| The acrylic painting medium is a fairly new | | | | use an additional brush dampened with water. |
| addition to the various painting mediums | | | | Use one brush to apply the paint and |
| available to todays artists. It has been | | | | immediately soften the edge with the other |
| around since the 1950's and has been | | | | brush that has been dampened with the water. |
| continually under development and refinement | | | | |
| ever since. | | | | Blending Opaque Colors |
| | | | |
| Acrylic paint is highly favored amongst | | | | With watercolor effects, the acrylic paint is |
| artists because of its wonderful versatility. | | | | applied in transparent washes. With the |
| It can be applied thickly as an impasto | | | | opaque technique the paint layers are |
| having rich texture or in washes mimicking | | | | non-transparent. Blending opaque acrylic |
| the characteristics of watercolor. | | | | colors can be a bit tricky as you are kind of |
| | | | pressed for time. It is important therefore |
| Another likable characteristic of acrylic | | | | to only work on areas that you know you will |
| paint is its permanence. Acrylic paint is | | | | have enough time to blend. To blend two |
| not susceptible to yellowing or hardening | | | | colors, first paint a block of each color |
| with age. With acrylic paint, the artist | | | | side by side on your support. Where the two |
| does not need to be concerned with the order | | | | colors join paint down that line with a clean |
| the paint is applied or other special | | | | damp brush to soften the edges. To blend the |
| techniques that ensure the paint film remains | | | | colors even further, move the blending brush |
| free from cracking. So it can be said that | | | | from side to side or up and down, until the |
| acrylic paint is much easier to use than oil | | | | desired blending is achieved. |
| paint. | | | | |
| | | | Sgraffito Technique |
| Yet another characteristic that invites new | | | | |
| artists to this medium is its fast drying | | | | Sgraffito is a scratching technique. It got |
| time. Since acrylic paint dries so quickly, | | | | its name from the Italian word graffiare |
| colors can be applied and overlaid quicker | | | | which literally means to scratch. Just as |
| than with oil painting. | | | | the name implies it involves scratching into |
| | | | the surface of the wet paint which reveals |
| There are however a few downsides to the | | | | either the ground or layer of dry color |
| quick drying time of acrylic paints: | | | | underneath. There are a number of different |
| | | | tools that can be used for this technique. |
| 1) The paint will not remain workable for | | | | Tools like screwdrivers or the sharpened end |
| very long, so you have to work quickly. | | | | of an old paintbrush handle should suffice. |
| | | | It really depends on the support you are |
| 2) The fast drying time of acrylics can also | | | | using. For instance, a screwdriver may not |
| ruin brushes if the brushes are not cleaned | | | | be the best tool if you are using a panel as |
| immediately. | | | | a support. The hard metal may damage the |
| | | | panel, so you would need to use a softer |
| 3) Acrylic paint is not the best medium for | | | | tool. |
| direct painting outdoors, especially on a | | | | |
| bright sunny day. Whatever paint you put out | | | | Using a Squeegee |
| on your palette will begin to dry quickly and | | | | |
| form a skin over the surface of the paint | | | | A regular squeegee that you can purchase at |
| making it very difficult to work with. | | | | any hardware or auto store can create some |
| | | | interesting effects when used with acrylic |
| Watercolor Effects | | | | paint. First you would squeeze out some |
| | | | paint blobs directly along one edge of your |
| Acrylic paint works wonderfully as a | | | | support. You can layout whatever colors you |
| transparent medium, similar to watercolor. | | | | wish. Then with one fluid motion you would |
| Acrylics do have an advantage over | | | | drag the paint across the support with your |
| watercolors. You can lay out a number of thin | | | | squeegee, which will smear and mix the paint |
| washes over one another without fear of | | | | and create some very unique and interesting |
| disturbing the colors underneath. You must | | | | designs. You may need to alter your squeegee |
| wait for one layer to dry completely before | | | | a bit as the rubber blade that comes with |
| applying another of course. Once each layer | | | | most squeegees may not be rigid enough to |
| dries it becomes insoluble in water. The | | | | drag the paint. You can remove the rubber |
| only disadvantage to using acrylics as a | | | | blade and in its place glue in a regular |
| watercolor medium is the difficulty in | | | | wooden ruler. This will give you a flat |
| modifying the color. Once acrylic paint | | | | sturdy edge to manipulate the paint. |
| begins to dry it becomes rather difficult to | | | | |
| work with. One of the biggest problems is | | | | I hope you have enjoyed this article on |
| the tendency for washes to dry with unwanted | | | | acrylic painting techniques. Take some time |
| hard edges. You can avoid this problem in | | | | today to experiment with these techniques and |
| one of two ways. You can either dampen the | | | | have fun. Happy Painting! |
| paper before the paint is applied or you can | | | | |