How to paint with acrylics?
Quick Answer
To paint with acrylics, gather essential supplies like heavy body acrylic paints (e.g., Liquitex Basics), various brushes (flat, round, filbert), an 8x10 inch stretched canvas, a palette, and water containers. Squeeze dime-sized amounts of paint onto your palette, mix colors with a brush, and apply paint in thin layers, allowing 10-15 minutes for each layer to dry before adding the next, then clean brushes immediately with warm water and mild soap.
Understanding Acrylic Paints and Their Properties
Acrylic paints are a versatile, fast-drying medium made from pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion, making them soluble in water when wet but water-resistant and flexible when dry. This quick drying time, typically 5 to 15 minutes depending on paint thickness and environmental humidity, allows for rapid layering and glazing without long waits, differentiating them significantly from oil paints which can take days or weeks to dry.
There are several types of acrylics, each with distinct properties for specific artistic applications. Heavy body acrylics, such as Golden Heavy Body or Liquitex Professional Heavy Body, possess a thick, buttery consistency similar to oil paint, retaining brushstrokes and excellent for impasto techniques where texture is desired. Fluid acrylics, like Golden Fluid Acrylics, have a thinner, ink-like consistency, ideal for smooth washes, staining, and detailed work without needing much water dilution, which can weaken pigment.
Understanding these properties is crucial because it dictates how you approach your painting. For example, the quick drying time means you must work efficiently, keep your brushes moist, and clean them promptly to prevent paint from hardening in the bristles. The water-solubility when wet means you can easily thin your paints with water or acrylic mediums like Liquitex Flow-Aid for different effects, from transparent glazes to opaque, textured surfaces.
How to Paint with Acrylics Specifically: A Step-by-Step Guide
First, gather your essential supplies to ensure a smooth painting session. You will need a set of student-grade heavy body acrylic paints like Liquitex Basics or Winsor & Newton Galeria, typically including primary colors (Cadmium Red Hue, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue), Titanium White, and Mars Black. Acquire a basic brush set containing a #12 flat brush, a #6 round brush, and a #8 filbert brush, all with synthetic bristles suitable for acrylics. Prepare a surface such as an 8x10 inch stretched canvas or a 9x12 inch sheet of 98lb Canson XL Mixed Media paper, two water containers (one for initial rinse, one for cleaner water), a roll of Viva paper towels, and a non-absorbent palette like a ceramic plate or a tear-off paper palette.
Next, set up your workspace by placing a protective covering, such as old newspapers or a plastic sheet, over your table. Squeeze a dime-sized amount of each desired color onto your palette, leaving ample space between colors for mixing. Dip your #12 flat brush into the first water container to dampen it, then blot excess water on a paper towel. Load a small amount of Titanium White onto the brush, then pick up a small amount of Cadmium Red Hue and mix them on the palette to create a light pink, observing how the colors blend.
Begin painting by applying thin layers. For an initial wash, mix a small amount of Ultramarine Blue with water in a 2:1 paint-to-water ratio to create a translucent layer, applying it evenly across a section of your canvas with the #12 flat brush. Allow this layer to dry for approximately 10-15 minutes, or until it is no longer cool to the touch. Once dry, you can apply subsequent layers, using less water for more opaque coverage or mixing colors directly on the canvas for blended effects. For details, switch to your #6 round brush, loading only the tip with paint for precise lines. If you desire texture, apply heavy body paint directly from the tube with a palette knife or a fully loaded #8 filbert brush.
Throughout your session, maintain clean brushes by frequently rinsing them in the first water container to remove most of the paint, then transferring to the second, cleaner water container for a thorough rinse. Blot dry with a paper towel. This prevents color contamination and paint from drying on the bristles. Once you have completed your painting, immediately clean all brushes thoroughly with warm water and a mild soap like The Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver. Work the soap into the bristles, rinse until the water runs clear, reshape the bristles, and lay brushes flat or hang them bristle-down to dry, preventing water from seeping into the ferrule and damaging the handle.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
One frequent error is allowing paint to dry in your brushes, which can permanently stiffen the bristles and render the brush unusable. Many people do this because they get engrossed in their painting and forget to rinse their tools, but consistently rinsing brushes in water every 5-10 minutes and performing a thorough cleaning with brush soap immediately after a session will prevent this issue. Never leave a brush standing bristle-down in water for extended periods, as this will bend the bristles and can swell the wooden handle, loosening the ferrule.
Another common mistake is diluting acrylic paint with too much water, which can break down the binder and result in a chalky, weak color that lacks vibrancy and adhesion. People often do this to achieve a watercolor-like effect or to make the paint spread further, but a better approach is to use specific acrylic mediums like Liquitex Flow-Aid or Golden Fluid Medium for thinning. These mediums maintain the paint's integrity, ensuring consistent color saturation and proper adhesion to the surface.
Applying paint layers too thickly too quickly, especially in areas of heavy impasto, can lead to cracking as the paint dries unevenly. This happens because the outer layer dries and shrinks faster than the inner layers. To avoid this, build up thick areas in multiple thin to medium layers, allowing each layer to cure for at least 30-60 minutes before applying the next. For very thick applications, consider incorporating an acrylic gel medium, such as Liquitex Heavy Gel Medium, which adds body and flexibility, reducing the risk of cracking.
