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Acrylics
Acrylic paint is fast-drying paint and can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolour or an oil painting.
Acrylics are sometimes used in place of watercolours because acrylics dry closer to the desired colour (slightly darker, usually), while watercolours dry lighter (and often unpredictably, especially for beginning artists).
Acrylics can also be used as an alternative to oil paint because acrylics dry much faster than oil paints. Oil paints, can take a very long time to dry. Acrylic paints can achieve an oil-paint-like effect, and do so in much less time.
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Applied to look like oil paints, acrylics are somewhat limited due to the superior colour range of oil paints, and the fact that acrylic paints dry to a shiny, smooth effect--not surprising since acrylic paints are, basically, plastic.Acrylic painters modify the appearance, hardness, flexibility, texture, and other characteristics of the paint surface using acrylic mediums.
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THe example above is a painting of a dog step by step on mount/matt board. You can see that it is best to wrok form dark to light bulding up your layers gradually. The final details can then be added with a fine pointed brush.
The example left shows how you can create vibrant abckground in acylic. it is the artists choice for many abstract paintiners as it gives the vibrancy and the fast drying element too.
Watercolour and oil painters also use mediums, but the range of acrylic mediums is much greater. Acrylics have the ability to bond to many diverse surfaces, and mediums can be used to adjust their binding characteristics.
Mediums can change the sheen from gloss to matte. They can be used to build thick layers, and even to add iridescence or texture to the surface. Gel and moulding paste mediums are sometimes used to create paintings with relief features that are literally sculptural.
Acrylic paintings, ideally, should be treated as if they are as different from oil painting as watercolour is different from oil painting. There are techniques which are available only to acrylic painters, and there are also restrictions which are unique to acrylic painting. Therefore, likening an acrylic painting to an oil painting (or to a watercolour painting) is a false comparison. |
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