I am a self-taught artist and have been painting with acrylic colors for the past 5-6 years. Throughout my journey as an Artist, I kept on learning from my mistakes and experiments. The problem when you are a beginner is that you may not be able to see and analyze most of your mistakes. You may be able to tell that something is not right in your painting, but you will struggle to pinpoint what that problem actually is.
In this post, I will go through some of the most common mistakes made by beginners and what can be done to avoid them.

1. Choosing the wrong colors/paints
Acrylic paints come in three versions, transparent, translucent, and opaque. The transparent paint allows more light to pass through, translucent paint allows only a little amount of light to pass through, and opaque paint completely blocks the light. Also, some acrylic paints have so much binder in them that you can’t get nice opaque colors blended without horrible streaking while others are created in such a way that you really can’t glaze them without lifting the previous layer. That is why you need to have a good understanding of the acrylic colors you are using.
Solution - Choose your colors wisely and stick with a paint that has a good reputation. Fevicryl Acrylic colors are my favorites for most techniques I use.

2. Using the wrong brush or using the same brush for the whole painting.
There are a lot of options when it comes to brushes and it can seem overwhelming when you’re just starting, especially if you’re working with a limited budget. Brushes that are too stiff can cut through the paint when too much pressure is used and brushes that are too soft may not layer the paint as you desire. Also, we need to understand that the function of each brush is different. The right shape and the right size of brush will not only make your painting beautiful but also quick and easy.
Solution - Play with different shapes and sizes and understand the type of hair in a brush and what it is intended for.

3. Using too much water.
Mixing your color with too much water will make them thin and reduce their binding property so they will come off easily from your canvas.
Solution - When diluting acrylic with water, there should be no more than 30% water to 70% acrylic. You can also use an acrylic medium for diluting your colors.

4. Not being able to paint quickly enough due to which colors are not merged properly.
Acrylics dry fast. It’s both their advantage and struggling point when it comes to painting. If acrylic paint sets before you have a chance to blend, you may end up with hard edges and in some cases, you may pull up the layers of paint beneath the area you are working on.
Solutions - Plan your work before you begin and use a mop brush for quick blending. You can also use extenders to keep the paint moving longer.

5. Leaving Paintbrushes in Water
Acrylic painting brushes are almost useless if they aren't cleaned properly, which is why it's important to thoroughly wash your brushes after every use. Beginners have so many things to take care of while painting that many times they forget to clean their brushes or leave them sitting in the cup/water for hours. While it may seem like this will somehow soak the paint out of the brush and clean them better but actually, this will just fray the tips of the bristles and can ruin them as they become hard and crusted together. The damage can start to occur in a handful of minutes.
Solution - Always make sure that you rinse your brushes properly, glide them over a paper towel or waste cloth, and then lay them flat to dry.

Acrylics are very forgiving colors and you can correct the mistakes even if the mistake is as fundamental as the wrong background color. But you should be able to identify your mistakes and learn from them. Also, using good quality material is very important. For beginners, I recommend Fevicryl and Fine Art products. They give good results and are pocket-friendly as well. Apart from this, there are many other brands to choose from.
Hope this article was useful for you and gives you a better understanding of your basic mistakes and helps you to improve the final result to acceptable levels.

Apart from this, there are many other important points to take care of while painting with acrylic colors, which we can discuss in future blogs and Online sessions.

Thank you for Reading. Let me know how you like it.