Hashim Akib: Vibrant Acrylics

This exciting video workshop from first-time author Hashim Akib (2009 SAA Artist of the Year) is much more about the process of painting than it is about the mechanics of applying paint.

As Hashim says, "The best tool for learning to paint is to paint", and his colorful and fluent artworks can't fail to encourage you to do just that.

This video is filled with tips and demonstrations, but also with light, color and urgency that all fully justify the use of Vibrant in the title. Hashim paints in a heavy impasto style that creates a sense of movement and vitality to subjects that include landscapes, portraits, buildings and animals. Intriguingly, he also works from a colored ground that sets off the over painting that follows, bringing everything forward as a result and giving real depth to light and shade.

Join Hashim as he focuses on three contrasting subjects - a landscape: 'Woodland Light', a portrait: 'Hard Life', and an urban-scape: 'Rush Hour'.

In the portrait project, Hashim describes the importance of acclimatizing to the scene by creating color layers, giving depth and texture. His urban-scape project is a great example of how to break a complex scene down into simple, manageable shapes.

Special bonus feature includes how to use negative space and shape to create a background, full of tips and techniques to encourage and inspire you.

About Hashim Akib

As far back as I can remember I've always painted, encouraged as a child by parents who nurtured creative thinking. Through my own stubborn resolve I never resorted to a proper job and continued painting as a career and lifestyle.

Having left Art College I pounded the streets of London with an A1 portfolio full of life drawings. It soon became apparent I was completely unprepared and spent the following six months working on more commercial work. I soon received illustration commissions from broadsheet newspapers, magazines and design firms. Some of the highlights included illustrating a Royal Mail stamp, illustrating a Smirnoff commercial, children's books and every illustrator's dream working on several occasions for Time magazine.

After years of tight deadlines, demanding national and international clients I fancied more of a challenge and started running a couple of art workshops and demonstrating art techniques around the UK. With whatever time I had left I developed my own paintings for exhibitions. --- I approached a couple of galleries with the new work, the first of which shot my paintings down in flames. At the time I was devastated but I really believe constructive criticism helps you progress and develop as an artist. I went back to the gallery the following week with five new paintings all of which were accepted and sold within the first month of being exhibited.

Since then I haven't looked back, in 2005/07 I won the Society for All Artists Professional Artist category and in 2009 I won the SAA Artist of the Year. I regularly exhibit with the Institute of Oil Painters at the Mall Galleries, I am a gallery represented artist, I've completed an art DVD for System 3 with Daler-Rowney and my first book called ‘Vibrant Acrylics' is published in 2012 by Search Press.

My style has changed over the years from extremely detailed paintings to a much bolder, freer, impressionistic approach. I realized having worked in a highly detailed way the method was all about obsession and nowadays it's definitely all about the passion.