How To Create A Very Cool Looking Background For Acrylic OR Oil Paintings, With Or Without Texture

[@rocknrobin682]

Absolutely beautiful background! Thank you! You have helped me out tremendously!

[@DavidChorney]

Thank you so much. It's always wonderful to get that kind of feedback, although I learn from all of it. Anytime you have a question, please feel free to ask.

[@bellatopiaaa8397]

Gorgeous depth of colors wow! So glad I stumbled on your video. I’m learning now how to use paints after years of only using charcoal. So grateful that artists such as yourself are sharing your knowledge and talents for us beginners, thank you so much 🙏🏼💐 New subbie now

[@snow-wlkr7xplorer494]

Thankyou sir, for showing how this is done. Not so difficult after all! I played with this technique and amazing things happened!! Out of my small abstract smears, there began to appear what I saw as a tropical tree with leaves blowing in the wind over water! So I enhanced that. Even put grass below the tree. Well then I dotted a moon below the tree leaves, so it appears to peak out just underneath in the night sky. Titanium White of course brought it alive, so I smudged some in the colors of the water as a reflection. Well the blended colors within the water have appeared to be awesome!! I now have an amazing tropical night painting!! Too bad it was on old practice canvas because I will never be able to recreate this translucent yet vibrant painting!! What Fun tho!! So ThankYou for this presentation!! I'm learning and Wow- What an experience!!!!

[@DavidChorney]

You won't be able to recreate it, but you WILL create something just as beautiful, yet different :) It's wonderful to experiment, and see where it takes you. That's often how one grows, not only as an artist, but as a person as well. Thank you so much for the comments. :)

[@PntrGrl]

Terrific method of doing a background, and thanks for sharing!

[@DavidChorney]

+Arlene Rounce Hey there Arlene... thank you very much. I used this same technique for many of my non-representational abstracts, some of which I have made videos of while creating and have posted here in KZbinLand. Thanks again!

[@salwainde5364]

I really loved the colors! thumbs up

[@DavidChorney]

Thank you Salwa! I appreciate that.

[@barbaralinderman]

Love your technique!! Beautiful

[@DavidChorney]

Barbara... thank you! Sorry for the delay in responding. For some reason, there were a bunch of wonderful comments I didn't see until just now. I'm sure it had to be a glitch in the technology (eye roll). lol

[@carolnilberg8248]

Nice! Just found your KZbin videos and subscribed before even watching all the way to the end. Love the technique with the water spritz, I do that too.

[@DavidChorney]

Carol.... sorry for not responding sooner! For some reason, I hadn't seen your comment until just now. Duhhh. Thank you for the compliment, and I'm glad you liked the video and subscribed. Sometimes, I get lazy about making the videos, which is why, I've done a lot of paintings since my last video and don't have video to show for it :). But I'll get more up soon, I hope. Thanks again!

[@christineknight7906]

Could you please in your comments put the names of each color it's hard to here what colors they are. Thank you, its beutiful

[@DavidChorney]

Ahh Christine.... I'm not sure I can. Not that I don't want to or anything. I'd be glad to if I could. But I created that painting 5 years ago, and have since parted with it, and never took notes as to what colors I was using. Usually, when I create a painting, the first thing I do is select a color palette. But I do it visually, and as much by feel than anything else. I've never used a color wheel or any tool like that. Not that I'd recommend not using one... I just never really learned all its' advantages. So I don't really have any set formulas for selecting colors, that I repeat all the time. That would make it easier for me to remember what colors I used. Even now, I can look at a picture of the painting, but not be able to pinpoint which colors exactly they are. However... if you go to my website... www.davidchorney.com... and go to the gallery, click on "paintings", and scroll down to year 2015, and click on the painting called "The Dawn Of Music", you'll see the finished version. From there you can maybe duplicate the colors. A little advice though... I didn't create this video to help people copy the background. It's fine if someone wants to, and I'd help in any way I can, but the real reason I created it was to help people with the underlying technique and concept of creating this kind of background. You can do it with any colors you'd like. Earth tones, pastels, bright colors.... any combination you want. So the colors aren't nearly as important as the technique I was trying to get across, (which is why I didn't list the particular colors). Good luck! And if you have any other questions, always feel free to ask. And sorry I couldn't answer this one :)

[@debbiedraper337]

Hi David , I loved your back ground and thought I would do it the next day ! The only thing I could not find it the next day when I wanted to paint . I thought I had remembered , the first thing I forgot was the wet down and as you said it went blobby any way I went on and on , oh my what a mess! The only thing I think I can do now is paint it dark and do northern lights when it is dry and hope it works . As you can tell I found your painting after I had finished mine . Yours is great , thank you so much for sharing . Not as easy as it looks !

