Let’s take a look at using acrylic paints to do paintings.
There are several reasons that I use acrylics to paint my landscapes. One is the overall ease of use. The second is the quick drying properties.
Many years ago, when I first started to get serious about painting, I picked up a set of oil based artist colors. I like the way the paints could be worked and blended. You could just about take as much time as you wanted to play with the blends.
But, they took, what seemed like forever, time to dry. And the clean-up was sort of a pain. I had to use smelly paint thinner to clean the brushes. I also had to use paint thinner and linseed oil to thin the paint for some applications.
On top of that, I had to wait days to put objects over other objects. Just not for me.
Back to acrylics…….so much easier….at least for me they are…..
Clean-up is with soap and water. Thinning the paint is with water. And no bad paint thinner smell.
Now there are many medium modifiers that can be mixed with the paint for special purposes. For example, there is a retarding medium that slows the drying time and will let you blend colors into each other or any other type of blending.
There are mediums to ad gloss or texture and several other effects as needed.
From my point of view, the drying time is fantastic. The acrylics dry in just a few minutes and you can force dry it with a hair dryer for special manipulations.
Even though some paintings take me days to complete, I still have the option to work within minutes to add details or other fine points that I need to apply over dry paint.
And from the durability standpoint, acrylic paintings are not subject to smears after they are dry. They are safer to handle without fear of easily being damaged.
Plus they are easier to pack for shipping.
Of course, I realize that other artist may have other opinions. That is fine.
We all do our own thing and maintain our own opinions.
Thanks for visiting.
Until next time,
Jim Gillum
