Types of paint

Acrylic Paint:
• Acrylic paints are extremely versatile, and ideal for fine brushwork, glazing, staining,
water media techniques and many more.
• This smooth and light paint has excellent
pigment quality, colour strength, and
durability.
• The acrylic paint can be applied to almost any
stable surface like watercolour paper or
canvas.
• It is quick-drying and can be purchased in a variety of forms, like a tube or small ink-
bottle varying in viscosity.

Oil Paint:
• Oil-based paint is very durable and provides a glossy-looking
finish. Brushstrokes fill themselves into a smooth, rich varnish.
• Oil-based paint has long-lasting coverage and blends well with
others.
• This paint dries slowly which works in a painter’s advantage
since the artist can develop the painting gradually, making
changes to the work along the way.
Watercolour:

• Watercolour is a translucent paint containing pigment and a binder, typically gum-

arabic.
• The gum-arabic holds the paint together and ensures
the paint will not flake.
• The paint has colour pigment suspended in water until
the water dries and stains the surface.
• The paint brushes with fluidity and transparency and
dries fairly quickly

Gouache
• Gouache is a water-soluble and opaque paint so the white of the paper surface does
not show through.
• It is a tad chalkier than traditional watercolour and absorbs
light rather than reflects it.
• The paint is diluted with water, but possesses a strong
coloured pigment.
• This unique paint dries darker and a little of it goes a long
way and takes time to dry which means it can be workable
for hours or even days after application.
Techniques to master painting:
Blending wet into wet: smooth

Bringing the paint together smoothly

while still wet

2) blending wet into wet: Choppy/cross-hatching

Bringing the paint together roughly and in a

choppy like way to create rougher textures.

3) Wash

Applying water to a surface and applying

diluted paint to a surface to create a more
translucent effect.

4) Scumbling

Scumbling is a painting technique where a thin or broken layer of colour is brushed

over another so that patches of the colour beneath show through. It's done using a
dry brush. A hard, rough bristled brush is best.
5) Dabbing

Dabbing with a brush or

sponge: dabbing the paint
onto the canvas and dabbing
the colours into one another.
This a rougher texture with a
more blurred effect. It is a
good techniques for painting
trees or any other image
without sharp focus.
6) Stippling

Painting using a series of dots, just like you would you do in drawing, except using a
paint brush and colour. A small pointed paint brush is recommended.

7) Stroking

Painting using a series of

strokes. Paint is usually
applies loosely and thickly.
This gives a rougher texture.

8) Imapasto

Impasto is when you layer paint thickly onto your canvas. You apply a lot of paint, thickly
and loosely. Artists usually use a palette knife for this technique.
This term you will be learning how to paint with Acrylic.

What is acrylic?

Acrylic paint is a fast drying paint. It is pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion. It is
water soluble but becomes water resistant when dry.

IMPORTANT NOTES AND TIPS ON ACRYLIC PAINTING:

1) You will need a variety of brushes, from hard to soft, round to flat and big to small.

Different brushes give different effects and make different marks. It is vital that you have a
variety of brushes.

2) Mixing your colours if of outmost importance! Please do not use the colours
directly out of the tube. You must mix the colours that you see accordingly. Us the
colour wheel as a guideline. Always keep your colour wheel handy.

TINT= COLOUR MIXED WITH

WHITE

TONE=COLOUR MIXED WITH

GREY

SHADE=COLOUR MIXED WITH

BLACK

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• Colours that are opposite each

other= COMPLEMENTARY
COLOURS

• PRIMARY COLOURS= RED,

BLUE AND YELLOW

• SECONDARY COLOURS= 2
primary colours mixed together:
• Red and blue= PURPLE
• Red and yellow= ORANGE
• Blue and yellow= GREEN

• TERTIARY COLOUR= 1
primary and 1 secondary colour
mixed together.
EXAMPLE: Mixing green with
yellow will give me a yellow-green.
 3) Prime your canvas with GESSO

GESSO is similar to white acrylic, only thinner. Gesso prepares your canvas making it easier
for the canvas to “accept” the acrylic. It makes the canvas less textures and smoother. It also
prevents the canvas from “sucking in” the acrylic.

APPLY TWO LAYERS WITH A LARGE BRUSH:

• Paint the first layer in one direction, for example horizontally.

• Wait for the Gesso to dry.
• Paint the second layer in the opposite direction, for example vertically.
• When both layers are dry your canvas is prepared.

4) Mist the paint on your palette to keep the paint moist.

Have a spray bottle with you and every now and then, mist your paint with water so it
doesn’t dry so fast. Remember acrylic is a fast drying paint and you do not want to
waste paint. Keeping a spray bottle handy will allow you to keep the paint wetter for
longer.

5) Using acrylic mediums:

Acrylic mediums are useful to make the paint more versatile and to help you to achieve
different effects and finishes. They can make the paint thinner, thicker, more glossy, more
matte, textured and slow drying.

• Gloss mediums are handy if you want to enhance the natural sheen and luminosity of
acrylic paint. Gloss medium will also make paint thinner and more transparent, which is
useful if you want to paint thin but brilliant glazes.
• Acrylic paint is already naturally glossy, so matte medium is handy when a more subtle,
non-reflective finish is needed. You can also mix gloss and matte mediums together in
equal parts to achieve a kind of semi-gloss.
• Like gloss medium, glazing medium will make acrylic paint more transparent and
facilitate subtle glazing techniques.
• Gel medium is a white, paste-like gel that will thicken your paint so that it retains
brushstrokes, which is great for impasto techniques.
• Modelling paste, sometimes called moulding paste, is like gel medium but thicker and
harder. You can make your painting three-dimensional by building up a relief that can
then be sculpted, sanded or carved once it's dry. Modelling paste is also great for
collage because you can embed all kinds of objects in the surface.
• Texture gels imitate certain textures, such as sand, ceramic stucco and glass beads.
They're fun to experiment with and can really enhance certain artworks. You can also
make your own texture by mixing in some sand, sawdust or whatever you want.
• Retarding medium (also called retarders) slows down the drying time of acrylic paint so
that it behaves more like oil paint. This allows you to mix colours on the support and
create smooth blending effects. Most retarding mediums are actually additives (lacking
acrylic binders) so follow the directions and make sure you don't use too much.
• Flow improver, another additive that thins acrylic paint for use with wash techniques and
painting over large areas. Acrylic paints are water-based, so you can thin them with
water to make the paint behave like watercolours. Flow improver works by breaking the
surface tension of the water inside the paint which thins the paint without reducing
colour strength or compromising the finish. Flow improver is sometimes referred to as
flow aid, depending on the brand.