What does acrylic paint consist of, we may well ask? The right answer to this being a consistency of mixed resin and the pigments. Altogether it is a synthetic type mix. The paint is soluble with water, although it dries quickly, making it possible to use for many projects. Fairly pliable too, as they can in fact be used just like oils and watercolours, taken straight from the tube itself.
They are of a thick consistency and are slightly creamy when you take paint from the tube, but they can also give much fluidity if you first dilute them with water and then they become transparent. However, if you use them with other acrylic mediums, you can obtain different effective results, so it is very easy to use by old and young alike, with a short drying time.
Pop artists of the 60’s used them to good effect. They were used to portray cartoon characters, comic strips and advertising hoarding boards, naming just a few. They not only caught our attention by their vividness, but it helped that they were permanent.
The other advantage, of course, when you work with them, is you have good intense colour, they are waterproof and you find the paint does not seem to yellow. Whatever you paint on, do make sure that you have first applied an acrylic primer to it. Then the paint should be fine on any number of surfaces. Only exception being, if they tend to be a bit oily.
It is so much better if you decide to prime your painting surface first, before you try painting on it. You just need a little patience while you wait for it to dry. Often times you may like to add extra medium to your paints to produce another texture type, rather than an even flat effect.
David Hockney, I recall, I am sure used to use the paints like oils. Many comic strips, advertisements, were produced by using acrylics. Van Gogh himself obviously used his paint very thickly from the tube.
If you want to start with a basic palette, you do not really need many colour shades. As you can always mix them to create other colours. A few here, I suggest, should suffice. You may choose your own shade of the colour named, but basically you will need a black, white, red, yellow, blue and probably a dark green.
This paint is used in many fields as it is so very adaptable, so it is not surprising so much of it is sold in our art shops. It is also important to remember to always clean your brushes after use.
Paintings are everywhere today, in your bank, offices, dentist etc. We love them in our homes too. At the present time abstracts are very, very popular and most of these are done with acrylics.
There are so many abstracts and collages around, wherever you travel, which have been achieved with acrylic paint. This being the case, as long as we have art supplies, we will have many more up and coming artists in the years to come!
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