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Acrylic also needs time to 'cure'
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Posted
qúick thought - sliced through the back if my hand, so painting difficult; still managed to finish the double priming on a panel, with acrylic primer and a mix of umber to tone it. clumsier than úsúal, I got some of the priming on my shirt cuff - this was about 2 hrs ago, but I've been able to scrape/rúb it off. which reminds me to pass on to you that acrylic doesn't dry hard immediately, and it;s a good idea to give it a day or so to cure really thorougly, especially if you're intending to paint over the "gesso" in oil - it may look as if it;s dried hard as rock, but you need to get all the moisture out if it to avoid problems with adhesion.
Posted
I I leave my acrylic paintings at least two days to dry before varnishing (two layers). The drying rate is temperature dependant too, if someone hasn't already mentioned it. It's about twice as quick in the summer.
I found through early paintings that some acrylic colours darken over time, especially the cheaper ones. I have issues getting detail in with acrylics too, as the gloopy viscosity and higher surface tension of water seem to work against it. I was thinking of trying one with a little wash-up liquid added, to reduce the surface tension nearer to that of oil. It might work (I used to formulate cleaning products, so I like experimenting). I think eventually I'll either have to buy top-grade acrylics or switch to oil paints.
Posted
Bill - I wouldn't have thought of washing-up liquid with acrylics - but there is a substance called Flow Enhancer - which you can add to the colours or to the mixing water or medium: it does tend to flatten the paint out, but that can be useful if you like hard edges. The one I have is made by Daler-Rowney, though other manufacturers will have their own versions. I don't use it much - though looking at the bottle, I see it's three quarters empty, so perhaps I've used it semi-consciously.... or more in the past than presently. On the whole I just use water - too much will weaken adhesion, though it really does have to be WAY too much in order to do that. There are other mediums too which add to the viscosity of the paint, add or reduce its bulk.
I wouldn't discourage you from switching to oil paints, but an acrylic like Golden, Cryla, System3, Liquitex will not darken, apart from the slight colour shift when the paint dries, which can be brought back when you apply a gloss varnish. I've never yet used Galleria acrylics by W & N, but their professional acrylic range is of high quality.
You might also investigate Chromacolour, only available from the Chromacolour UK website; it can be bought in pots, wets down a very long way and the oldest I have done with it will be around 30 years old - I've seen no sign of deterioration. My only quarrel with the company is that they won't identify the pigment numbers used - they seem to think that this will give away trade secrets, and I've yet to convince them that serious artists will expect to be able to find that information: trouble is, they're not first and foremost paint-makers - the history is a little complicated. However - I find the paints excellent, and use them in conjunction with other brands.
Posted
Bill - I wouldn't have thought of washing-up liquid with acrylics - but there is a substance called Flow Enhancer - which you can add to the colours or to the mixing water or medium: it does tend to flatten the paint out, but that can be useful if you like hard edges. The one I have is made by Daler-Rowney, though other manufacturers will have their own versions. I don't use it much - though looking at the bottle, I see it's three quarters empty, so perhaps I've used it semi-consciously.... or more in the past than presently. On the whole I just use water - too much will weaken adhesion, though it really does have to be WAY too much in order to do that. There are other mediums too which add to the viscosity of the paint, add or reduce its bulk. I wouldn't discourage you from switching to oil paints, but an acrylic like Golden, Cryla, System3, Liquitex will not darken, apart from the slight colour shift when the paint dries, which can be brought back when you apply a gloss varnish. I've never yet used Galleria acrylics by W & N, but their professional acrylic range is of high quality. You might also investigate Chromacolour, only available from the Chromacolour UK website; it can be bought in pots, wets down a very long way and the oldest I have done with it will be around 30 years old - I've seen no sign of deterioration. My only quarrel with the company is that they won't identify the pigment numbers used - they seem to think that this will give away trade secrets, and I've yet to convince them that serious artists will expect to be able to find that information: trouble is, they're not first and foremost paint-makers - the history is a little complicated. However - I find the paints excellent, and use them in conjunction with other brands.Thanks for this information. After dabbling in my youth I only started serious painting five years ago, so I started with cheap acrylics to keep the cost down in case it didn't work out. It's holding me back now though, so I'll have to splash out on decent acrylics, methinks. I'd never heard of Chromaclour, so that's worth investigating. Paints with a good level of pigment would help a lot, as I can't really water mine down much before they lose their intensity of colour. My local art supply stores sell Galleria acrylics and a few others. I see you can get water-soluble oil paints too now. Yes, I like hard edges. My current paints seem to soften at the edges after a couple of days, which doesn't help if a hard edge is what you're after. I'll probably try wash-up liquid to see if that helps. Surfactants are generally non-reactive, so it may help with flow. I just sold a painting for £60 (my first ever sale) so maybe I could use the money to invest in some Galleria acrylics. Or go all the way to oil. That's my dream, to paint in oils again. I last used them when I was a teenager (I'm 63 now) and I miss the smell of the linseed oil and turps. I think you just feel more like an artist with oils! I
