Student Grade Acrylic verses Professional Acrylic Fine Art Paints by Kimbrella Adair

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What is the difference between student and professional grade acrylic paints? The answer is the pigments. The ratio of pigments to the vehicle carrier (or acrylic and water). Student grade fine art acrylic paint has less pigments in the acrylic base with more water. Professional fine art acrylic paint is loaded with pigments. Often very inexpensive brands of student grade acrylic paints are mostly acrylic base and water. The better grades of student fine art acrylic paints (including some very good craft paints*) are full of pigments. I recommend staying away from cheaply made fine art paints. Curators, gallery owners, professional fine art painters, appraisers etc. can will notice when the artist uses poor quality paint. Poor quality paint may have a negative effect on the appraisal value of the piece. If a customer is ordering an original painting from an online image and receives the piece painted with poor quality acrylic paints they may return it. You really don’t want the painting returned because of using poor quality acrylic paint.  (The customer generally has 30 days to return an item. Return time for purchases may vary from state to state. Ask your local chamber of commerce for more information.)

Professional grade fine art paints are loaded with pigments and you can tell with one swipe of the paint brush. If you are used to working with the student acrylics the professional grade will take some adjustment. Acrylic gel medium will work when you want to tone down the professional fine art acrylic paints to what you are familiar with in the student grade paints. (See Grinding Pigments in Student Grade Fine Art Acrylic Paints)

*DecoArt makes a fine art line of paint called Traditions that are heavily loaded with pigment. I highly recommend the Traditions line of paints for paintings with a lot of fine detail.

Grinding Pigments in Student Grade Fine Art Acrylic Paints by Kimbrella Adair

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Boosting student grade acrylic paints to the professional level is easy. All you are doing is adding more pigment in the blend of acrylic mixture. Adding a tiny amount of water to the pigment (powered pigment) and then add the pigment to the student grade acrylic paint. You will be using the student grade acrylic paints as a base and tinting the base. This process is similar to tinting paints that are used for construction. If you are using a liquid or paste pigment limit or omit the water.

When you are adding the dry pigment to the acrylic you have to use a process called “grinding in”. Grinding in is using a palette knife that looks like a cake/pie spatula and applying pressure on the handle to push the pigment into the acrylic paint. Scrape and push (not stir) until you achieve the consistency that you want. Some artist like the paint thick and some like it thin. It depends on the level of detail I want in the painting that determines the paint consistency. As you prepare the paint don’t add too much pigment so that it affects the adhesion of the paint. You don’t want the paint to peel off of the surface because you added to much pigment. You must put an acrylic varnish over the finished painting to protect it. I prefer a varnish with a UV protectant.

There are certain colors that are more prone to fading. Purple is a good example so keep that in mind as you are mixing your paints. With today’s modern technology purple is more stable than it has been in the past but I recommend contacting the pigment manufacturer for more details about their product.

When you are grinding in cadmium yellow into a yellow acrylic base the yellow will intensify. Yellow is the only color that will become more intense with the addition of more pigment. As a final note always wear a respirator mask when working with dry pigments. Make sure the area you are working in has adequate ventilation. Pigments are made from toxic minerals and may cause serious illness. Please read the labels on the packages and take proper precautions to protect yourself. If you are under the age of 18 do not use any pigments without parent and/or adult supervision.

Colors and the Color Wheel

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What two colors combines make a third color?

Yellow + Blue = Green
Blue + Red = Violet
Red + Yellow = Orange

(Primary + Primary = Secondary)

Define Color Terms:
Primary colors-blue, red and yellow are basic colors. Basic colors cannot be made.

Secondary colors-orange, violet and green are made by mixing two primary colors.

Cool colors-blue, green and violet are perceived as moving away from the observer in a painting.

Warm colors-red, yellow and orange warm colors seem to come forward toward the observer in a painting.
Hue is the name of a color.

Intensity is purity of color that is related to the brightness or dullness; can also mean chroma or saturation.
Value is the lightness or darkness of a color.

Tint is white added to a color.

Tone is gray added to a color.

