Acrylic Painting Technique

Acrylic painting is a painting technique born in relatively recent times. Acrylic paints are created with powdered color pigments, mixed with an acrylic resin. The acrylic resin is almost exclusively of ketone origin. The drying time is variable. It is generally fast and depends on the resins, the pigments, and the manufacturer.

The techniques of acrylic painting is a representation of different styles of handling and working with polymer-based acrylic paints.

Acrylic painter Jonathan Marsico, shares the fact that acrylics are different from oil paints, due to the fact that they have shorter drying times, which is approximately 10 minutes and are soluble in water. Acrylic paints don’t need turpentine and plaster and can be applied directly on the canvas.

“You can paint with concentrated color paints,” says Marsico. “However, acrylics can also be diluted in water for a consistency that can be poured or used for enamels”.

Marsico points out that a fundamental characteristic of acrylics, which makes them different from other paints, is that they do not dissolve in water once they are dry. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the brushes thoroughly after work. Color should not dry on the brushes. It should be rinsed in water and dried.

“If the color has dried on the brush, you can dissolve it with alcohol or nitro thinner” shares the Denver, Colorado-based acrylic painter, Jonathan Marsico.

The supports can be various, from drawing sheets (such as Bristol), cardboard, canvas, canvas, wooden supports, even plywood. Acrylics can be also used to decorate walls and a wide variety of objects. Their cost-effectiveness ratio combined with their good resistance and the quick-drying, make them a widely used product. Marsico indicates that you can slow down drying with a moderate addition of glycerin.

“The characteristics of acrylic paint are very fast drying, easy application, and translucency when dry,” says Marsico. The deficiency of acrylic paints is that the shading technique cannot be done, as in oil painting. In fact, sometimes by taking steps that allow the transition from one shade to another or with successive shades of diluted color that are placed in a dry color, you can create shading.

The skilled acrylic painter, Marsico claims that acrylic colors can be easily mixed and simple water is preferred as a diluent, which can also be used to remove color parts before drying.

Furthermore, Jonathan Marsico indicates that some types of acrylic colors are sensitive to light. More often, these are red-violet and blue-violet colors. Marsico explains that this is because they are created with photosensitive organic chemicals derived from pigments. An acrylic resin lacquer with a UV filter can be used to protect these colors.

For the other colors, there is no need for a fixer, since the acrylic resin with which they are made, makes them resistant to light and atmospheric agents, including smog.

If you want to learn more about acrylic painting, contact Jonathan Marsico on Twitter.