The Acrylics Companion - by Hashim Akib (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Your pocket-sized, one-stop, catch-all guide to contemporary acrylics - inspiration, practical exercises, and ideas for all levels of artist.

In this innovative, ideas-led mini guide, master artist and best-selling author Hashim Akib showcases the versatility and vibrancy of acrylic painting. Featuring 64 practical exercises and inspiring insights, on a wide range of subjects, from portraiture to the urban landscape and using a variety of approaches, from color dabbing, working on a base color and refining chaos into order, this book is ideal for beginner to intermediate artists; it will inspire you with new ideas, push you creatively and encourage you to develop your own artistic style.

• Loosen up with a range of fun, inspiring exercises to get you started
• Discover luscious impasto, versatile washes and experimental pouring
• Experiment with different applicators: brushes, knives, and more
• Cut to the chase with visual, easy-to-follow guides to composition, colour theory and using different types of acrylics, including soft, heavy body and more
• Acrylics 101: from choosing and handling your brushes to mounting your finished piece on the wall
• Troubleshoot any concerns or issues
• Take inspiration from dozens of inspirational examples of Hash's work.

Also available in the series: The Watercolour Companion by Matthew Palmer.

Review Quotes

Leisure Painter - October 2024

Your pocket-sized, one-stop guide to contemporary acrylics inspiration, practical exercises and exciting ideas for acrylic artists. In this innovative, ideas-led mini guide, master artist and best-selling author Hashim Akib showcases the versitility and vibrancy of acrylic painting. Featuring 64 practical exercises and inspiring insights, on a wide range of subjects, from portraiture to the urban landscape and using a variety of approaches, from colour dabbing, working on a base colour and refining chaos into order, this book is ideal for beginners to intermediate artists. It will inspire you with new ideas, push you creatively, and encourage you to develop your own artistic style.

Library Journal - Jan 15 2025
Artist Akib (Painting Portraits in Acrylic) dives into the details of acrylic painting, beginning with a discussion of some of the medium's unique traits: a short drying time, suitability to a variety of surfaces, and the ability to thin the paint with water. Although the opacity of acrylics can present some challenges for artists, Akib shows that the medium's vivid colors and the ease of painting over mistakes make up for any defaults. Akib explores how a variety of mediums and tools can be used alongside acrylics to alter the paint's consistency, texture, and drying time and demonstrates how brush pressure affects coverage. Readers are encouraged to try using acrylics to paint the same subject with three different techniques: by filling underlying line art with color, by using negative shapes, and by employing optical color mixing, a method favored by the impressionist painters. Dynamic street scenes, portraits, and landscapes illustrate Akib's mastery of laying down blocks of bold color to form the foundation of paintings, to which details and highlights are gradually added.
VERDICT Many of Akib's techniques require an advanced level of artistic skill, but for experienced painters interested in trying a new medium or improving their work with acrylics, this is a comprehensive resource.

About the Author

Hashim Akib is represented by several galleries in the UK and has exhibited with the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, New English Art Club, Society of Wildlife Artists, David Shepherd Artist of the Year and Royal Society of Marine Artists at the prestigious Mall Galleries in London UK. He is in the UK's National Art collection and has also taught his unique techniques to art schools in the UK, Italy and France.

Throughout his career Hashim has won many awards; including in 2009 the SAA (Society of All Artists) Artist of the Year, having won the Professional title in 2005 and 2007. He worked with the art manufacturer Daler Rowney in their relaunch of the System3 Acrylic range, producing paintings for the ad campaign and demonstrating the versatility of the paint at various events and on live television.