WORKING IN ACRYLICS

Working in Acrylics

Among all the painting mediums, acrylics seem to be the poor cousin.

Oil and watercolour painters have hundreds years of tradition between them but acrylic painters and paints don't have the same romantic history, having only got off the ground in the 1960s.

One thing we know about acrylics is that they will last. The late great Canadian artist Robert Genn, noted the paintings he did in oils 30 years ago were showing signs of yellowing but acrylics done at the same time looked liked they had just been painted.

I have painted a lot in both mediums and while painting in oil is very nice, there is the smell, particularly from the things you use with oils. And it's not just the smell but what it may do to your health.

Oils are wonderful for blending and herein is one of the perceived drawbacks. We can be roped-in to blending more than we need and it can all lead to extra fiddling when we should have called it a day.

The long drying time with oil can be good or bad and using quick-drying mediums, as I do, means paying a terrible price in fumes. An artist is often unaware of the fumes and it takes a visitor to the studio to point them out.

The quick drying aspect of acrylics are attractive to many like myself, but it does put others off.

I've found that acrylics are best painted quickly, much like a watercolour. If you are taking a few weeks or even days to do a painting and need to go back to touch something up, you can find it hard to match the colours because acrylics dry a little darker. It is something you get used to.

Acrylics are best painted with flow and being a water-based paint, it's not hard to do.  They really suit artists who are a bit bold and broad in their strokes and any blending can be done while everything is still wet. This broad paint application can eradicate the harsh sharpness that acrylic paintings can have.

Acrylics also come into their own during plein air painting.  Their quick-drying ways are perfect for taking paintings home or selling them off the easel.

Palettes that are airtight and close will keep the paint alive for weeks and weeks. My artist wife Tina uses a round flat Tupperware container and the paint is always wet!

All artists quality acrylics are good and often you will gravitate to one brand. I prefer the Atelier brand, mainly because it can be re-actived  within a reasonable time on the canvas with a little atomiser water spray. Open palettes can be kept fresh with the same method.

If you haven't tried acrylics yet, why not give them a go. One of the big advantages is they are very forgiving!

Happy acrylicing.

Mike Barr

Becalmed - an acrylic from some years back even though it has the feel of an oil painting.
This becalming is something I witnessed about 10 years ago at Victor Harbor, it was amazing.