Advantages and Disadvantages of Acrylic Paint in Acrylic Art Paintings

Acrylic paints first showed up on the market in the 1950s. This revolutionary new paint helped to bring about a new form of art. Acrylic art which could be produced at a much faster rate that artwork created with other types of paint. The acrylic art soon became a paint of choice for many artists, but there were also those who saw some disadvantages to this new paint. This made them hesitant to use them and to create acrylic artwork.

Fast Drying
One of the top reasons why so many artists were drawn to the idea of acrylic art paintings was the paints fast drying time. Previously it could take weeks for a piece to completely dry when they were created with oil paints. That waiting time could become tedious when an artist simply wanted a piece to be complete. Acrylic paints offered a quick drying time and that was very appealing to artists. On the other hand, the quick drying time often results in harsh looking acrylic art. This is because colors can't easily be blended or softened.

A Familiar Appearance
Acrylic art also have the ability to be diluted with water. When this is done acrylic art paintings resemble watercolors or oil paintings. They are easily used to replace watercolors and oil paint. In many cases acrylic paints are preferred over watercolors because as the acrylic paint dries the color does not change as it does with watercolors. This allows for a more predictable final coloring of a piece.

Durability
Acrylic paints, when dry, are resistant to water damage. This makes it much easier to preserve acrylic art paintings and other acrylic artwork. They also do not yellow as oil paints often do. They resist cracking and changing at all. Some may actually see a problem with the fact that this paint is resistant to water because it makes altering an acrylic artwork very difficult if not impossible.

Toxicity
Many artists prefer acrylic paint because using this type of art requires far less exposure to toxins. Acrylic paint can be thinned with only water and does not require any type of toxic substance in the thinning process. Also brushes can be cleaned in just water without the use of toxic substances. However, the paint itself may contain some toxins and if an artist is trying to slow the drying time then toxic substances must be used.

The advantages and disadvantages of acrylic artwork is something the individual artist has to weigh for themselves. Some artists may find the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. It all really comes down to what look an artist in trying to achieve. Acrylic paints have a specific look and even though they may be able to somewhat mimic watercolors or oil paint, when acrylics are used it is usually a very distinguishable look. Besides that working with acrylic paint is a much different process. So, it really comes down to the artist and their preference of which type of paint to use.

Nicole Roberts
We offer original one of a kind Acrylic Art Paintings [http://www.kadoodleart.com]. You will also find information on paint supplies and the joy of creating your own original piece.

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8 Tips For Painting With Acrylics

1. Be sure not to mix too much water with acrylics, otherwise they'll lose their thick texture and other apparent qualities. This applies both when mixing paints and when applying the paint to the surface you're painting on

2. Because acrylics dry really fast, it's important for you to work fast. Do this and you should be able to effectively produce the painting you want without running into any problems. If you think you'll need more time, add a retarder to the paint to slow its drying time, thereby giving you more time to work on your painting

3. It's also important to consider the paint on your palette. Every so often, give this paint a light spray of water with a spray bottle or a mister to keep the paint from drying out before you've had a chance to use it

4. If you want to mix your paints, again this is something you'll have to do quite quickly before the paint dries out. If you happen to be mixing your paints on paper, a good trick is to dampen the paper; this will give you a bit more time to work as it will make the paints stay wet for longer

5. When you've finished painting, it's important to ensure you get all of the paint off your paintbrush. Give it a good wash with some warm water first, then use a mild soap to try and get all of the paint out of the paintbrush's bristles. Don't try solvents or anything like that: when cleaning acrylics, all you need is soap and water

6. A rather simple one, but an important one nonetheless: always keep your paint tube covers screwed on when you're not painting. You want to keep all paint exposed to the air in the room or outside for as little time as possible

7. Squeeze out the right amount of paint. Don't bother squeezing all of the paint out on to your palette because there's a high chance some of it will have dried before you come round to using it. Only squeeze out a little bit of paint at a time so you don't end up with a load of paint on your palette that will end up going unused

8. When it comes to priming your canvas, only used an acrylic-based primer. Using an oil-based primer with acrylic paint will affect the paint and can change the way it looks, whereas using acrylic-based primer will have very minimal effects on the final look of the paint

Joanne Perkins is a Berkshire-based artist with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. She specialises in painting Berkshire landscapes and loves capturing the natural beauty of her local countryside. She is happy to accept all queries and questions. For more information about Joanne, her work and her current projects visit: http://joannesberkshirescenes.com/default.aspx Joanne can be found on Facebook

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