• Bird Academy
      Bird Academy
      Share your work! This forum is a space for you and others taking the course to share, comment, and exchange helpful ideas.
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    • R
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      One question about the paint set shown in the course PDF - "Golden Fluid Acrylic paints, set of 10 colors." Has this set been discontinued? I thankfully managed to find & buy one locally last year, but now it doesn't seem to be in stock while checking several websites online. There appears to be different kind of Golden Fluid Acrylic sets, although they do not have the same colours as that original set from the course PDF. Just curious about if others have found this set recently, or if it is common for sets to be replaced/discontinued.
    • Kathleen
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      This is my first time using these brushes and paints. Past experience with oils. This was a great exercise to start getting the feel of it. I’m really enjoying the videos so far and excited to continue.IMG_1303
    • Stephanie
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      I went full ham and painted up a full colour wheel with mixing swatches.  I learned that Pyrrole Red will overpower most colours.  The greens were very watered down by the time I put them on the wheel.  I'm going ahead with using regular paint brushes and keeping a water jar on hand, since I'm used to those materials. Colour Palette  Colour Swatches
    • Maranda
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      20231218_103159 I've used the aquash brushes with watercolor pencils and I'm excited to try them with these paints! 20231218_102150
    • APCMSE
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      Hi Jane, can these paints and brushes also be used on canvases would it be the same result? I really like the idea of the water brushes, I'm relatively new and only used normal brushes before on canvas.
    • PeinturePalette 1Palette 2
    • Michaela
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      IMG_1801This is really my first time working with acrylics (I have been very into printmaking for the last few years) and I am using this large tupperware container as my wet palette. It is working well so far! So excited for this awesome course.
    • Cathy
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      I’m in Canada & unable to get Van Dyke Brown as it’s out of stock everywhere. Is there another brown that would be suitable?
      • https://www.dickblick.com/items/golden-fluid-acrylics-van-dyke-brown-historical-hue-1-oz-bottle/ They ship to Canada and have Golden Fluid Acrylics and Van Dyke Brown in stock. Try there? Good luck! Jill
    • Claudia
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      Hi there! Loving this so far, and barely gotten started! My local art supply store didn't have the Legion Stonehenge Hot press in a pad, so instead I bought large sheets of Hot press paper >140 lb. I am wondering if the Legion Stonehenge Hot Press Aqua (it's tagged as watercolour paper and I'm not sure if this is maybe not smooth enough -- all the watercolour paper I have is quite nubby) is the correct one to get. This is available in pads from Amazon for a decent price. Could you advise? Thanks! Here's my colour reference!IMG_9885
    • Kathleen
      Participant
      Chirps: 74
      IMG_20230211_191859IMG_20230211_191954I didn't have the paints when I first started the class.
    • Maribeth
      Participant
      Chirps: 43
      IMG_4510 copy
    • Mary
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      Finally jumped in and made my color reference card. Learned I need to shake up the colors  before I put them on the palette, and to definitely not to tilt my palette (the colors all ran together :)). I really appreciate the detailed instructions you provide in each video. Loving this course! IMG-6559
    • Linda
      Participant
      Chirps: 7
      Hi, My Van Dyke brown hue seems a bit off. I forgot to shake the bottle. Might that be the cause?IMG_0424 Kind regards, Linda
    • sondra
      Participant
      Chirps: 21
      45244A30-C66D-45B6-8DA3-384AE281D232I’m anxious to get started so I’m using the colors that have been delivered. The rest should arrive any day. Working with this paint is a whole new experience. Thanks for doing this Jane Kim!
    • Ria
      Participant
      Chirps: 22
      Jane and Academy, I’m incredibly excited and grateful you’re offering this course! Thank you for all of the time and effort put into bringing this together. Creating the color reference card was a fun way to get to know how the fluid acrylics and the water brush work together as I’m used to using watercolors with the water brush. I’m seeing the differences created depending on water in the brush head on my page and really like the smooth painting the acrylic allows for. Excited to continue :) FC7D6DA2-8E67-4192-8CA6-E841EC96DD1A
    • Jenny
      Participant
      Chirps: 12
      Can you please send the link to the pdf of images we need to use? I'm finding difficulty once the course is started to find the page or link available to access the document, and no reference to where it is ("Show Contents"/lessons/introduction to the course) so you can find the images you need to print off. It would be helpful to post this link in all lessons, even if tucked away at the bottom of the page. Thanks.
    • Alisha
      Participant
      Chirps: 21
      colour reference sheetHello everyone!  So excited to be taking Jane's course!  Here is my colour reference sheet.  I noticed that some of the paints were more saturated than others, the Phthalo Green seemed to de-saturate much earlier than the Quinacridone Magenta, or the Carbon Black for example.  Alisha (Ottawa, Ontario)
    • Vanessa
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      This is the first time I have worked with a wet palette.  I seem to be having issues.  First, my paints ran. Even with just a pea-sized amount.  Is my sponge and/or paper too wet?  Then my paper has absorbed the paint and now it is blending with anything I put on top of it.  I am trying to avoid the paint from the day before, but I run out of room quickly.  the previous day's paint is seeping into the paint I am using for the next lesson.  What am I doing or not doing?  Can anyone help me out?
      • Martha
        Participant
        Chirps: 1
        Sounds like you have WAY TOO MUCH WATER in your sponge. The sponge should be very damp, but you don't want puddles in your palette box. If there is too much water, it will soak the palette paper and the paints will run. The paper should look dry on top, but the moisture from below will keep the paints from drying out.
    • C
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      I typically work with Heavy Body Acrylics which I thin with acrylic medium at the advice of the paint company representative. Are there any long-term problems with thinning the Fluid Acrylics with water? It seems more environmentally friendly, and it saves money.  What are the advantages you have found using the Fluid Acrylics over Gouache, that other bird artist use?
      • The biggest advantage with using acrylics over gouache or watercolor is that when it dries, you can paint another layer on top, either opaque or transparent, and it will not affect the layer beneath. The key to the richness of Jane's paintings is the way she applies transparent layers to give a depth and richness that makes her birds come alive. Jill