Acrylic Painting

Notes on acrylic painting

Introduction

Acrylic paint is probably the most versatile medium you will ever paint with.  Whatever limitations you find hampering your creativity when working in watercolour or oil, will likely be greatly alleviated with acrylic paint.

Some of the positive characteristics are:

·      Quick drying                                           

·      Crisp edges

·      Vivid colours that will not yellow

·      A is non-toxic polymer base (individual pigments may, of course, be toxic).

·      Water based (you can use water as a medium)

·      Brushes are easier to clean

·      Use them as watercolours if you wish (dry layers are not water soluble and will not dissolve when painted over.)

·      You can use it as you would oil paint (both glazing and thick impasto are easy)

·      You can under paint with acrylic and over paint with oil 9You should not, however, paint acrylic over oil)

There are some limitations, of course:

·      Painting wet in wet can be difficult because of the quick drying time.

·      Soft edges are sometimes difficult

·      A colour shift can occur during drying can occur with some brands (this has been largely overcome)

·      You cannot paint acrylics over oil (they may not adhere properly, and the different drying time a shrinkage can cause problems).

There have been quite a few advances in the past few years in both acrylic and oil paint.  For example:

Acrylic Paint:

Drying time: 

Both Winsor & Newton and Liquitex claim to have increased drying time to about ½ hour. Golden has introduced a new line called OPEN Acrylics that they claim to have a drying time exceeding 1 hour.  Other new lines of paint with extended drying time are becoming available.

Colour Shift: 

An old complaint about acrylic paints was that the colour darkens as the paint dries. This colour shift was due to the polymer base being somewhat milky when liquid and becoming clear when dry.  Winsor & Newton and others are using a different polymer base that is clearer in liquid form, thus overcoming this concern. It is still a bit of a concern with some brands, however.

Oil Paint:

The safety issue: 

Several manufacturers now offer water-soluble oil paint to avoid the problem of the odour and toxicity of some oil media.  Some of the better brands are:

Holbein (Duo Aqua Oil),

Cobra (Royal Talens)

Daniel Smith (Daniel Smith Water Soluble Oil Colours)

Winsor & Newton,  (Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour), 

When water-soluble oils were first introduced years ago they were criticized for their handling characteristics, but recent advances have brought most products in line with regular oils.  I believe that the drying time is slightly less than regular oils, which is a bit of an advantage.  Unfortunately, they are still a bit more expensive than regular oils and the number of colours is limited in some lines.

In order to speed up the drying time of oil paint, several manufacturers have come out with a line using alkyd oil as the base, resulting in drying times of less than 24 hours. The only one I know of is Winsor & Newton’s Griffin line, although others are available.  Compatibility with regular or water-soluble oil is still an issue.

DRYING TIME

The acrylic drying process is somewhat complex. Basically, however, drying takes place in two stages: the first stage, a relatively short period of time, results in the formation of a skin over the surface of the paint as water evaporates or is absorbed by the ground. The surface of very thin films may dry within seconds, while the surface of thick paint may take a full day to dry.

The second drying stage is the time for the entire thickness of the film to be thoroughly dry. That is, the time required for all of the water and solvent to evaporate and leave the film. This is a most crucial time, as the ultimate physical properties, such as adhesion, hardness and clarity, do not fully develop until the film is near complete dryness. For very thin films, this time may be a few days, while films of 1/4 inch thickness or more will take months and even years to be completely dry.

Drying time can be greatly affected by the ground, or surface that the paint is applied to.  On canvas, where evaporation can take place through the back of the painting s well as from the paint surface, drying time can be less.  Nevertheless, if you are priming canvas with acrylic paint or acrylic gesso,  it is important to wait at least a day between layers.  Several layers of gesso, applied within hours of each other to a hard surface such as MDF board (a popular ground) can take weeks or months to totally dry and will be very difficult to paint on until it is dry.  Once dry, however, acrylic paint is not water-soluble.

DEALING WITH THE DRYING TIME

The naturally quick drying time of acrylics can be a great benefit since it allows for over-painting almost immediately. Acrylic glazing techniques and hard-edged applications would not be as easy without these very rapid drying properties.

No more “fat over lean” worries:

There are no limitations on applying additional acrylic paint layers. That is, an artist can apply acrylic paints while the under painting is still wet, just skinned over, or has dried for several years.

