What painting mediums and techniques are covered on paintingdemos.com?

Updated

paintingdemos.com is a painting and mixed-media tutorial blog (branded "ARTiful") that covers a wide spread of mediums—watercolor, acrylics, acrylic inks, oil pastels, pastels, charcoal, and alcohol-based inks—plus techniques like mixed media, collage, Gelli printing, lino printing, masking fluid, negative painting, and Zentangle patterning. It suits self-directed hobby painters who want step-by-step demos and ideas across several mediums rather than a single-medium course. The list below is drawn from the site's own tutorial index, so it reflects what is actually published there.

Mediums covered

Medium Example topics on the site
Watercolor Rainy cityscape tutorial; poppies and roses; negative painting flower still life; applying Dorland's wax medium
Acrylics Painting on stone paper; acrylic skins; acrylic inks and mixed media on canvas
Acrylic inks Mixed media on canvas; combined with alcohol-based inks on stone paper
Oil pastels General "how to use oil pastels" guide; oil pastel resist for Gelli printing
Pastels Using pastels over watercolor to make paintings "pop"
Charcoal Step-by-step charcoal portrait ("Beehive")
Alcohol-based inks Painting on stone paper alongside acrylics
Mixed media (cross-medium) Life drawings reworked in mixed media; flowers on yupo paper; abstract backgrounds

Techniques and processes

  • Printmaking: Gelli printing with an oil pastel resist; lino printing, including testing alternative carving materials.
  • Collage and paper work: Paper collage cards; making patterned origami paper; mini 6-page books from one sheet.
  • Resist and masking: Ink resist video tutorial; six masking fluid tips.
  • Negative painting: Two step-by-step flower still lifes using the technique.
  • Dry brushing: Applied to mixed media portraits.
  • Zentangle and pattern: Adding Zentangle patterns to paintings and portraits; Zentangle trees and forest scenes; mandala-inspired cards.
  • Surface and mounting: Mounting yupo paper on board instead of framing; painting on stone paper.
  • Sketchbook practice: Customizing a sketchbook into an art journal; sketching-at-home ideas; what to draw in a sketchbook.

Subjects and themes

  • Flowers: From imagination (three paintings for an Anonymous Art Show), mixed media flowers on yupo, poppies and roses.
  • Landscape and cityscape: Rainy watercolor cityscape; trees and leaves in watercolor.
  • Portraits and figures: Basic face proportions; cross-hatching portraits; life drawing techniques overview; painting over life drawings.
  • Seasonal and decorative: Handprinted Christmas cards in black and gold; Bauhaus-inspired postcards; watercolor postcards with Spirograph texture.

How to use this to decide

If you paint in one medium and want to extend it, the site's value is in the crossover demos—for example, pastels over watercolor, or acrylic inks combined with alcohol inks. If you are looking for a structured curriculum in a single medium, this is a scattered tutorial index rather than a course. The index also includes non-instructional posts (such as "How to deal with an art copycat"), so expect a mix of technique demos and studio-practice commentary.