Painting With Acrylic

I have been using acrylic paints for years as an underpainting for my oil paintings. I'd prep a blank canvas with thin layers of acrylic, in either a cool or warm color depending on my subject. I was hesitant to use acrylic as a primary medium due to their quick drying time. However, in the last five years I've been playing and experimenting with them more. The reason for this came about because of two very insistent students wanting to learn how to paint with acrylic. I'm very grateful to those two pushy students for I am now enjoying acrylic paints as much as oils and have become fascinated with their versatility. In the beginning achieving good results was a huge challenge for me. The longer I worked with them the more fun and exciting they became. I'm enjoying the ability to make my acrylic paintings look like watercolors on paper or an oil painting on canvas and everything in between.

When teaching acrylic painting, I often demonstrate the effects of adding various mediums to achieve certain looks. Such as moulding paste and heavy gel mediums to add volume to the paint, hyde glue or crackling paste for cracking the paint and sand mixed into gesso for a rough texture or to sculpt a 3D image. I also demonstrate how various papers can be used to give painting surfaces texture. My students are often in awe and excited with the results and eager to apply the techniques to their own paintings.

Another appealing aspect of acrylics is the low cost for start-up supplies. Many of my beginning students choose to start with acrylics because of this. My supply list for beginners is very simple and affordable. I start them out with the three primaries plus black and white, two brushes, a flat and a round, and their choice of watercolor paper or canvas board. All other mediums and additives are items they can purchase as their budgets allow. Since many of my students are children, the parents are very happy with this approach.