Make sure the acrylic is dry before over painting with oil or varnishing:

Note that if you intend to apply oils over an acrylic under painting, (a common practice) then, for thin films on canvas, the acrylic should be allowed to dry 1 to 3 days. Thicker films on less porous supports like MDF board may take several weeks to dry sufficiently to ensure proper adhesion.

The short drying time is a two-edged sword. While it can certainly be annoying at times, it is also one of the primary reasons why so many people use acrylics (the other major reasons being health safety and flexibility).  So, as with many good things in life, (like chocolate cake and beer) we have to find ways of mitigating the negative aspects of it.

There are two concerns with the quick drying time; 

o   Keeping paint from drying on the pallet, and brushes

o   Extending working time on the canvas.

Retardants

Retardants can help slow drying both on the pallet and the canvas and  there are several products available. They do reduce drying time, but there are consequences. None of them should be applied very heavily (certainly not more than 3 -10 percent) or they may come to the surface of the applied paint leaving a residue that will reduce the adhesion of further layers. 

Another problem is that they are not very effective on thin paint layers or when painting on very absorbent materials or when painting in a very dry environment

I seldom use retardants because I find it too distracting to try and remember how much I’ve added to each blob of paint on the pallet as I go along.  Also, I find that other considerations are sufficient to keep the paint workable.

Pallets

Using a non-absorbent pallet such as glass or plastic will slow the drying time on the pallet. Another method is to use a “stay-wet” pallet.  The best are made by Masterson. They consist of a foam mat covered with a heavy paper. Moisture from the mat seeps up through the paper keeping the paint from drying.  They can keep paint useable on the pallet for weeks. I find, however, that when painting in very dry environments, such as in winter,  I have to mist the pallet occasionally to keep blobs of paint from skinning over.

As always, there are limitations. The foam mat, for example,  will turn to jelly if left wet too long. I keep mine in the fridge when I won’t be using it for long periods. If you buy one, it’s a good idea to also buy several replacement pads and a package of the papers. 

Paint

Using a slower drying acrylic paint is a very good way to extend working time on the canvas.

Misting

Using an ordinary plant mister can slow drying time on the pallet or the canvas. Used lightly, it can be quite effective.

You can even add a bit of retarder to the water in the mister.  Use caution, however, when misting your canvas. Holding the mister too close or misting too vigorously can result in the paint running down the canvas.

Sealing the ground

Naturally, if your ground (canvas) is not prepared properly the surface can be quite absorbent.  Even some Gesso products can be more absorbent than you would like.

(See below on preparing grounds)

Applying paint:

There are ways of applying the paint that will mitigate the fast drying problems. (see below)

Precautions:

 Once it has dried on your brushes, acrylic paint is permanent. Considering the cost of good brushes, this is something you will want to void.. 

Some artists stand their brushes in a jar of water to keep them from drying out. This may be ok for the stiffer bristle brushes, but certainly NOT for some very soft brushes, especially the smaller ones. The fibers will curl over in a very short time and the bend can be permanent.  Even larger, stiffer, brushes can suffer from being immersed in water for long periods since the water can seep into the wooden handle making it expand, and when it dries out the furl will often be loose.

Instead, put some water into a flat tray and lay your brushes down in a small amount of water.  Some of the Masterson Stay-Wet pallets incorporate a try for this use.

ACRYLIC PAINTS – What to look for

USE/PRICE/QUALITY: Your first concerns when setting out to buy acrylic paints is how you intend to use them and how much you are willing to spend.  Skill level may also come into the decision.  If you are still a few paintings away from a masterpiece, you may want to settle for cheaper paints which may not retain their brilliance for 100 years. 

WHICH COLOURS: Once you have decided on price, the next concern will be what colours to buy.  There are at least three aspects to this decision; one is quality, the second one concerns your painting style and the subjects you are interested in painting and the third is health safety (toxicity).

                                                                 …………………….

PRICE:

 Most manufacturers sell at least two grades of paint, student and professional grades.  Student grade paints are always cheaper and suppliers will often set a uniform price for all student grade colours.  Professional grade paints are, of course, much more expensive.  Is it worth spending the extra dollars for them? Probably not if you are just learning, or intend to use them only for quick preliminary sketches outside.

