Acrylic Paint - Painters and Acrylic

Painters and Acrylic

Prior to the 19th century, artists mixed their own paints which allowed them to achieve the desired color, thickness, and to control the use of fillers, if any. While suitable media and raw pigments are available for the individual production of acrylic paint, due to the fast drying time and other technical issues, hand mixing may not be practical.

Acrylic painters modify the appearance, hardness, flexibility, texture, and other characteristics of the paint surface using acrylic media or by simply adding water. Watercolor and oil painters also use various media, but the range of acrylic media is much greater. Acrylics have the ability to bond to many different surfaces, and media can be used to adjust their binding characteristics. Acrylic can be used on paper, canvas and a range of other materials. However, their use on engineered woods such as medium-density fiberboard can be problematic because of the porous nature of those surfaces. In these cases it is recommended that the surface should be previously sealed with an appropriate sealer. They can be applied in thin layers or washes creating effects that resemble watercolors and other water-based media. They can also be used to build thick layers of paint: gel and molding paste media are sometimes used to create paintings with relief features that are literally sculptural. Acrylic paints are also used in hobbies such as: train, car, house, and human models. People who make such models use acrylic paint to build facial features on dolls or raised details on other types of models.

Acrylic paints are the most common paints used in grattage. Grattage is a surrealist technique that became popular with the release of acrylic paint. Acrylics are used for this purpose because they easily scrape or peel from a surface.