The Pros and Cons of Working with Acrylic Paint

Acrylic paint was first developed in the s as house paint, and made commercially available as artist grade paint in the s. Since then, it’s become a primary art material for a number of contemporary artists.

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Acrylic paint is a very recent discovery in the art world when compared to oil paints and watercolours. Its versatile nature, vibrancy and stability has meant it has taken the art world by storm. The more artists take advantage of the wide range of approaches that acrylic paints offer, the more acrylic paint products come to market.

Want to know more about acrylic paint? Here we break down what it is, as well as its pros and cons…

What is acrylic paint?

Acrylic paint is paint made of pigment that’s suspended in acrylic emulation. It is water-soluble and fast-drying and becomes water-resistant once dry.

Acrylic paint is extremely versatile. Dependant on how much the paint is diluted with water, or modified with acrylic gels, mediums or pastes, a finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolour, gouache or an oil painting. It can also have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media.

What makes acrylic paint different?

Before the 19th century, artists mixed their own paints. This allowed them to achieve their desired colour and thickness, and to control the use of fillers, if any. With acrylic, hand mixing is generally not practical. This is because of fast drying time and other technical issues, such as the necessity to combine several polymers, as well as surfactants, plasticizers, demoamers and stabilisers. Instead, artists purchase acrylic paint ready to go, which can be modified using acrylic mediums or water.

The range of acrylic mediums is also greater than watercolour and oil. Acrylics have the ability to bond to many different surfaces, and mediums can be used to modify its binding characteristics. Acrylics can be used on paper, canvas and a range of other materials, including hobby models like trains, cars and houses.

Traditional vs modern acrylic paint

Despite acrylic paint being relatively new in the art world, there is still what’s referred to as ‘traditional’ acrylic paint and ‘modern’ acrylic paint. Traditional acrylic paints are the fast-drying paints that have been around for the last five decades and are made from brands such as Liquitex, Winsor and Newton, Golden and Grumbacher. Modern acrylic paints do not dry as quickly and can be reactivated after drying, and are made from brands such as Golden and Chroma.

Pros and cons of traditional acrylic paint

Toxicity levels

Advantages: acrylic paints are water-based, which means they can be thinned with just water (no toxic spirits are required). In addition, wet paint can be cleaned off of brushes using just soap and water.

Disadvantages: acrylic paints can contain toxins within their pigments, just like some oil paints do. Additional toxins can be found in acrylics that use ‘retarder’ to slow down the drying time.

Drying time

Advantages: traditional acrylic paints dry rapidly, so there is no need to wait between painting sessions for layers to dry. Paintings are dry enough to ship safely within a day or so.

Disadvantages: because acrylic paints dry quickly they cannot be easily blended to create the ‘wet in wet’ technique that is popular with oil paints. For this reason, a finished acrylic painting can look harsh compared to a finished oil painting.

Reactivation

Advantages: unlike watercolors (another water-based paint), once traditional acrylics are dry they are on the support to stay. This makes painting new layers on top of previous ones simpler.

Disadvantages: once the paint is dry, it cannot be removed or altered.

Durability

Advantages: acrylic paints have been proven to be more flexible than oil paints. There is no need to follow fat over lean rules with acrylics so that they won’t crack.

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Disadvantages: we’ve only had 50 years of acrylic paints so we can’t really comment as to how long they’ll hold up for.

Pros and cons of modern acrylic paint

Toxicity Levels

Modern acrylic paints are water-based, which means no toxic spirits are required. Modern acrylics still contain mild levels of toxins, but they don’t use retarder to slow drying time.

Drying time

Advantages: modern acrylic paints have extended drying times, so the paint can be left on a sealed palette and remain workable for several days. Also, wet-in-wet techniques can be used, just like oil paints, without a retarder.

Disadvantages: you’ll need to wait between drying times. If you like your acrylics to dry very quickly, modern acrylic paint won’t.

Reactivation

Advantages: modern acrylic paint reactivates. When water is applied to paint that is dry to the touch it can be reactivated and worked into and/or lifted off.

Disadvantages: over time, the ability to reactivate is eventually lost and painting wet over dry acrylics may cause some color bleed.

Durability

Advantages: it appears that modern acrylic paint is more flexible and durable than oil paints.

Disadvantages: modern acrylic paint is even younger than traditional acrylic paints. Efforts are being made to prove their longevity, but nothing can be irrefutably proven until sufficient time passes.

Acrylic Paint Markers Lightfast or Fugitive UV Sunlight Art Supply Tests

Are acrylic paint markers lightfast? Not all of them. Sharpies, Posca and Montana all have sets containing fugitive colors. These are often not labeled for fine art use, with no specific suggestions about what to, and not to, use them for. If you're looking to make art that lasts, on a wall indoors near a window, or even outside, you may want to consider brands like Liquitex or Amsterdam. It should be noted that bright fluorescent colors, sometimes labeled reflex or neon, are always futigive no matter which brand makes them.

Metallic colors are often lightfast, when made by a reputable manufacturer familiar with professional art supply standards. Colors such as gold, copper, silver, bronze and gunmetal are made from a pearl-white mica base (PW20, a reflective lightfast mineral). They are coated with a second pigment or dye, such as PR101 Red Iron Oxide for creating golden colors, or a lamp black for silver to black colors which are all lightfast. However, sometimes for cost benefits or making a smooth formula, craft-project focused companies who aren't as interested in making fine art materials, swap out that reliable second pigment for something like a yellow dye or cheaper unreliable coating. Such is the case with Sharpies:

Liquitex has been making paint for professionals, with attention to lightfastness and arming the artist with information like pigment ingredients, opacity and lightfast ratings for a very long time. If you're worried about your artwork fading, especially if you plan to display your work in a bright environment or sell your art, make sure to look for supplies that have lightfast ratings on them. LFI means max lightfastness, which should result in years of direct sunlight with no fading. LFII colors often have minor fading by 1 year of sun exposure. Many acrylic markers on the market have a substantial amount of titanium white PW6, an extremely UV stable white, mixed in to make otherwise transparent pigments opaque. The solid square signifies opacity, meaning they will show up even on dark surfaces:

Amsterdam acrylic paints, liquid inks and markers are from the company Royal Talens (who also makes oil and watercolor paints such as the highly praised Van Gogh student or Rembrandt professional grade watercolors), a very reliable brand regarding lightfastness. 

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