What is the difference? The short answer is quality.  To keep the price down, quality can be compromised in student grade paints in two ways:  cheaper pigments and/or lower pigment load.  Will this impact your panting? That is a difficult question to answer. The impacts may be as follows: 

·      Less brilliant colours because of the lower pigment load

·      Some pigments may fade when exposed to sunlight for long periods of time.

·      Mixtures may be unreliable.

Is avoiding these problems worth spending the extra money on professional paint? Many artists think it is worth it, especially if they want rich, vibrant colours, or are depending upon getting consistent mixtures, or expect to have their work remain vibrant for a long period of time.  However, a lot of artists will use student grade paints for quick outdoor studies and reserve their professional paint for studio use.

The risks are not as great as it once was.  You may have seen Seurat’s famous painting  “A Sunday on la Grande Jatte”.  Seurat painted it in the mid 1800’s and was using unreliable pigments. Within two years his multi-million dollar painting had faded considerably.  Many paintings from earlier times have been almost totally destroyed by the use of orpiment yellow, a brilliant lead based pigment that reacted with other pigments over the years, turning them completely black.   

J M W Turner, who [painted in the early 1800’s,  painted and sold, thousands of watercolour paintings and was continually pestered by customers complaining of fading within a couple of years. He apparently didn’t care, because, despite urgings by his paint supplier, Winsor & Newton, he would not switch to more reliable pigments.  Note that all mediums use the same pigments, although watercolour manufacturers do tend to use more organic, plant based pigments because of their transparency. They are, however, more prone to fading than inorganic pigments.

Artists’ paints, even student grade paints, are generally quite reliable these days.  The biggest threat you face from using student grade paints will be less brilliance or unreliable mixtures because of cheaper pigments (more on this later).

In the end, if you, like many artists, are not willing to spend time researching paints and pigments, your best bet is to put your faith in a well-known manufacturer and stick with them.

QUALITY:

 As artists become more accomplished, they often become more discerning when it comes to buying paint.  The most important constituent in any paint is the pigment. There are thousands of pigments available to manufacturers, only a few of which are suitable for use in artists’ paints, and each pigment has its own characteristics that determine how it will behave.  The main characteristics are:

·      Permanence

·      Transparency

·      Hue and Colour Temperature (warm/cool)

·      Tinting strength

·      Saturation (Intensity)

Permanence:

This has to do with the susceptibility of the pigment to deterioration, including fading, something you should consider when selecting a pallet.

Transparency

This affects the paint’s ability to cover up earlier layers (direct painting) or let them show through (glazing). Either way, you should know whether your paint is transparent, semi-transparent or opaque. Although there are a few exceptions, a pigment’s transparency will always be the same from manufacturer to manufacturer.  The symbols used by manufacturers to designate the transparency does, however,  vary from one to another.   Fairly common symbols are: T – transparent,  ST – semi-transparent,  SO – semi-opaque,  and O – opaque.

             Hue & Colour Temperature

Hue is, of course the position on the colour wheel.  Colour temperature is not an independent characteristic so has no rating system.  Each colour on the colour wheel, will have warmer and cooler counterparts flanking it. We tend to think of the bluer colours as being cooler and the yellow-orange colours being warmer.  Reddish blues, however, are generally considered cooler than greenish blues.

It is not unusual for artists to include both warm and cool versions of each colour on their pallet. 

Tinting Strength

This also is an inherent characteristic of each pigment. It may not be as important as the others, but knowing the approximate tinting strength of each pigment does make mixing colours a lot easier. Unfortunately, there is as yet, no internationally agreed upon standard for rating tinting strength, although, one is currently being negotiated.  It simply is a characteristic that you have to determine through experience.

Saturation/intensity

This refers to the purity of the colour. Burnt Sienna is not as intense as Cadmium Red, for example.  It is duller, having a broader spectrum of colour since it contains red orange, yellow and blue. Cadmium Red, on the other hand, has a much narrower spectrum of colour making it a bright, intense colour.

This characteristic is very important in mixing colours. Burnt Sienna is very often used in mixing neutral greys or very dark colours, because of its low intensity, whereas Alizarin Crimson, a very intense colour, is often used in mixing brilliant purples.

