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.
Surfaces are of course the foundation of your painting project - the traditional options are typically paper, canvas, or panel, though acrylic paint can be applied to many different surfaces.
The paint surface also has a big impact on the results and stability of the work, so it’s important to choose quality products to ensure longevity and stability over time.
With these traditional surface options, there are some key choices to make: rigid or flexible, and primed or unprimed. Paper and canvas (stretched or unstretched) are flexible surfaces, while panels are rigid and made of materials like wood, bamboo, and aluminium. Some surfaces come already primed to suit your needs. Pre-primed canvas can be a great starting point for beginners as it comes ready to paint on, while unprimed surfaces allow you to choose the type of primer or gesso that you would like to work with.
It is also worth considering whether you will want to hang the completed project, and affix any hardware or mount the surface accordingly. Some galleries and exhibition spaces have certain requirements for hardware and constraints such as gallery profile (1½”) canvas or panel.
Canvas
Canvas can come already stretched (on a wooden frame), in a pad of canvas sheets, or as a roll that can be cut to the desired size before stretching. Tri-Art’s Artist Gallery Primed Canvas is double primed with titanium white gesso, made with an eco-friendly blend of 50% cotton and 50% hemp. Our Gallery Unprimed Canvas is 100% cotton. Both options offer mould-resistant and long-lasting canvas in 10oz, 1½” gallery profile.
Panels
Our aluminum panels are a great smooth, flat surface that comes in either 3mm thick sheets or cradled 1½” gallery profile with hanging hardware included, providing a lightweight alternative for artists accustomed to cradled wood panels. Both alu options are non-warping, non-yellowing, and mildew-resistant.
Our bamboo panels provide a rigid, non-warping surface, with ¾” thickness and grooved hangers on all four sides, making them ready for display vertically or horizontally. Bamboo and other wood panels benefit from priming to prevent the surface from absorbing the paint.
Canvas Pads & Fabric
Our Tri-Art Finest Quality Canvas Pad provides our primed canvas (50% cotton, 50% hemp blend double primed with titanium white gesso) in a convenient and portable pad format.
Our Re/Purposed Stretch Canvas (1½” gallery profile) and Re/Purposed Fabric Pad are environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternatives to stretched canvas, and provide a creative surface for innovative applications. Both are made with 100% landfill-diverted fabrics, which vary in colour, texture, and fabric content. The fabric is not tested for specific applications and is randomly selected so that each pad offers different possibilities.
Paper
There are many types of paper available for all kinds of purposes, including pads and sheets of paper specifically suited to painting with acrylics or mixed media applications.
Tri-Art offers mixed media paper in our Mixed Media Sketchbooks, Handmade Paper Packs, and Leather Bound Journals. Our mixed media paper is handmade from 100% cotton, with a medium texture surface at a weight of 150gsm, making it ideal for acrylics as well as watercolours and dry media.
There are a variety of different surfaces to choose from depending on your preferences and needs for your project. Whether you want a rigid or flexible surface, gallery profile or not, and whether you want to frame your piece are some factors to consider.
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.
