Acrylic Painting Tips

Acrylic Painting Tips

I’ve been a painter for 30+ years. Here’s what I’ve learned about acrylics.

• The acrylics today are of a much better quality than 30 years ago. However, you still get what you pay for.
• The liquid paints in the craft stores are much less expensive than the tube paints. This means that there is more filler than pigment. Liquid paints are fine for crafts. They don’t cover as well as the tubes due to the low amount of pigment.
•  There are student grade tube paints and artist grade. Again, you get what you pay for with respect to filler versus pigment and how well they cover.
• Acrylics can be used on almost any surface. I have painted on canvases, paper, milk cans, walls and even egg shells.
• Use an under or basecoat when using acrylics. I use my middle value. I paint it as a light wash so I can still see my drawing below. This helps to anchor the subsequent layers of paint to whatever I am painting on. It really helps on metals and walls.
• I mix my shade color at the same time I use my middle value and apply it next to the middle. If you apply wet acrylic on top of wet you will remove all the paint! It’s easier to apply it side by side, wait until it is almost dry and then blend.
• With highlights I apply them after everything has dried and use water to blend the highlights in.
• Get a spray bottle with a fine mist and mist your palette occasionally to keep the paints from drying out. Acrylics dry very fast and you don’t want to waste your paints.
• Make sure you keep your brushes in water or clean them thoroughly before they dry or you will never get the paint out.
• Acrylics are forgiving so if you make a mistake, let it completely dry and then just paint over it.