Brent R. Laycock

Brent R. Laycock: Understanding Acrylics

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Video Length: 2 Hours 28 Minutes
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See the various ways in which acrylic paint can be used to achieve richly expressive artwork. Learn the appropriate uses of the mediums, gels and other techniques that bring acrylics to life - valuable information for artists of all levels.

Success with acrylics comes with understanding how to use transparency and opacity. In the video, Laycock presents four sections - Mixing acrylics with water (for transparent effects) - Mixing acrylics with liquid polymer medium (for transparent effects) - Mixing acrylics with white (for opaque effects) - Putting it all together.

In each section, Laycock provides clear instructions accompanied by thorough demonstrations. Each demonstration uses the same landscape subject matter but with a different mixture of acrylic paint. In the final extended demonstration, all the previously discussed methods are applied in a larger painting with a rich variety of textures and colors.

The video offers enlightening techniques, suggestions, hints, philosophy and insights as Laycock gives the viewer a candid personal glimpse into his unique style of landscape painting.


About Brent Laycock: After completing an MFA in painting at Brigham Young University, Laycock returned to Alberta and now lives in Calgary. He has exhibited widely in Canada, USA, Mexico, Japan, and Europe and is the recipient of numerous awards for watercolor and acrylic painting. His paintings are found on two Canadian postage stamps, and in many prestigious art collections and publications. He has taught frequent watercolor and acrylic painting workshops across Canada.

 


About: Brent R. Laycock RCA

Canadian Artist, Brent Laycock, has devoted a lifelong career to understanding and interpreting the Canadian landscape. His paintings in watercolour and acrylic find a resonance with many people because the work communicates the feeling and power of the landscape in a way that goes beyond representation. The most satisfying reward is knowing that people perceive the emotional communication in his work. One person commented "When I look at your paintings, I hear music."


Laycock was raised on a prairie farm near Lethbridge, and it was here that he learned to love the expanse of the prairie sky with the Rockies on the western horizon. After receiving an MFA in painting at Brigham Young University in Utah, he returned to Calgary where his artistic career has unfolded.

"Southern Alberta is a terrific environment for the landscape painter because of the contrasting variety of landscape that lies in each direction: mountains to the west, prairies to the east, parkland to the north. I always have some powerful emotional response to the landscape and try to communicate some of that same feeling to the viewer."

The grandeur of the western Canadian landscape has inspired him to work in large scale canvases, and many of these grace boardrooms of prominent corporations, public and private collections across Canada. Ironically, perhaps the most important thing that brought Laycock's work to the public eye were the two small paintings commissioned by Canada Post for their national parks postage stamp series. Since that time, Laycock's work has been exhibited and collected across Canada, the USA, Japan, Europe and Mexico.

His artistic career has also included painting floral subjects and producing graphic design. He has also been invited to present many workshops and lectures to a variety of art groups.

Upon graduation from university, Brent was accepted as a member of the Society of Canadian Artists. Soon after, he was inducted into the Alberta Society of Artists, the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour and finally awarded membership in the Canadian Royal Academy of Arts.