Acrylic paint is a relatively new type of paint, and has become a popular option for artists at any stage. Acrylic is a water-based paint made from 100% acrylic polymer emulsion. Read more about how acrylic paint is made and its properties in What is Acrylic Paint?
While it is also suitable for professional applications, acrylic paint’s versatility and ease-of-use makes it a great starting point for beginners. Acrylic dries relatively quickly, especially in comparison to oil paint, and is permanent and water-fast when dry. Unlike oil, acrylic also doesn’t require the use of harsh solvents (though it should still be used in a well-ventilated area).
Acrylic requires few materials to get started, although they each have an important part to play in the process. In this series, we provide an overview of the supplies that you’ll need to get started with acrylic paint.
Priming the surface, usually with acrylic gesso, is an important step to help ensure the quality and longevity of the work over time. Learn more about why priming matters and how to incorporate primer into your work in Staying Grounded: The Importance of Priming.
For unprimed surfaces, there are many options for base layers, from gessos to ensure that the surface is ready for paint, to mediums like grounds that create different textures to add variance to the surface or to prepare it for different media. Acrylic grounds are a stable, reliable option for any paint media, and can be used to create a base for dry media as well. Learn more about grounds and mediums in What Are Acrylic Mediums?
Gesso
When selecting a gesso, it’s important to consider quality as it will become the foundation for your work and help the paint properly adhere to the surface over time, and to prevent issues such as cracking or discolouration from developing.
Tri-Art Gesso is formulated with the highest concentration of 100% acrylic emulsion, pigment, and calcium carbonate, providing a suitable pH neutral ground for both acrylic paints. Our Gesso creates smooth, matte, and opaque painting surfaces, is water permanent when dry, and is available in titanium white (simply referred to as Gesso), clear, and various other shades.
Our Sludge Gesso consists of precipitated solids amassed from our wash water during our manufacturing process. Made of 100% acrylic emulsion, it is semi-opaque with a fine particulate that gives it a lightly toothy texture.
No two batches of Sludge are alike, so the colour will vary from batch to batch, but the texture remains consistent - available in Thick (like our High Viscosity acrylics) and Thin (like our Liquid acrylics).
Mediums & Grounds
Some mediums can be used with primers to create different textures to your work, such as Modeling Paste (to build up thick underlayers of texture), Fibre Paste (to add a thick, fibrous texture), Crackle Ground (to make cracked surfaces for acrylic paint), and Dry Media Ground (to create a surface ready for dry media).
Our Re-harvested series of acrylic mediums, made up of materials such as PETE Plastic, Glass, Copper Cinder, and Walnut Shell, can be used as a base with primer or mixed with acrylic paints to create unique textures.
Learn more about mediums here.
Preparing your surface is an important step, as priming will help your work to stand the test of time. Whether you prefer pre-primed canvas or to prime the surface yourself, make sure you are selecting the best quality products to ensure the stability and longevity of your piece.
Explore our range of acrylic paints and supplies through our website, or at Art Noise online or in-person in Kingston. If you use our materials, make sure to tag us on social media posts - we would love to see your work!
For more information, check out our other blog posts on acrylic paint, our FAQ page, or contact us.
