finding a way out
Friday, April 30, 2010
Choosing and Using Acrylic Paints
Acrylic paints are one of the newest painting mediums, being introduced as 'recently' as 1955. They have come a long way since then, with an ever-widening range of paints and associated art materials.
The acrylic paint technique thus offers both the new and experienced artist a very versatile method of painting.
Pros & Cons of Using Acrylic Paints
As in all painting, the acrylic paint technique has benefits and drawbacks. The good things are that:
- It is easily diluted with water, so there's no need for special thinners
- Brushes are cleaned with soap and water
- By and large you use the same brushes and knives as with oil paints, so you don't need to re-invest in this area
- If you prefer however, an increasing range of 'acrylic-specific' brushes is coming on the market which gives you extra options
- It dries fast - often within minutes - unlike oils which can take weeks or even months
- Once dry, you can instantly put additional layers on top without ever muddying the ones below -as can happen with watercolor paints
- You can paint on a wide range of surfaces including art canvas, watercolor and other types of specially formulated oil and acrylic paper, wood, various types of board - or even use your room walls as large murals!
- Colors change very little from their wet to dry state - unlike watercolors - so the strength of colour you see first is what you end up with
- It washes off clothes and carpets when wet, just by using soap and water
- There is no solvent-type smell, as there is with oils and turpentine
- Thinned acrylic paint makes an excellent underpainting if you're using oils
What Are Acrylic Paints?
A water-based medium, the usual texture and consistency is similar to oil paints. However, unlike oils, you can get acrylics in various densities.
These range from an ink-like consistency thin enough to be used in airbrushes through various degrees of 'flow' very much like oil paints, to the consistency of soft cream cheese.
This allows really heavy 3D (impasto) effects.
Various substances are available to be added to the paint to create all sorts of textures.
Or you can use your own, such as plaster or sand, for a further variety of textured effects.
All the brands and thicknesses can be thinned back down using water. Some artists I know actually use thinned down acrylic in a pure watercolor style. This gives subtly different but important qualities
However, like all paintng mediums, there are downsides when using acrylic paint. These are mainly around one of its main virtues... its quick drying properties. Here are some things you need to consider:
- Drying so quickly makes it difficult to subtly blend paint, as you can with oils - when painting a cloudy sky or portraits for example
- You have to keep all your brushes moist as you are painting. Never let them dry with acrylic paint on the bristles or you'll end up with a nice-looking set of short garden canes.
- Paint which dries on the blade of a palette knife is very hard to get off. This can leave a film which may adversely affect the ability of the knife to make a smooth mark
- You need a special palette to stop your paints drying out as well. These aren't cheap for what they are. (However, read the article on acrylic paint techniques to find out how to easily make one for next to nothing)
- If acrylic paint dries on carpets, clothes etc, you'll be lucky to get the stain off. So wear old clothes and/or cover the table and floor with an old cloth!
- If there's any grease on the painting surface, acrylics will not adhere, unlike oil paints.
- Acrylic paint tends to be quietly abrasive and soon takes its toll on softer brushes. Try using it with a small nylon 00 watercolor brush, for example, and you'll be lucky to get more than two or three good sessions out of it
- If acrylic paint gets inside the ferrule and dries it's almost impossible to get out without damaging the brush hairs. What then happens is the dried paint makes the bristles spread and the brush loses much of its value as a quality tool
- Don't leave the tops off tubes of acrylic paint, the contents will go rock hard in no time. If this happens, you throw them away. Full stop
- Some brands of acrylic paint have small tops on the tubes. They are extremely difficult to get off as the paint dries in the threads.
- If you have problems gripping small items, you may want to choose tubes which have large caps - or buy a good pair of pliers!
- Acrylic paint is a close cousin of PVA glue and as such, quite an effective, if somewhat colourful, adhesive.
DoneBy: Desmond/Nyan Wun Paing (30) & Wayne (39)
