How to Choose Which Type of Paint
November 25th, 2007 | by Art Supplies |The choices an artist faces: Acrylic, Oil, watercolor or pastel? What medium to use?
Each of the major paint types give different results and have great differences in the end effects. Choosing the best medium to work with can make your art vibrant and alive.
There are many more types of paint that could be used but amateur artists stick mainly to acrylic, oil and water based paints whilst pastel and the increasingly popular watercolor pencil give a degree of flexibility when it comes to drawing, they give the feel of a painted surface while keeping the fluidity of drawing. Other examples of different mediums are tempera, encaustic and gouache and other more specific paints that are used when painting on silk or other fabrics which use heat to keep them fast.
A brief list of the major paints:
Acrylic: This is a quick drying paint which can be slowed down by adding water-spray to a canvas or other retarding agent, giving you more freedom with time. They can be painted over as they dry waterproof and will not disturb the lower layers, however once they dry they cannot be changed and no amount of water will change this. Can be used thickly like oil based,impasto, or thinly like watercolors. Can be used as a glue for collage or for murals due to its water resistant nature. Difficult to remove from a brush if dried on except when diluted then the colors will appear darker.
Oil: A very slow drying paint allowing for tonal work and shading and allows the artist to cover more canvas area at the same time. Once dried over-painting layers is no problem and the intensity of the colors will remain steadfast with age. Can be used either as a thick or thin glaze, and the beauty of working with one of the great mediums draws many artists to oil. Only dangers with oil based paints are that the area must be well ventilated as there are solvents involved and once a piece is complete it will take several months before a varnish can be applied. Cleanup of brushes requires white-spirit or similar solvents.
Watercolors: Applying water to the brush and the watercolor block or pan they are a great medium as they can be lifted off canvas by simple re-wetting. Due to the transparent nature of watercolors a mistake will be glaringly noticeable and due care and attention should be given to your brushstroke and how to use tone as colors will be lighter when dry than when applied. You must also use the natural white of the canvas for a color as no white is made true enough. If a watercolor paint becomes dried then simple wetting the block will bring it back to life.
Pastels: No time can be wasted when using pastels. You will generally need a greater range of colors than you would with the other mediums as you will mix the colors on the paper and not with a pallette. A wide range of colors and degrees of pastel softness exist but softer pastels can become smudgy and making the color fall away from the support, which can be remedied by spray on fixative agents, overlaid tracing paper or a framed mount, these all aid in pastel work. The greatest help of pastels is that no brushes need cleaning and no studio to clean. They can also be blended with turpentine if oil-based and also scrapped of to reveal the layers underneath, commonly known as sgraffito.
Other considerations are cost and toxicity. In cost, watercolors are the cheapest and are easily replaced. The only supplies needed are basic color sets and simple brushes to use, paper and a board if you need to stretch the paper. Pastels and acrylic are next with price but Oil paints are more costly and some colors can be very expensive. Choose your medium wisely!
The next point is toxicity. Oil based paints require solvents; however there are now low-odor versions and even water-based oil paints. Pastels, especially soft ones can leave a lot of dust and you should be aware of how much dust they shed, don’t blow loose dust off your canvas. Some pigments like Cadmium Red are poisonous but can be bought in non-toxic hues. In all cases make sure that children are nowhere near solvents or paint fumes and keep the area you work in well ventilated.
The choice of your perfect medium can be trial and error and you should experiment, mix the different styles and paint mediums, seek guidance online or from local accredited colleges. See what’s out there and what works for you and you can create great art in no time.