Paint names:

Manufacturers sometimes like to give proprietary names to their paints to distinguish them fro their competitors’ products.  This practice can be confusing and sometimes actually misleading.  Grumbacher Red, for example, is actually a Napthol red.  There really is nothing wrong with this. All manufacturers do it to some degree, some a lot more than others.   When it becomes questionable is when they apply standard names to poorer grade pigments. 

There are a few naming conventions that it is good to keep in mind.  For example, most paints are named for the actual pigment used, such as Cadmium Red.  There are, however, paints that are named for their colour instead, such as Hooker’s Green, that don’t refer to any specific pigment. These are termed convenience colours. Other conventions are Hue colours, and Permanent colours.

             Pigments:

While paint names may not be a reliable indicator of quality when you are buying paint, there is a Colour Index Name Code (C.I. Name Code) that refers to the exact chemical makeup of the pigment.  The code always starts with P (for pigment), followed by one or two letters representing the colour family, eg., R for red; followed by a number.  These codes are closely regulated and no manufacturer would risk mislabeling their product. The better ones place the codes right on the paint tube.

This can give you quite a lot of information even if you don’t memorize all of the standard pigment codes.  If you want high quality paints that will give reliable, consistent results, you will want to use single pigment paints.  Making mixtures with more than 2 or 3 pigments will inevitably result in duller colours. If you start out with multiple pigment paints, the deck is already stacked against you.

Hue colours:

Ideally, paints should be made with only one pigment and there are many very strong and reliable pigments that have become the stars of the pigment team over the years. However, some are quite expensive, so manufacturers will often substitute cheaper, less reliable, pigments but still use the name of the expensive counterpart. Reputable companies will indicate this substitution by putting the word hue behind the name.  Cadmium Red Hue, for example.

The issue with hue paints is that several pigments are usually required to closely match the expensive pigment, and, while the colour may look similar, the results when mixing with other paint may be disappointing.

For some colours hue paints are unavoidable. Naples Yellow, for example, refers to a lead based pigment (PY41) that is not longer used.  Instead, two or three other pigments are combined to imitate it. For Naples Yellow, this is not usually a drawback since it is a duller colour to start with so the effects of multiple pigments are not as great.

What you may wish to watch for when buying hue colours is that not all manufacturers use the same pigment combinations and if you get familiar with the behaviour of one brand in mixtures, you may find another brand performs quite differently.  Mixing the exact colour you want is difficult enough without getting blind sided by your paints.

Convenience Colours:

Hue is generally used only when making substitutes for standard pigments.  There are paints that are not meant to substitute for standard pigments, that are colours in their own right. These are referred to as convenience colours and will always be a mixture of two or more pigments. 

Two of these are Hooker’s Green and Sap Green.  There are no Hooker’s Green or Sap Green pigments, instead the paints are a mixture of pigments usually based on either or both Viridian and Phthalo Green. In fact there are very few single pigment greens available, viridian and Phthalo Green being two of the most popular. Nearly all other greens are based on them, although recently a few more greens have hit the market. While convenience colurs can be useful, it is quite easy to mix them yourself and limit the number of paint colours you have to buy and become familiar with.

“Permanent” colours:

There is one other convention that you should be aware of, and that is colours such as “Permanent Alizarine Crimson”. True Alizarine Crimson (PR83) is notoriously fugitive (it will fade completely when exposed to sunlight for only a short time).  It still is a very popular pigment, however, and some companies still sell it. Most, however, have replaced it with one of the Quinacridone pigments. Since it is a single pigment paint, companies are reluctant to downgrade it by putting hue in front of the name so they will use the word permanent instead.  You can also purchase the same pigment under a quinacridone name.

HEALTH and SAFETY

Most of the really dangerous pigments have been taken of the shelves of paint suppliers these days.  Nevertheless, there still are a few concerns, such as the few heavy metals still in use, cadmium being one of them.  While the metal is processed in such a way that it not in a free form, some artists avoid them by using organic pigments such as the quinacridones.  (see the end of the article for a link to articles on health concerns).