Shade is black added to a color.

Neutral gray is an equal combination of black and white.

Color is composed of three components hue, intensity and value.

Gray scale is a unit of measure for color value that goes from 1 to 10. One is true black (100%) through 10 true white (100%).

Color Harmony
Monochromatic color is any tone, tint or shade of only one color.

Analogous colors refer to choosing colors that are touching each other on the color wheel. Analogous color use at least two colors and not more than five as suggested by the color wheel guide.

Complementary colors refer to choosing two colors straight across from each other on the color wheel. (Ex. red and green)

Split complementary colors refer to using any color with the two colors on each side of its complement. (Ex. red with Blue-green and yellow-green)

Triad colors refer to using three colors equally spaced apart on the color wheel. (Ex. violet with green and orange)

Tetrad colors are a combination of four colors on the color wheel that are also two sets of complements. (Example 1: Blue-violet and red with green and yellow-orange)

(Example 2: Blue-violet and red-orange with blue-green and yellow-orange)

Key color is the dominant color in the painting.

Reference: Color Wheel by the Color Wheel Company

Polymer White Acrylic Paint by Kimbrella Adair

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Polymer white acrylic paint is a titanium white paint used to make your acrylic paintings appear to have more depth giving them the appearance of oil paintings. Polymer white acrylic paint is very similar to “liquid” or “magic” white of oil paints. The simple formula for polymer white acrylic paint is as follows.

1 part retarder*

8 parts acrylic titanium white paint

Distilled water as needed until you get the consistency that is similar to heavy cream.

Store polymer white mixture in a plastic double walled jar

Work Fast 

The best subjects are landscape and seascape but polymer white acrylic paint can be used for any subject matter after you get accustomed to using the paint.

Application:

Pour about a teaspoon to a tablespoon onto a palette**

Spray canvas with water

Apply polymer white with a damp 1 ½” to 2” brush

Always remember to keep the humidity level set between medium to moist (about halfway) on the dial or gauge.

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*I use an industrial grade retarder

**I use hefty Styrofoam deep dish platter plates for palette

Acrylic paint drying time by Kimbrella Adair

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Acrylic painting techniques that keep the paints moist so the paintings look more like oil paintings. There are several things you must first consider. Is the acrylic paint that you are working with tube paint or bottle paint? Bottle and tube paints differ in the processes of application to the canvas. My choice of acrylic paints are as follows: Golden, Grumbacher*, Liquitex, Winsor & Newton, DecoArt/Traditions*.

It is best to work with a stretched canvas rather than a canvas board. Cardboard is under the canvas board. The cardboard draws the moisture away from the canvas to shorten the application time of the acrylic paint. The area of your home or studio that you choose to work in should be slightly moist. Purchase a cool air humidifier and a humidity gauge. The humidity gauge dial has a range from dry to moist. The setting of the gauge in the area that you paint should be about halfway between medium and moist on the dial. Be sure to set the gauge on the opposite side of the cool air humidifier. Your seating should be between the dial and the humidifier.

Keep a fine mist spray bottle handy. Beauty supply stores have inexpensive fine-mist spray bottles. Keep an old bucket and a container of clear water near. Retarders, extenders, and slow dry mediums work great to slow down the drying time of the acrylic paints.

Application of moisture

Hold the canvas flat and spray a light mist. If it is on an easel make sure the water doesn’t run. If the water does run take a damp 2” brush and brush side to side to the outer edges of the canvas. Work fast. Have plenty of paper towels handy. Use good quality paper towels. There other techniques that can be used as well.

*My choice of acrylic paints

How to store left over acrylic paints by Kimbrella Adair

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There are several points that should be observed when storing acrylic paints. Acrylic paints should never be frozen. That’s a no-no! I use deep dish Hefty oval Styrofoam platters. One to hold the acrylic paint and the other platter I use as a top to cover the palette. Take a sharpie and write a “T” for the top platter so as not to turn it over. I spray the paint with distilled water and cover with the inverted platter. Then I use a 2 to 2.5 gallon plastic bag to store the palette. It works great! I wouldn’t store any used paint for more than a few days to avoid molding issues. If you notice any signs of mold throw it all away. It’s not worth risking your health for the sake of saving a few bucks.

