watercolor palette works for this) 

Now, you have two different areas to work from. When you load your brush for watercolors, wet the brush and either shake out the excess water or remove some on a paper towel ....not so much that you leave the brush as dry as a bone; you want to leave the brush just slightly damp. Pass it across your fingers and feel the moisture content without there being a trail of wet. When you dip the point of the brush into the paint (palette # one) you should be able to dip the tip into wet paint. Most problems are here - the paint is not wet enough and you pick up straight pigment that may be harder to control. Wet paint is key while you are learning to handle this new media.

If you need to work with lighter values, create a small clean puddle of water on the wax palette #2 or in another clean well, pick up and add some of the juicy color to this and test the value on the test strip of watercolor paper. This will give you a more accurate 'read' on what value or intensity you are looking for.

When you are loading the brush with either 'rich juicy' color or any of the lighter values from either palette - load the brush to about a third of the way up the brush from the tip. This will allow you to take paint to the painting surface and you can then see what and how you are doing with controlling your color.

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Discovering Watercolors

If you would like to learn more about watercolors, visit the Products page of this web site to read about 'Discovering Watercolors'... Neadeen Masters, CDA shows even the novice painter how to paint for success in this 4 DVD, 8 hr. instructional set.

Here are sections of one of four designs demonstrated on this DVD set

Acrylic - Setting up the palette... 

JansenArt Traditions are acrylic resin paint.  One of the properties of acrylics is their quick drying time compared to an oil paint.  The acrylic artist has to control this drying time in order to preserve the mixes and the working palette.  There are several methods for making a ‘wet palette’ that is a surface that will stay moist and hydrate the paint from below.
Each artist will have different methods for creating a wet palette, if it works for their application and style of painting, it is correct, if it does not work and creates problems, then its time to change the style of setup.  Here are a few suggestions.

The homemade wet palette – This can easily be made with any shallow plastic container with a lid.  In the bed of the container lay a 1-2 sheets of blue shop towel so they lay flat and create an absorbent surface. Wet the shop towel so it is completely wet and squeeze out all excess water, drain off all the excess water.  This surface should not drip water when you tilt the container. Place the puddles of paint onto the surface.  This style of palette may not work for all methods of painting as the surface only provides a way to keep the paint fresh, but may carry too much moisture to create a blending surface. 

Commercial wet palette – This style of wet palette is only one of the methods for keeping acrylics hydrated.  It comes in several sizes. Most wet palettes come with disposable inserts made of thick paper that sits on a damp sponge, (the sponge can and will grow mold or may over hydrate the paint from below) allowing a controlled amount of moisture to the surface is the best. This paper keeps the paint moist and provides the artist with a damp surface for blending and loading the brush for certain techniques. 

Spray bottle – Keep a small spray bottle of water nearby to mist the palette from time to time, adding moisture to the surface.

Tips for using the wet palette:

• It is important to keep the level of moisture consistent and on the low side.
• If there is too much moisture in the container, when the lid is closed, the paint will over hydrate and become too fluid or runny, loosing its natural loft and thickness. This will make it difficult to work with.
• If the paint dries out slightly on the wet palette, re-dampen the sponge in the wet palette and cover for a while, the paint will re-hydrate or reconstitute.
• If moisture in the wet palette is maintained at the correct level, it is possible to keep the same palette of paint for several weeks, and months, at a time.

Tip – In setting up the wet palette for Traditions, use the largest wet palette available on the market. For ‘brush mixing’ and ‘palette blending’ techniques, the large surface area of the large size wet palette provides a usable space for mixes and puddles of paint as well as provides just the right amount of moisture to create loading and blending ‘zones’ for the brush. Mixing paint with a palette knife on this surface is not recommended as the palette knife can easily tear the paper, or scrape fiber from the paper, which will add debris to the paint, always mix on the wax palette.

Acrylic Lesson #1

by artist Neadeen Masters, CDA. HA

		Title: Green Heron Artist: Neadeen Masters CDA Media: Traditions Acrylics Skill Level: Intermediate
This little Green Heron can be found in many aquatic habitats; however he prefers small water bodies. Green Herons are generally solitary, nesting as isolated pairs or in small groups, never in the large breeding colonies of other herons and egrets. They eat small fish and also crustaceans, frogs, tadpoles, insects, and small rodents. I took a photo of this little fellow while visiting the Bahamas one winter. This little Green Heron is painted in a more realistic style.
TO PRINT: Instructions for Green Heron lesson

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Acrylic Lesson #2

by artist Donna Richards, HA

		Title: Strawberries and Teapot Artist: Donna Richards Media: Traditions Acrylics Skill Level: Novice/Beginner
This simple Folk Art design is for the artist who wants to experiment with this style and with Traditions paints. Strawberries and daisies are traditionally 'folk art'
TO PRINT: Instructions for Strawberry Teapot

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Acrylic Lesson #3

by artist Susan Abdella, MDA. HA

		Title: Stroke Work on Metal Pitcher Artist: Susan Abdella MDA Media: Traditions Acrylics Skill Level: Intermediate
This traditional stroke design will test the skills of the stroke painter. Work with a beautiful palette of cool and warm greens, and rich reds to create this collectible piece of Folk Art. Learn to follow the surface contour of a three dimensional container as you practise correct brush crontol. This design will also help the artist with liner detail work.
TO PRINT: Instructions for Stroke Work on Metal Pitcher

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Acrylic Mini Lesson #4

by artist Susan Abdella, MDA. HA

		Title: Simple Filler Flowers Artist: Susan Abdella MDA Media: Traditions Acrylics Skill Level: Novice/Beginner
Suggestion: Use this simple little design to decorate gift tags!
Filler flowers are a great way to fill in the negative areas in a decorative art floral design. Sometimes the main flowers need a little help to showcase them better and filler flowers can usually help with this.  When tucked between the larger blooms, the filler flowers can help the artist repeat colors; add texture, and a smaller scaled flower to help balance the overall composition. If you have never painted, this 'wee' design may get you started.
TO PRINT: Instructions for beginner Filler Flowers

 

Acrylic Mini Lesson #5

by artist Susan Abdella, MDA. HA

		Title: Primrose Artist: Susan Abdella, MDA Media: Traditions Acrylics Skill Level: Beginner
Suggestion: Use this pretty little design to decorate any surface you like!
Primroses make pretty posies! Have a little fun with this design.
TO PRINT: Primroses make pretty posies!

 

Learn Acrylic Stroked Roses with Susan Abdella, MDA

Visit the Art Apprentice Online Store for details