The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”— Marcel Proust
What Acrylic Paint Actually Is
Most people assume acrylic paint is simply “paint in a tube,” but understanding what it is helps explain why it behaves the way it does.
Developed in the 1950s, acrylic paint provided artists with an alternative to traditional oil painting that was faster drying, more versatile, and easier to clean. It is composed of pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion.
Oil paint and acrylic paint dry through very different processes.
Oil paint cures through oxidation. Oxygen from the air reacts with the oil binder, creating a hardened paint film. Depending on thickness, this process can take days, weeks, months, or even years.
Acrylic paint is water-soluble and water-mixable while wet. As the water evaporates, microscopic acrylic polymer particles fuse together to form a flexible plastic film. Once dry, the paint becomes water-resistant and can support additional layers without reactivating previous applications.
This gives acrylic paint several advantages:
Fast drying times
Easy cleanup with water
Quick layering capabilities
Compatibility with a wide variety of surfaces
The three primary components of acrylic paint are:
Pigment: Provides color.
Binder (Acrylic Polymer): Holds pigment particles together and adheres them to a surface.
Water: Acts as the vehicle that allows the paint to flow and be manipulated.
.As the water evaporates, microscopic acrylic polymer particles fuse together to form a flexible plastic film. Once dry, acrylic paint becomes water-resistant and can support additional layers without reactivating previous applications.
One of acrylic paint's greatest strengths is its versatility. This is why acrylic paint dries quickly and becomes permanent once cured. Acrylic paint adheres well to many materials, it can be used on:
Canvas
Paper
Wood
Plastic
Glass
Metal
This versatility allows artists to move beyond traditional painting supports and experiment with a wide range of materials.
Student Grade vs. Professional Grade Paint
The primary difference between student-grade and professional-grade paint lies in the ratio and quality of pigment, binder, and fillers.
Professional paints generally contain a higher concentration of pigment and fewer fillers, resulting in greater color intensity, stronger mixing capabilities, and improved coverage. Student-grade paints often contain less pigment and a greater proportion of fillers and extenders, making them a more economical option while producing different working properties. While both can be effective tools, professional paints generally offer greater color strength, mixing potential, and archival quality.
Understanding these differences allows artists to make informed decisions about materials based on both budget and artistic goals.
Mediums and Modifying Paint
Acrylic paint's water-mixable nature allows artists to alter its behavior through the use of mediums.
A medium contains acrylic binder but little or no pigment. Rather than changing the color, it changes how the paint behaves
Mediums can be used to:
Increase transparency
Extend drying time
Improve flow
Increase gloss or matte qualities
Build texture
Create thicker applications
Examples include:
Gloss Medium
Increases transparency
Extends paint
Maintains flexibility
Can be used for glazing
Gel Medium
Thickens paint
Holds brush and knife marks
Increases body without diluting color
Modeling Paste
Creates substantial texture and relief
Can be sculpted and carved
Often used to build dimensional surfaces
Mediums contain binder, they can be mixed with paint without weakening the paint film. This differs from adding excessive amounts of water, which can eventually compromise adhesion.
Acrylic Paint as Watercolor, Gouache, or Oil
One of acrylic paint’s greatest strengths is its adaptability. By changing the ratio of water, paint, and medium, acrylics can mimic the appearance and behavior of other painting media.
Acrylic paint can be used to create:
Watercolor-like washes
Gouache-like opaque passages
Thick oil-like brushwork
Transparent glazes
Heavily textured surfaces
This versatility allows artists to explore a wide range of visual approaches while working within a single medium.
Modeling Medium
Modeling medium is used to create dimensional surfaces and physical texture.
Unlike paint alone, modeling medium can hold peaks, ridges, knife marks, and sculptural forms after drying. It can be mixed directly into paint or applied independently to create structure beneath later layers.
Building Custom Texture Mixtures
Artists can create custom texture mixtures by combining:
Acrylic paint
Modeling medium
Gel medium
Joint compound
Each material contributes different properties.
Paint provides color.
Modeling and gel mediums contribute flexibility, adhesion, and body.
Joint compound provides bulk, texture, and surface variation.
By adjusting the proportions of these materials, artists can create a wide variety of tactile effects and surface qualities.
Working in Larger Batches
Texture mixtures can be prepared in larger batches and stored for future use.
Covering the mixture with plastic wrap helps reduce moisture loss and extends working time. Having larger quantities prepared in advance allows artists to work more freely and maintain consistency across multiple paintings.
What is wrong with now?
Our minds are so attuned to forward movement that our senses are betrayed to abandonment. Unnoticed kisses of complexity, dust in the drought of awareness, a tragedy of missed texture and contradiction. The presumptive, thirsty assumption that it exists somewhere else while we stand in a rainstorm.
Relax into creation. A vortex of thoughts rarely complies with our requests for peace without the languid, soft cultivation of space; a skill so profound, a new state of being.
There is nothing on your to-do list that is more important then you.
Four Wednesday evenings. July 8, 15, 22, 29. 6 to 8pm. Kansas City.
Four sessions. Five senses. The craftsmanship of self through taste, touch, sight, sound, and scent. Eight seats. Selected enrollment.
Founder Cohort rate: $200 through June 14th at midnight. Payment holds your seat.