Acrylics are one of the most versatile and easy-to-use materials for painting. They have very little odor, are non-toxic and have a quick drying time of just minutes. They can also be mixed with acrylic mediums to achieve a variety of textures and to elongate the drying time if desired.
Most commonly applied to canvas or paper, acrylic paint can adhere to almost any non-greasy surface, making it also ideal for wood, textiles and stone.
Keeping Acrylic Paint Active
Acrylic paint needs to remain wet during the process of painting. Use a spray bottle, the same kind used to spray plants, to keep the paints wet. If you have leftover paint and will come back to it, covering it with a piece of plastic will help preserve paint for a few days.
Use soap and water to clean up acrylic paint. If you are using a glass palette, you can let the paint dry completely on the glass, spray the dried paint with a small amount of water and use an angled palette knife to easily scrape off the leftover paint.
Make sure to not let acrylic paint dry on paint brushes. Acrylic acts like a plastic and cannot be reactivated once it is dry and hard.
Application of Acrylic Paint
Almost as effective as oil paint and similar in nature to watercolor, acrylics can be glazed in layers to create a translucent effect. This is helpful for creating clouds, rainbows or anything ethereal in nature. Mix water with a small amount of pigment until it is the consistency of colored water. Apply with a dry brush and either scumble (scrubbing the color with the bristles on the brush) or rub it into the surface of your painting with a clean rag. It takes a bit of experimenting to achieve a glazed appearance. Make sure that each layer is completely dry prior to applying the next layer. Alternate colors with white to help make the glazing appear as if it is glowing. Any color painted next to grey will appear brighter.
For thicker painting methods, acrylic can be painted on directly from the tube or jar. For an impasto look, squeeze paint from the tube directly onto the surface you are painting or choose a acrylic thickening medium to add to the paint color.
If you are painting a large surface a dark color, consider saving time and money by creating a tinted prime coat. Mix a small amount of your darkest color into a large amount of white. This will create a pastel version of what your final color will look like. Paint this on as a primer. After it dries, paint one or two layers of your dark color on top. You will notice that it saves time achieving the final result of a dark color.
Acrylic Mediums
Gel mediums, which can be purchased in varying degrees of transparency and sheens, can help extend and alter your paint. They can loosen the paint to make it easy to pour, or thicken it so that it can be molded. Gels can be helpful for glazing and act as adhesives for collage and mixed media projects. Some have coarse texture and are infused with glass beads or granules of pumice or acrylic.
Paste mediums are opaque. Oftentimes, they contain fibers, clays or marble dust, which is useful in creating textured foundations for paintings. Colors can be mixed directly into the paste. Because the natural color of paste medium is white, the color mixed in will usually become toned down. This means that if you want a saturated rich color, it may have to be painted over when the paste is dry.