Many beginners fail to properly prepare their painting surface, leading to poor paint adhesion or an uneven finish. For instance, painting directly on an unprimed canvas or slick surface can cause the paint to soak in unevenly or peel over time. Always apply 2-3 thin coats of acrylic gesso, like Liquitex Gesso, to your canvas or wood panel, sanding lightly with 220-grit sandpaper between coats for a smooth, consistent surface that will accept paint beautifully and enhance color vibrancy.
Overworking wet paint, especially when trying to blend multiple colors, frequently results in muddy or dull hues. This occurs because the quick-drying nature of acrylics means that colors start to set quickly, and continued blending after this point merely mixes the pigments into an unappealing gray-brown. To prevent this, work in defined sections, use a limited number of strokes for blending, and allow layers to dry before adding new colors adjacent to them. Alternatively, use a blending medium or a small amount of acrylic retarder, like Golden Open Thinner, to extend the open working time by 10-30 minutes.
Expert Tips for Best Results
Utilize a stay-wet palette, such as the Masterson Sta-Wet Palette, to significantly extend the working time of your acrylic paints from minutes to several hours or even days. This specific palette features a sponge and special permeable paper that keeps paint moist, preventing premature drying and allowing you to return to the same mixed colors without waste. This is particularly beneficial for complex pieces that require extensive color matching or for artists who prefer a longer blending window.
Master the art of glazing by incorporating acrylic glazing liquid mediums, like Golden Glazing Liquid or Liquitex Glazing Medium, into your practice. Mix a small amount of highly diluted paint (approximately 1 part paint to 5-10 parts medium) to create transparent, luminous layers that build up color depth and subtle shifts. Apply these thin glazes in multiple layers, allowing each layer to dry completely for about 15-20 minutes, to achieve rich, optical color mixing and smooth transitions, a technique often seen in classical oil painting.
Always work from thin to thick layers, especially when building up a complex composition. Start with a thin, diluted underpainting using fluid acrylics or heavily watered-down heavy body paints to establish your basic shapes and values. Once this initial layer is dry (typically 10 minutes), gradually apply thicker, more opaque layers of paint. This approach ensures proper adhesion between layers, prevents cracking, and allows for easier correction in the early stages, while reserving thick, textured applications for the final details and highlights.
Experiment with specific acrylic additives like flow improvers or retarders to manipulate the paint's properties to your advantage. A flow improver, such as Liquitex Flow-Aid, breaks down the surface tension of water, allowing paint to spread smoothly and evenly without losing pigment intensity, perfect for staining or watercolor effects. An acrylic retarder, like Golden Open Thinner or Liquitex Slow-Dri Fluid Retarder, significantly slows down the drying time of standard acrylics by 15-30 minutes, giving you more time for blending and wet-on-wet techniques without switching to Open Acrylics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What specific brushes are best for beginners painting with acrylics?
For beginners, a core set of synthetic brushes is ideal due to their durability and ability to handle acrylics without absorbing too much water. Start with a #12 flat brush for broad strokes, a #6 round brush for details and lines, and a #8 filbert brush for soft edges and blending. Specific brands like Princeton Velvetouch or Winsor & Newton Cotman are excellent choices for their quality and affordability.
How do I prevent my acrylic paints from drying too quickly on the palette?
To prevent rapid drying, use a specific stay-wet palette like the Masterson Sta-Wet Palette, which uses a sponge and permeable paper to keep paints moist for hours or days. Alternatively, you can spritz your paints lightly with a fine mist of water from a spray bottle every 10-15 minutes or add a few drops of an acrylic retarder, such as Golden Open Thinner, directly to your paint piles on a regular palette.
Can I mix acrylics with other types of paint, like watercolors or oils?
No, you should not mix acrylics with watercolors or oils directly. Acrylics are polymer-based and are incompatible with oil paints, which are oil-based, leading to cracking or peeling. While you can paint acrylics over dry oil paint if the oil paint is fully cured (which can take 6-12 months), and you can use watercolors as an underpainting for acrylics, mixing them directly will compromise the archival quality and stability of both mediums.
What's the best way to clean my acrylic brushes to make them last longer?
The best way to clean acrylic brushes for longevity is to rinse them thoroughly in two separate water containers during painting, then immediately after your session, clean them with warm water and a specialized brush soap like The Master's Brush Cleaner and Preserver. Work the soap into the bristles to remove all paint residue, rinse until the water runs clear, reshape the brush head, and dry them flat or bristle-down to prevent water from damaging the ferrule and handle.
How long does it take for an acrylic painting to fully cure and be ready for varnishing?
While acrylic paints are touch-dry in 5-15 minutes, they require a full curing period to completely harden and release all residual moisture before varnishing, which typically takes 24 hours to 2 weeks, depending on the thickness of the paint layers and environmental humidity. For very thick impasto applications, it's safer to wait 1-2 months to ensure complete curing and prevent the varnish from sticking to or cracking the underlying paint.