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CATF Artist Guide for Beginners Why Use Acrylics

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CATF Artist Guide for Beginners      Why Use Acrylics

Acrylics are a huge favorite with CATF team. Our talented artists love exploiting this amazing art medium to its full potential. Today, we would be elucidating those characteristics of acrylic paints which make them an appealing and interesting medium to work with.

Working with acrylics can be both rewarding and fun. They are extremely versatile and easy to work with. Given below are some of those traits which would make all our beginner artists want to experiment with these colors.

Acrylics are best friends with water

Acrylic paints are water based. This implies that they can be both thinned and cleaned with water. When thinned with a lot of water, acrylic paints might resemble water colors.

Acrylics are Eco-friendly

For those artists who have an eco-friendly side to them, acrylics might be the most attractive option out there since these paints are non-toxic as well as non-smelly. As far as quality is concerned, they can be compared with oil paints. However, they are free of the toxicity and smell which usually comes with oil paints.

Acrylics are swift workers

If you are an impatient artist and like to get done with your work quickly, then acrylics may just be what you need. These paints dry quickly. However, this trait has both its perks and cons. The disadvantage of quick drying is that you might feel that the colors haven’t blended nicely enough.

This situation can be remedied though. All you need to have is a retarder ( which acts as an acrylic medium that extends drying time). You could also opt for a flow release ( which would potentially enhance the bendability of colors).

Acrylics love versatility

When you speak of acrylic colors, you aren’t just referring to a single type and brand of colors. Instead, acrylic colors embody an expansive, versatile range of colors, ranging from acrylic gels to acrylic pastes. Just as the colors are extremely versatile, similarly their application can be ingenuous. You could modify their texture as per your demand.

Acrylics as Enhancers

Acrylic paints are also used as enhancers at times to alter your paint’s sheen. You can either use them to bestow your artwork with a matte sheen or endow it with a high gloss. There is an entire range of acrylic colors available now which can be used for this purpose

Acrylics in Mixed Media Applications

One of the best uses that acrylics can be put to are in mixed media applications. Paper, wood and canvas are the most popular choices to use with acrylic colors. However, owing to their versatile nature, they can be used on almost any surface such as fabric, clay etc. All you have to do is make sure that these surfaces are primarily primed with gesso. Moreover, different tools could be used to vary and modify their texture and effect.

Tip: When you get bored of your paint brush, improvise using other tools such as sponges, Q-tips, toothpicks, scrapers etc.

The Best Part

Once they have been properly varnished, acrylic paintings do not need to be framed behind a glass. When and if they do collect dust, all you will have to do is wipe them with a damp cloth and they will be as good as new.



Stay tuned to get hold of our next article which would delineate the painting supplies needed to work with acrylics.



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