PAINTING STYLE:

Your own personal painting style will also influence which pigments you use. If, for example, you intend to do a lot of floral paintings, you will want to include several intense purples and violets in your palette since these are very difficult to mix with blue and red.  On the other hand, if landscapes are your forte,  you might wish to include more earth colours, such as Naples Yellow, Indian red, the Siennas, etc.   Whatever, your interests are, you should ensure that your palette contains the colours that support them.

            What to buy

So, after all that, what should you buy?  The best advice I can give is to become familiar with pigments and paints (see internet links below). In the meantime, I suggest that you:

·      Pick one or two reputable suppliers to buy from.

·      Limit your palette to a few reliable colours and become familiar with the mixtures you can mix with them.

Listed below are three manufacturers that you can rely on and are readily available.

LIQUITEX

 One of the earliest on the market (1955).  They offer a wide range of paints including student grade paint.  They also produce excellent mediums, gessoes, and gels. They also carry a line of specialty paints.

Liquitex Professional:

·      Heavy Body:     100 colours

·      Soft Body:            89 colours

·      Ink:                        30 colours (all with lightfast artists’ pigments)

·      Paint Markers:    50 colours – may not be lightfast

·      Spray Paint:       100  colours, all lightfast artists’ pigments

·       

Liquitex Basics: Student grade paint, all safe for school environments.

·      Basics:                  48 colours. All heavy body and lightfast

·      Basics Matt:         36 colours,. All heavy body.

·       

GOLDEN

One of, if not the, best on the market. Reputed to be founded by a group who left Liquitex to go on their own. They carry a wide range of mediums, gels and specialty paint, including iridescent and fluorescent colours, but do not produce a student grade.  They are usually a bit more expensive than other brands.

·      Heavy Body acrylic:

·      Open Acrylic:  Extended drying time. Recommended for thin (< 1mm) applications since thick applications may take a very long time to dry.

·      Fluid Acrylics: Thinner acrylics. All lightfast pigments

·      High Flow Acrylics: More like ink. Lightfastness not guaranteed

WINSOR & NEWTON: One of the oldest paint companies in the business. They were the first to sell oil paints in tubes starting around 1850. Note that their Finity line of acrylic paint has been discontinued.

·      Professional:  80 colours.  No colour shift on drying,  improved (longer) drying time

·      Galeria:  60 colours.  Student grade paint.

There are many other manufacturers as well but availability can be problem.  Maimeri’s Brera line being a name that comes up often as being an excellent product.

Below is a recommended paint list. The highlighted colours would be a good starting pallet.

Paint name                C.I. Name Code         Opacity      Temperature

Cadmium Red                      PR108                        O                     Warm 

Perylene Maroon*                 PR179            T                      Cool   

Cadmium Orange                  PO20              O                     Warm

Cadmium Yellow                 PY35               O                     Warm

Lemon Yellow                      PY3                 T                      Cool

Dioxazine Purple         PV23 or PV37         ST                    Cool    

Ultramarine Blue**             PB29               T                      Warm 

Phthalo Blue (RS)         PB15:1 or PB15:6      T                      Warm

Phthalo Blue (GS)                 PB15:3           T                      Cool    

Cobalt Blue***                       PB28               ST                    Warm

Prussian Blue                                                T                      Warm

Cerulean Blue ****               PB35               O                     Cool                

                             

Viridian                                 PG18               T                      Cool

Phthalo Green (BS)             PG7                 T                      Cool    

Hooker’s Grn# PG7+PY153 or PY110 or PO49    T                    Warm

Sap Green#      PG7+PY42 or PO49 or PY150     ST                              Warm                    

Burnt Sienna                        PR101                        ST                    Warm                         

Naples Yellow#  PR108+PW6 or PO20+PW6   O                     Warm             

Yellow Ochre                        PY42               ST                    Warm

                 

                          Note : RS – Red Shade,  BS- Blue Shade.

                                        T-Transparent, ST-Semi-transparent, O-opaque

              

*This is one of the best replacements for Alizarin Crimson. Another is

Quinacridone Magenta (PR122)

** French Ultramarine Blue is usually available in a red shade (RS) or blue shade (BS).  Ultramarine blue is the workhorse of the blues.

***Cobalt Blue (PB28), is usually a greenish to mid-blue shade, but, there

is also a Cobalt Blue Deep (either PB72, PB73 or PB74), that is a violet blue shade.  A beautiful colour that cannot be matched by mixing other blues.

