Other Acrylic Materials

Brushes for Acrylics:  Usually, the same brushes can be used for oil and acrylic painting. Brushes for watercolor will be labeled as such. There are two basic kinds of oil/acrylic brushes: bristle and "sable" brushes. Bristle brushes are harder and off-white colored; "sable" are brown and much softer.  For more information and tips about brushes, check out our pages on oil color brushes.

Painting Surfaces:  Basically, you can paint acrylics on anything you want.  If you want to use paper, choose a heavier weight paper, so that it doesn’t buckle and warp from the liquid.  More commonly, paintings are done on wood, masonite, or canvas. You can also use illustration board as a very good alternative.

Wood has a nice grain texture that can add interest  to your paintings. If you intend to paint on wood, seal it first with either acrylic medium or gesso.  Without sealing, the wood simply soaks up liquid and trying to paint can be extremely frustrating.

Masonite:  The advantage of masonite is that it provides a nice smooth surface for painting on.  When buying plain masonite straight from a hardware store, make sure that you prime the surface with gesso.  Masonite contains tannins that will eat away at your painting over time if you don’t prepare it properly. Masonite purchased from an art store will usually have a white layer painted over the surface already eliminating the need for priming.

Paintings done on masonite need handling with care, as the paint can scratch easily. Be wary of using large pieces of masonite (over 3 feet), as they warp and bend with time.  Large masonite pieces will need mounting onto heavy wooden crossbars or something similar.

The best idea is to experiment with different surfaces so you can see for yourself the effects and various results you can get.

Palettes:  The main requirement for acrylic paint palettes is that they are waterproof. You don’t need anything fancy for a palette, as long as you have something that is waterproof and sturdy enough to hold up under your paints.

Palettes in wood, plastic, glass and metal are usually cleaned after each use. These palettes of different materials come in various colors; The color of the palette affects the way you see the color. Either white or some other light to medium neutral color is usually best, you will soon develop your own preference.

If you are painting on a gessoed canvas (white) it is advisable to use a white palette, as this will enable you to judge more accurately how the color will appear next to the white of the canvas.

It is best to clean your palette after each painting session.  However, if you do let acrylic paints dry on your palette, you can soak it in fabric softener and it will clean up like magic.

Acrylic Painting Mediums:   Painting Mediums are used with acrylic paint to manipulate the consistency and properties of paint for an infinite variety of applications and techniques. You can buy ready-mixed mediums in a variety of forms. Read the description on the bottle to see exactly what a medium does.

A ready-made mid-viscosity medium is available in several brands, and is the most popular medium in acrylic painting. It is used with the paint to dilute the viscosity and blend colours without losing pigment intensity. This medium allows paint to spread over a surface for more blendable gradations of colour and fast glazing techniques. It is especially useful for working wet- in- dry techniques.

Other mediums are also available, such as gels designed to exaggerate structure, increase gloss and sharpen textural edges of the paint in acrylic painting. Check out your local art supplies store for the various mediums available in your region.

Many artists simply use water to dilute acrylic paints, or mix them with a little white to make opaque colors. If acrylic paints are diluted with water, they can be used like watercolours or for airbrushing.

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More Articles on Painting With Acrylics

• Acrylics: Introduction to Painting With Acrylics
• Acrylics: Acrylic Paints