Painting Media
This book focuses primarily on acrylics because they are
very versatile. The polymer resin used as a binder in the
paints is adhesive, which can be useful when applying col-
lage. Acrylics can be mixed with water or acrylic medium,
so no unhealthy solvents are involved. By varying the
amount of water or medium added , a huge range of tones
can be created from very light to very dark. They dry fast
and they are waterproof when dry, which makes them an
ideal choice for working in layers.
For glazing- painting on a thin, transparent layer- fluid
acrylics are your best choice. Even opaque pigments,
such as cadmiums, titaniums. ochers, and ceruleans. can
be made transparent with the addition of matte o r gloss
medium. How do you know which paints are the most
transparent? Golden provides a small strip of paint on
the outside of each bottle or jar to help you Judge. If the
following words form part of a color's name, you can be
sure they are by nature transparent: dioxazine, phthalo,
or quinacridone. Other transparent paints are Transparent
Yellow Iron O xide, Transparent Red Iron Oxide, and
Jenkins Green.
Jar or tube paints are heavier-bod ied with greater cov-
erage, though the colors mentioned above will still be
transparent unless piled on thickly. When applied with
bristle brushes or palette knives, they are useful for creat-
ing texture.
Watercolor paints can be used as the background layer of
a mixed-media piece, but they don't work well over acryl-
ics. The paint tends to "bead" over acrylic, which has a
slippery surface, unless it is mixed with plenty of water and
allowed to soak into the support.
Oil paints can be used over acrylics, but acrylics can't be
used over oil. Since acrylic adhesives can't be mixed with
oil paints, it is also harder to find ways to attach collage to
an oil painting.
Encaustic paints, covered in chapter 7 , allow collage
elements to be encased in wax.
16 I CREATIVE PA I N T W ORKSHOPHOW SAFE ARE YOUR PAINTS?
Acrylic paints consist of a polymer resin binder mixed
with pigment. The resin is adhesive, which is conve-
nient when you are adhering other media. There is a
mistaken belief among some artists that acrylic paint
is entirely nontoxic. The binder is fairly harmless,
but the minerals used in the pigments-cadmiums,
cobalts, manganese particularly-are hazardous
whether in oils, watercolors, or pastels. If you have
open cuts on your hands, toxic substances can enter
your bloodstream. For this reason you should always
wear protective gloves-latex or nitrile. Yes, they
take a bit of getting used to, but if you wear them
regularly, you'll soon cease to notice them. Just make
sure they're a good fit.
Breathing dust particles from dry pastels is also
hazardous, so wear a mask. Should you decide to
mix your own paints from powdered pigments, you'll
need to have your hands in a special sealed chamber
while you do it.
Many famous artists of the past (van Gogh and
Goya, to name but two) are thought to have suffered
serious health problems due to contact with hazard-
ous materials in paint. Never eat your paints! That
includes putting your fingers in your mouth while
painting, which might happen if you bite your nails
or stop for a snack without washing your hands. You
want to live long enough to create more art, right?