           

**** Cerulean Blue pigment is available in a range of shades from reddish

                  shades (PB35) to greenish shades (PB36)   Cerulean Blue Hue is generally a    

                  mix of PB15, PB2,PW6 and tends to be a mid-blue shade.

# Hooker’s Green and Sap Green are “convenience colours”.  As such, they are a mix of several pigments and therefore can vary considerably from manufacturer to manufacturer.  Naples Yellow is almost always a “Hue” (the original pigment was made from lead – PY41).

Applying Paint

As painting techniques go, there are really only two ways to apply paint; direct painting with opaque paint and glazing with transparent pigments.  Both techniques are on common practice, but direct painting is much more popular.

GLAZING:

Glazing was very popular two or three hundred years ago, and, while there are artists today who use the technique for entire paintings, it is usually applied only as one technique out of many to achieve results.

Traditionally, transparent pigments were applied in one or many layers over detailed, monochrome, value painting.  Da Vinci, when painting the Mona Lisa, is said to have applied over 50 layers of transparent paint to her face with his thumb.  Considering he was using oil paint, it must have taken quite awhile. The advantage is the illusion of incredible depth. The light penetrates all layers and some is reflected off each one to give the effect of glowing skin or peering through water.

Today, artists are more likely to use glazing on only certain parts of their paintings to achieve a sense of depth in water, for example, or often to correct the colour of part of the painting, such as applying a thin, transparent layer of blue over a background to achieve atmospheric recession.  Small amounts of paint are often mixed with clear glazing medium.

Had Da Vinci been using acrylics, he could have finished the Mona Lisa in much less time. You can usually apply a glaze within minutes of putting down the under painting.  It is one of the advantages of acrylics.

DIRECT PAINTING:

Direct painting proceeds just as it sounds. You apply the colours you want, where you want them. Some sort of preliminary drawing is usually done on the canvas, whether it be a pencil sketch, detailed or otherwise, a simple line drawing with a neutral colour, or a basic value pattern application with a neutral colour.

 Of course, it isn’t that simple. Much layering of paint takes place,. With oil paint, this often requires painting wet-in-wet.  Skies and background may be painted in and mid and foreground elements painted over top.  Granted, the background would normally be laid in with thinner paint, making it easier to paint over it. Or, under layers of paint can be scraped off before painting in a foreground element.

When using oil paints, the advantage is that blending and soft edges are easy to achieve.  For the same reason, fine detail is hard to achieve unless the paint is allowed to dry first, sometimes taking many days. That is where acrylic again comes to the rescue.  Because it dries so fast, it is not necessary to avoid building up layers of paint, because you don’t have to paint wet-in-wet if you don’t wish to.  Just wait a few minutes and you can easily paint over previous layers, even with fine detail. It is not uncommon to see artists using acrylic in this layering manner, with great results.

Layering can also be a trap.  The first users of oil paint, generally applied it as a glaze requiring elaborate under painting.  Paintings were carefully designed and planned long before paint hit the canvas, and the glazing method meant that later changes, while possible, and often done, could be difficult.  Later artists turned to the direct method of painting partially to overcome this difficulty.  

Successful painting still requires good preparation, usually on the form of thumbnail sketches, but direct painting allows for more flexibility.  You are not tied to the plan so that the painting can develop in different directions as you proceed.  This can be important since things often look a lot different than you expected when colour hits the canvas.

This is where layering with acrylics can be a trap.  Because of the nature of oil paint, early stages of the painting are more likely to be kept loose, with colour and value patterns being well established before you start putting in details.  Since acrylics dry so quickly, however,  it is very tempting to start putting in details before colour and value patterns have been well established.  Once put in,  it takes courage to paint over them in order to correct background colour or shape, etc.

I, personally, find this to be the biggest problem with acrylics. It is so easy to paint in skies, then layer in the background, foreground etc., all the while dropping in a lot of fine detail along the way. When you finally realize that the sky is too dark, or too light, or the wrong colour,  it is too late to do anything about it.