[@DavidChorney]

Hey there Debbie... First... if you ever forget to wet the canvas before you paint... just give it a little spray WHILE you're painting. Not too much. But that should help a lot too. And... if it looks like something you can't rescue... let it dry, and do a background over the dry paint. What you'll end up with is a cool background with a little texture under it. As far as easy or hard... you'll get the hang of it. You just have to either work relatively fast, or just keep it a little damp. :)

[@Naturally336]

Thanks for sharing! I tried this using glazing medium to make my under colors lighter and translucent and it had such a glow and depth! Though I'll admit I just mixed my paints and glaze, then dabbed them all randomly on the canvas then swirled them altogether at one time. Was gorgeous and almost hard to paint over. :) But it certainly was faster than most of my other backgrounds.

[@DavidChorney]

Yep! That's one of the cool things about painting. It's all so individualized, that you could be doing almost the same thing I'm doing, and it'll still turn out differently. That's one of the reasons I like to share my techniques and work... other people get to learn and grow, and they'll end up doing so and turning it into their own personal style. Thanks for watching and commenting :).

[@Naturally336]

@@DavidChorney I haven't been painting for a while, and only this past weekend got bit by the bug again. While trying to decide what I felt like working on I came across a couple backgrounds that I had prepped using your method, still my favorites and still can't make myself paint over them. Ha! May have to just stick them on the wall as is! ;)

[@DavidChorney]

@@Naturally336 Ha! That's funny. But I love that you wrote and I love that you like your backgrounds. You make me want to create more videos. Yes, though, I agree. Some of the backgrounds look really nice, simply by themselves. I suppose, if someone just wanted to create art that looked nice with someone's curtains or decor, they could use this technique and sell a lot of paintings. Hmmm.... :) Keep me posted. And go do a background you dislike so you can paint again :)

[@Naturally336]

@@DavidChorney Well I for one would love if you chose to make another video. :) I'm a total newbie. Had been a dancer until my body wore out so had to find another creative outlet. Yay! for the internet and generous artists like yourself that offer your gifts. It really does mean a lot to someone like myself that is now handicapped and housebound. Oh, and I loved your painting, "teenage daughter". Having one myself I felt you captured the sense of it perfectly! Exciting, confusing, gritty, messy, fun... Thanks for the encouragement. :)

[@DavidChorney]

@@Naturally336 First.... so sorry to hear of you being "handicapped" and housebound. I put Handicapped in quotes, because I've seen some crazy things happen, and I have a lot of faith in the determination of human beings, so I can also hope things won't always remain the same for you in that way. Plus, probably most people are handicapped in their own way. Low self esteem keeps a tremendous amount of people from accomplishing things. Fear of success, fear of failure.... all these things are handicaps. Just unseen handicaps. I hope you find the strengths that still reside inside you. I like doing the videos, but as most often happens, I think about doing one for the next painting I'm doing, and then I want to get started on it so much, I skip the video part and just paint. That's what happened to the current painting I am doing at the moment. I was all set (mentally) to do the video, and then I just got too antsi, and started painting. :) Teenage Daughter.... thank you. Yes.... all the beauty and all the chaos, wrapped into one. I don't usually name my paintings until I'm done and can step back. I kind of let the painting tell me its' name. That's what happened with Teenage Daughter. It's hanging in my living room now. And my daughter, who is no longer a teenager, is still driving me nuts. I can only imagine what "Young Adult But Still Immature Daughter" would look like :)

[@aprilsmommy1]

I'm so happy I found your KZbin videos. This is awesome. Love the colors. Thank you for sharing :)

[@DavidChorney]

nancy beal ... Thank you so much. I appreciate the comment. Unfortunately, the background came out even better in real life than how it looks in the video (actually, that's fortunate!). The video is a little dark. I'm not set up for video nearly as much as I am set up for painting. There is a painting on my website titled "The Dawn of Music". This is the background to that painting. www.davidchorney.com

[@aprilsmommy1]

I think this video is great.

[@jancolligan8559]

Love love love it.

[@DavidChorney]

Thank you Jan! :)

[@jdmosaics]

Interesting info thanks for your time in making this video and sharing. But for me taking away all the white that can help your subsequent colors glow from beneath can make for a dead painting sometimes. But as you said there are many ways to paint a background. Acrylic paint have some amazing qualities and mediums to use in so many ways. Cheers and happy paining.

