Whether you’re just starting out or have framed a few gallery pieces, certain pitfalls keep tripping up painters again and again. Here are those common art mistakes and how fixing them can really improve your work.
Hanging an acrylic painting might feel simple, but it’s surprisingly easy to make mistakes that could damage the work or its presentation. From a studio standpoint, taking time to do it right matters. Whether you’re an amateur, a seasoned painter, or an art lecturer setting up student work, here’s a guide to hanging your acrylic paintings.
When you’ve spent hours in the studio, finishing that new piece you’re proud of, the next question often becomes: How do I get people and perhaps the press to notice it? As other artists will tell you, gaining media coverage or accolades doesn’t happen by accident. It happens with strategy, consistency and smart presentation.
When you’re sitting with a fresh canvas (or panel) and an idea starting to form, one of the biggest opportunities and one of the most under-used is layering. Many beginners try to do everything in one go. But taking your time, building your piece in layers, can improve your work in ways that feel effortless once you get the hang of it.
If you’re a painter whether beginner, hobbyist, lecturer or pro, and you’ve mostly worked on canvas, considering a structured support like a wood panel for mixed media might open up fresh possibilities. Here’s a guide on combining mixed media with wood panels.
When you’ve put in the effort to create a painting on a wood panel, transporting and storing that work properly is just as important as the painting itself. Here are practical steps to help keep your work safe, flat, and ready for display or shipping.
When people talk about “art styles,” sometimes it feels like they’re speaking another language. In practice, though, many works fall broadly into a few main categories or styles that help us see how artists think, not just what they paint. Here are four major art styles and how they show up in your work or studies.
When you pick up your brush and tubes, the canvas underneath matters more than you might think. The “right” canvas for acrylic painting doesn’t just support paint, it interacts with it. Whether you’re just starting or refining your materials, here’s how to choose canvases: material, texture, strength, and finish.
Every painting whether a quick sketch or a large, refined work, typically moves through stages. Knowing these stages helps you work more deliberately, spot what phase you’re in, and avoid getting stuck. Here’s a breakdown of four common stages of painting.
Before a brush ever touches the canvas, you’re already painting in your head. This stage includes:
Paintings with strong outcomes often start with a solid design: layout, balance, focal points. Some artists do several small studies here before committing to the final canvas.
If you’ve mostly worked on canvas, switching to a cradled wood panel might feel like stepping into unfamiliar territory. But there’s good reason many contemporary and mixed media painters turn to cradled panels: they combine rigidity, stability, and a clean, modern presentation. Here’s why using cradled wood panels can be a game-changer.
A cradled panel is a wood or composite board mounted on a framework (“cradle”) of wood slats on the back. That cradle gives support and stiffness, preventing flexing, bending, or warping of the flat surface. It’s essentially a rigid, self-supported structure.
Unlike stretched canvas, which is flexible and can sag, cradled panels stay firm under stress. That’s the first big advantage.