Layering thus tends to neutralize the flexibility of direct painting.  The more I paint, the more I realize that the value pattern contributes most to the success of a painting. Colour is second.  If you get these two elements right, the painting will work.  Leaving the details to the very last, while you work out the important elements is best thing you can do to ensure a successful painting.                                        

EDGES/BLENDING

Of course, soft edges and blending s more difficult with acrylic paint, but they are achievable.  If you are going to use the layering approach, you can achieve very nice blending effects in your sky and background by first wetting the canvas, then quickly applying a layer of white gesso. This will give you about 15 or 20 minutes of working time during which you can paint in nice fluffy clouds, soft edged back grounds etc.

Misting the canvas with clear water will also make soft edges and blending easier. With both of these methods, working quickly is important.

Another method is to use hog’s bristle brushes and scrub the paint on with the side of the brush. This works quite well, but I certainly recommend not using your best brushes in this manner.

With more and more companies extending the drying time, soft edges and blending will become less of a problem. Golden’s Open Acrylics can remain workable for 12 or more hours, bringing them in line with water-soluble oils.

Grounds

Canvas, of course, is the traditional ground, but acrylic paint allows you to paint on almost anything. (note that the word “ground” can refer to either the support , ie canvas, or the surface preparation). You can also use MDF board, watercolour paper, cloth, and a host of other surfaces.  The one thing you should not paint on is oil paint, since acrylic does not stick well to greasy or oily surfaces.

Canvas

If you wish to purchase ready-made canvases, buy the same thing you would use for oils.  The cheaper ones, however, are generally not very satisfactory, especially in the larger sizes, the main problem being that the wooden stretcher frames are far too light and tend to warp.

I also find that the primers are often too shiny and slippery making that first layer of paint a little difficult to handle.

I buy raw canvas from Mitchell’s Fabrics in Winnipeg. Their prices are very good, around $6 to $12 a yard, depending on the canvas weight etc.  They sell both cotton and linen canvases and pre-primed canvas, which I avoid since it very difficult to stretch onto a frame. I make my own stretcher frames,  and while it is time-consuming, it is economical and I can make them in the size and strength that I want.

MDF board

Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) is made from very fine sawdust. It has a very smooth surface and will not warp. (this is NOT Hardboard or Particleboard).  It is made in various thicknesses, unfortunately, the thinnest I have been able to get here is 8mm, nearly ½ “ thick.  It works well for “canvases” up to about 18 or 20” by 24 or 20”, beyond that it is just too heavy.  Nevertheless, it has become a very popular ground for oil painting.

It can be used in two ways, either as it is, or covered in canvas.  To apply the canvas, first cut it to size, allowing for about 1 ½” - 2” extra on each side (i.e. 3 – 4” larger in each dimension than the board.)  Apply a thick coat of acrylic house paint (white is best) to one side of the canvas and the board, then lay the canvas, paint side down, onto the painted board and smooth it out.

Fold the extra over the edge and on to the back, apply paint to the board and press down the canvas, making hospital corners at each corner.  I generally use one small tack on the back at each of the corners to hold the canvas tight until the paint dries.

Allow it to dry for at least several days before priming the canvas.

Priming:

Priming canvas

Priming canvas for acrylic is a lot simpler than for oil paints.  The oil in regular oil paint will deteriorate the canvas over time, requiring the canvas to be well sealed with sizing first, then covered with three coats of gesso.

For acrylic painting, you can simply paint the canvas with a good quality house paint if you wish.  An advantage of that method is that it is fast. The house paint dries quickly and you will be able to paint on it the same day. (Since colour is not a big issue here, I buy house paint for priming at the Re-Store on Archibald St in Winnipeg, you can get a gallon of very high quality paint for $6)

Even if you intend to use Gesso as a ground, that first coat of acrylic house paint is a good idea since it cut down on the amount of expensive gesso you need to use.

One caution, let each coat dry for at least a day before applying the next one.

Priming MDF board

MDF board can be primed the same as a regular canvas ground, whether its bare or canvas covered.  There is one difference, however, and that’s drying time.

We normally assume that acrylic dries in a matter of minutes, and, actually, the surface does dry fast.  However, the body of the paint may take days to dry, especially for thick layers.

The first time I primed canvas covered MDF board, I did it all in one day. I attached the canvas using acrylic paint as described above, then I immediately applied a coat to the surface of the canvas, and, before the day was out, I applied two coats of acrylic gesso.