Paint brushes that are not dried and stored properly are notorious for carrying mold. Many artists are unaware of this. Be sure to wash, dry and store your paint brushes properly.



Deep dish Hefty Styrofoam oval platters

Hefty 2 gal Zip lock freezer bag

 

How to Repair Fine Art Brush Ferrule for Acrylic Painting by Kimbrella Adair

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The key to repairing a ferrule on an acrylic fine art paint brush is to be sure the paint brush is completely dry. The fibers as well as the wooden handle should show no signs of moisture.  After painting you should allow a window of 48 hours before you start to repair your acrylic paint brush. If the ferrule is very loose try separating it from the handle of the wood. It will be easier to work with. After separating the ferrule from the handle lightly sand the handle, wipe away the sanded dust and put a small amount of glue along the base inside of the ferrule. I use a toothpick to apply the glue if I don’t have an applicator. The glue of my choice is Guerrilla glue. Many people like E6000.

Fill a container 3/4 full of sand or clean stones so that the brush stands up perfectly straight in the cup. If it is not perfectly straight in the cup the ferrule will be off center and you will not have a smooth painting experience when you begin to apply the paint to your painting surface (i.e. canvas). It will affect your painting technique! During the next hour check it 5-10 minutes to remove any glue that may have oozed down the paint brush handle. Be sure to check on the level of the ferrule; it has to be kept straight.

If the ferrule cannot be removed from the handle use a toothpick to apply the glue between them. If you are using an applicator be careful to keep the glue from running down on the fibers until you stand the brush straight up in the cup.

If the handle is plastic lightly sand the surface of the handle to remove any glue or paint. If the ferrule is plastic don’t waste your time trying to repair it.  

How to Wash and Store Paint Brushes for use with Acrylic Paints by Kimbrella Adair

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Acrylic Brush Cleaning

To wash acrylic paint brushes I recommend using a cheap shampoo. A dollar store shampoo is fine or one that you tried but didn’t work for your hair. Everyone has some bottles like that around their home. To condition your brushes I also suggest using a conditioner that you have around the house that you don’t use. Use an oil free shampoo and an oil free conditioner. Do not use any conditioners or shampoos containing any oil natural or synthetic at all. Condition your brushes once or twice a month if you paint a couple of times a week. If you are going to buy a cleaner for your brushes I suggest DecoArt Brush Cleaner. It is excellent for removing paint that has dried in the ferule if it has not been dry for too long. Sometimes when painting you forget to rinse the brushes as you go along. Then the paint dries in the bristles because you are concentrating on your masterpiece. Just follow the directions on the bottle.

When cleaning the brushes rinse well in cool to tepid water. Do not use hot water. Hot water will loosen the glue holding the bristles to the ferule and ruin the brush. Then add a few drops of shampoo to 4 ounces of water (varies on the size of the brush), swish the brush around in the cup. Rinse again in clear running tap water until all of the paint and shampoo is removed. Repeat the process but use conditioner this time. After you rinse the final step to cleaning the brushes is to use a few drops to an eighth of a teaspoon of distilled white vinegar to 4 ounces water (varies on the size of the brush) swish the brush around in the cup then rinse well. If you use vinegar every time you clean your brushes it will help you keep the mold in check. This is no guarantee that you will not get mold but it may help prevent it.

Brush Storage

To store your brushes there are several methods you can use to store your brushes. I prefer is to use an old vase or large jar filled with sand filling about 1/3 of the container. A transparent container is best. Put the paint brushes in the jar with the bristles standing up. Don’t allow the brushes to touch one another or the side of the container. The sand helps to dry the brushes. I prefer to purchase the packaged sand in the children’s area of any store that carries crafts. The sand has to meet certain standards for kids so it is more hygienic to use. (Do not use rice or anything that may cause mold to grow). The sand is also inexpensive. After they have completely dried wipe the sand from the handles and you can store them away.