[@DavidChorney]

Thank you Neena. You too. And enjoy your journey! :)

[@ebony9293]

Really enjoyed this video and with definitely have a go at it I also subscribed 👍🏻

[@DavidChorney]

+Ebony ιѕ αωѕσєм Hey... thank you very much! It came out a little dark, but if you look at my videos for DUSK, SERPENTINE, or CELESTIAL AUTUMN, you'll find I did those backgrounds with the same technique. Thanks again for your comments. They're appreciated.

[@kaesullivan8583]

Very helpful! I stumbled upon your video. Really liked it a lot!

[@DavidChorney]

Majestic Aurora ... thank you so much! I appreciate your comment. Be sure to check in on occasion, because I'll be coming out with some more videos in the future. Thanks again.

[@kaesullivan8583]

Excellent, I will be sure to do that. I've subscribed. :)

[@patty9171]

I loved the colors and the plastic wrap, great. I could not hear everything you said and I have my speakers all the way up. Also, maybe you can hold the paint tube to the camera so we can see exactly what colors they are. Thank you.

[@DavidChorney]

Patty... maybe I'll do another one and try to speak a little louder next time. As far as the colors are concerned, I could do that too. But there are consequences to doing so. A color palette is a very personal choice, and are usually chosen based on someone's mood, personality, and intent. These are all very individualized things. If I go and show the colors I'm using, it might bias the choices someone else might use. Still... I don't mind doing that. as long as it doesn't take over the true intent of the video, which was to show the technique of how to lay down the paint to create that kind of background. Good suggestions though, and thank you very much, not only for making them, but for watching my video in the first place :)

[@Cheryl64014]

Your speakers are all the way up, but be sure that the actual "volume" slide on the video screen itself is also turned up. If both are up, I'm sure you'll be able to hear him. Also, when you can hear it, you'll actually hear the colors that David used. He mentions them by name before he applies each one. Hope this helps.

[@DavidChorney]

Thanks Cheryl :)

[@bonniejensen9019]

Cheryl64014 where is the volume on the video screen?

[@jude1515]

Love this.

[@DavidChorney]

Thank you Judith! I appreciate it.

[@sonsoftheedelweiss72]

Thk you

[@omgitselana]

VERY c o o l

[@DavidChorney]

OMG!!... it IS Selana! :) Thank you very much Selana. I appreciate your comments. I hope to have more videos out soon.

[@maireadharkin5124]

love it TFS

[@DavidChorney]

Mairead Harkin ...Hey! Lol... I'm not sire what "TFS" stand for, although I can make some things up, but thank you! Glad you liked it. 😊

[@maireadharkin5124]

Hi TFS stands for thanks for shareing,

[@aiminathjabeen4995]

cooler than bob ross

[@DavidChorney]

Except with less hair :) Thank you :)

[@oldzensoul]

Haha like your t shirt

[@DavidChorney]

sOn flower lol... thank you. 😁

[@sulaimanansar6306]

did you use oil or acrylic paints here?

[@DavidChorney]

Hey there... on this painting, I used Acrylic Paints. Golden, to be specific. But you could do the exact same technique with either, acrylics or Oils.

[@manicangel7796]

Yes I'm aware it's not oils he's using but still.. my mind first went: omg.. such a small work area. How does he breathe in there?

[@benszalecki2252]

Do you have a link to the painting you did on this background?

[@DavidChorney]

Hey there Ben... If you go to my website... www.davidchorney.com ... click on "Gallery" and then click on "Paintings"... you'll see a painting I did in 2015 called "The Dawn Of Music". I think it's the 5th one down on the right. This was a painting I did for a piano teacher (whose name was Dawn :) ). In this painting, you'll find all sorts of hidden(ish) abstracted musical references like a bass clef, a G Clef, piano keys in a couple places, a musical measure... things like that. Actually, you'll also find a couple very well hidden Disney references, since she was a Disney fanatic also :). If you can't find it, let me know. And thanks for the question.

[@amyevergreen]

It's not you... the caps are hard to put back on lol 😃

[@DavidChorney]

Thank God someone finally propped up my tube cap ego 😊 Quite honestly, sometimes they go back on pretty easy. And sometimes they are so frustrating :)

[@amyevergreen]

@@DavidChorney Honestly, just go topless... I mean capless lol! Leave them off 😃

[@DavidChorney]

@@amyevergreen ...lol... that would make my videos much more interesting, albeit harder to watch. Oh wait!... you meant the tubes. :)

[@barbaraclark249]

sound is a bit muffled could you heighten it

[@DavidChorney]

Barbara Clark Hi Barbara! I would love to be able to edit the video, but I can't go back and do it at this point. I would lose its entire history of viewership. I really didn't know what the heck I was doing in terms of editing a video back then, but I know a little bit more now. The latest video that I've done, I think the sound is much, much better. Thank you for your comments! I really appreciate them.