Two weeks later when I tried to use them, they just sucked the water out of the paints, I couldn’t paint on them.  What had happened, was that all those layers of paint and gesso added up to a very thick layer of acrylic paint, which dried quickly on the surface but not all the way through.  Since the MDF board itself is not porous like canvas, the moisture couldn’t easily escape.  At first I blamed the problem on the gesso, but then, finally tumbled to what had happened when, over a month later, I noticed that the surface felt cold to the touch, a sure sign that the paint was not dry underneath.

So, when priming MDF board, be sure to allow lots of drying time between coats.

Water colour paper

You can do pretty much the same things on watercolour paper with acrylic paint that you would do with watercolour paints.  Not all acrylic paints are transparent, of course, but then, neither are all watercolour paints.

One major advantage of using acrylic paints as a water media, is that once dry, they are no longer water soluble so that subsequent layers will not dissolve previous layers.

Cloth/clothing

Acrylic paints are quite flexible when dry so that, if you wish, you can paint on T-shirts and other fabrics. Special mediums are available for fabric painting that increase the flexibility.

Brushes

Types

The old days of hog’s bristle and sable being your only options are long-gone.  Now we have more synthetic fibers than I could list here, as well as squirrel and mongoose, which are both available as natural or synthetic.   Some even offer solid blade type “brushes” made from silicone.

My advice; buy the best you can afford, and take very good care of them.  If you have never used a high quality mongoose brush, you’re in for a very pleasant experience.

Are acrylic brushes different than oil painting brushes? No, you use the same brushes, its just that you probably will use the softer brushes more often with acrylic than you would with oil.  It’s pretty hard to push thick oil paint around with a soft mongoose brush, but then, it would also be difficult to get a decent oil glaze with a rough bristle brush.

You need a good range of brushes.  You certainly don’t want to be scrubbing paint onto rough canvas with a $50 soft mongoose brush, so you need the bristle brushes as well as the soft synthetics.

So, buy the best, and buy them big. Using too small brushes is a bad habit to get into.

There are, of course, flats, brights, rounds, filberts, liners and fan brushes.

Care of brushes

Brush care is one big difference between oil and acrylic.

Get into the habit of using a shallow try with a bit of water in the bottom to lay your brushes in when not using them.  I tend to use a lot of brushes, so naturally some of them may sit for a long time unused but full of paint. Once the paint dries on you $50 brush, it’s there for good.

Also DON’T stand you brushes in a jar of water. This may be ok for stiff bristle brushes, but the bristles on softer brushes can easily be permanently be permanently bent aster standing vertically only a short time.

When you’re done painting for the day, wash your brushes immediately.  I find them easier to clean than when using oils, even though I use water-soluble oils.

You clean them the same as will oils. Use a bar of Sunlight soap. Soap the brush, work it against your hand, rinse, do it again, etc.  I have used dishwater detergent, but I have a suspicion that it is harmful to some fibers so now I stick to milder Sunlight soap.

Once clean, do a final rinse and lay the brushes on a slant so that any water remaining will run out down the bristles and not into the handle.

Tip: one good tip I recently learned, is to dip the brush into a jar of water and hair conditioner mixture after washing, then squeeze out the excess, shaping the fibers, and lay it down to dry.  The hair conditioner makes it much easier to clean your brushes the next time since the paint is less likely to stick to the fibers.

Suppliers

I used to buy all different makes of brushes. Now, I stick to two suppliers, Princeton and Escoda .  I know that I will always get a quality brush from either of these folks.  They can be expensive, but I have paid a lot more for  much inferior rushes.

Web sites to check out:

https://www.currys.com  A great art store in Eastern Ontario that does most of their sales over the internet.  My first preference for art supplies.

http://princetonbrush.com    great brushes

http://www.artistsemporium.net  Good art store in Winnipeg

http://www.handprint.com If you want to know more about pigments and colour theory, this is the place.  Be prepared to be overwhelmed.

http://www.artiscreation.com/Color_index_names.html    

Another great site for pigment information

http://www.liquitex.com/heavybodycolorchart/   Liquitex paints

http://www.winsornewton.com  The Winsor & Newton site

http://www.goldenpaints.com/products/color/index.php The Golden site. A good site with lots of information about their products.