I think getting the color right is important whether you are painting with pastel, oil or acrylic.

I have found this to be helpful. Paint the highlight (shiny reflection) color bigger than you actually see it. Burnt sienna plus Cadmium red light makes a wonderful copper color. Add a little yellow and white for the reflected highlight. Overlap the highlight you just painted with the copper color.and readjust the highlight if you need to.

I hope this helps

Diane Overcash

First of all I study at the Long Island Academy of Fine Arts that focuses on the Dutch Masters techniques. Secondly, I work in oil and not acrylics or pastel. With that being said, please understand that paint treats color differently than light treats color or the way pastel treats color. With pastels you draw on paper and with the acrylics and oil you paint on canvass or board. It is two different mediums on different materials, so naturally you will get different results.

I can speak of oil paintings. You start with a white canvass, wash it with a thin layer of raw umber to beat down the white canvass, then add layers of color for the shape and shadow and highlights. Without seeing your work or technique I can only surmise that you attacked the acrylic painting the same way you did the pastels.

My suggestion is that you stop comparing the two mediums, find a decent art instructor classically trained, or if one is not available to you, a cd or on-line instruction. And I urge you to migrate over to oils and away from acrylics.

Regards,

Mike

But if you can find a copy of Ramon Kelley’s The 5 Essentials in Every Powerful Painting in you local library system, you’ll find a magnificent copper pot still life that may provide some inspiration.

You can see excerpts from the book on Amazon.com