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It's time to get creative

Fun, affordable, and versatile, acrylic painting is a popular trend that everyone can have a go at.

Although fast-drying, acrylic paint is a great medium for beginners, and with so much inspiration out there you’ll soon discover just how creative you can be with it.

What you’ll need:

It’s worth investing in brushes and paper or card designed to cope with acrylic paint. This will make all the difference when you try the techniques.

For the samples below I used:

Stippling is a dry brush technique that creates many tiny dots on the page and is often used to create landscapes or foliage on trees. It’s also fun to use in colour block patterns.

To try stippling for yourself you’ll need a flat stiff paintbrush.

Angling the brush: I ended up with a tulip through shaping and stippling freehand using different shades of red and green.

Layering colour: Try stippling a shape and without cleaning the brush immediately dip it in another colour. Work quickly to stipple around the shape with the second colour. You’ll see both your original colours and the colour mix, like the heart I created.

Colour block patterns: Combining colour blocking with stippling makes for bold and beautiful art.

Mark out your pattern in low tack tape.

Top Tip: Colour blocking works best on a thicker card, paper or canvas, and with a low tack tape designed for art and craft. Both will help the tape come off with ease and not pull paper fibres with it.

Stippling with cotton buds: A simple technique to detail to landscape with the stippled dots looking like little flowers or foliage. Make sure the cotton buds are all level, then dip them into the paint and stipple where you want to add detail.

Top Tip: Stippling with cotton buds will also work with an acrylic wash, you just need to hold the cotton buds in the watered-down paint for a little longer so the paint will soak into the tips. Why not give it a try and see what you can create.

A wash will thin out your paint to create a more translucent effect. Gradually drip water onto your paint and mix. It can be trial and error getting the amount of paint and water right, but you can easily add more paint if it runs too much. Just make sure if you’re mixing colours to do that first before you add water.

Overlapping colours: Make some patterns with your brush overlapping colours to create light and shade.

Layer up the colour: I created a small picture of a pond with plants surrounding it and built up the wash in places to create some shading.

Top Tip: If you want to thin the paint out more, you can brush it onto your canvas, then dip your brush back in the water and spread the paint out that way.

Blending and mixing can be a great way to experiment with colour combinations. Create smooth transitions between colours or fun backgrounds for craft projects.

Have fun trying out these techniques, and remember, there are no rules, so even colours that might seem to clash can be used to create something beautiful.