Let's face it. I love acrylic paints. My pseudoname is, after all, ACRYLIC Alexander (although it's really just because it's catchy, and my last name is impossible to spell). Acrylics are a cool medium, that, in my opinion, get a ton of crap from people that is often unfounded. After having talked about this with a lot of my artist friends, I've come to the conclusion that Acrylic paints get a bad name for 3 main reasons:
1. Acrylic paints are new (not even 100 years old) and were, (until the last 30 years) considered largely to be an amateur and student-rate paint. They weren't made to last, and didn't really garnish the respect that "high art" oil painters or traditional watercolorists had (after all, both of these mediums have been around for centuries.)
2. Acrylic paints function similar to oils, but are water based and dry fast (losing the transparency of watercolor and the density of oils). Why buy half-decent paints that are "like" great oils? Aren't they just one step better than kids paint for posters in school?
3. People like oils- why branch out? They're similar enough, and oil paintings are more collected, sell for more, and earn an artist a better respect of reputation.
Now the three things above are mostly untrue. In the 1940's, there were fantastic American photorealism painters that were working in acrylic (although everybody sees their work and assumes it is in oil because of it's grandeur). And of course, today you can buy top of the line acrylic paints that will survive just as long as any oil painting and will hold their vibrancy. And finally, does being an oil painter mean you can't ever sketch in pencil? what about pen and ink? watercolor? of course you can (and should!) Yes, Acrylics are not oils, and nor are they watercolors, but they do have some great unique characteristics that deserve their own credit. Also, the truth is that you can produce some GREAT products using acrylics. In fact, ALL of the above pieces are acrylic, and not oil!
Now, let's start by identifying some of the UNIQUE characteristics of Acrylic paint (as opposed to oils)
Acrylic Paints are:
1. Water soluble (unlike oils, they use water to dilute) This means they can be used strait from the tube, watered down to create a thinner coat (much like turpentine in oils), or with any acrylic medium.
2. Generally a little less dense than oils. This DOES NOT mean they have less color density, but rather a more uniform and less dense binder (a plastic resin). This means that acrylics will generally allow for much more paint to be mixed on the canvas without muddying up, as opposed to oils. ALSO, this allows you to do multiple dry glazes (also called 'drybrushing') over sections.
3. Overall, more opaque than oils. This means that many layers can be greated of one paint over another. Yes, there are certain colors (the red-purples and green-blues) that are still quite translucent, just like in oils, but generally, the colors will dry in layers, rather than allowing the undercolor to show. This is neither an advantage nor disadvantage- it simply means you have different effects to work with.
4. Acrylics change greatly depending on their moisture level. When water is added (just a little via misting bottle), they become considerably less opaque (even than oils) and allow you to do a more 'oil' style glaze (unlike mentioned in point 3, above). The flexibility is great.
5. Acrylics dry dark. Generally, 2 shades darker than the wet color. This is very different than oils, which dry at face value (almost always, excluding alizarin crimson) This allows you to layer from dark to light and get a very convincing shadow effect.
6. Acrylic drying time can greatly be adjusted. Raw, acrylics dry in 10 minutes (5 in the direct heat or winter cold) and fully set (to be varnished) in about 7 hours. With glazing mediums added, the drying time can be increased to around 20 hours (with a fully set time of around 3 days). This flexibility is really helpful when you are trying to blend large areas. There are also acrylic lines made by Golden Acrylics (USA) known as the 'open' series. This series uses a different synthetic binder to give their paints a longer working time, which rivals oils. I have had wet paint on my palette from this series for well over a week uncovered.
Now, this isn't to say that oils should be avoided either- oils have many great things that cannot be as easily achieved by acrylics- The most important thing in my opinion is to be fluent in as many different medias as you can. Remember, oils and acrylics do compliment each other in technique, so any time you practice painting in acrylic, it will only help your oil work as well, and vice versa.
Now- Get out there and try something new!
(1. Acrylic 2. Acrylic 3. Acrylic 4. Acrylic 5. Acrylic) ... now, how many did you think were oil?
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