The Little Art School’s Joanne Robinson guides you through what materials you need and how to use acrylic paints. There are a few simple techniques to get you on your way.
Acrylic paints are an excellent choice for anyone looking to enjoy starting up painting – they are a popular, incredibly versatile, and affordable medium for the beginner artist.
What Are Acrylics?
As far as paint mediums go, acrylics are the new kids on the block.
Oils and watercolours may have been around for centuries, but acrylics only became available to artists in the mid-20th century.
Acrylic is a plastic-based material that was first developed in 1934 and started to be used in painting in the 1940s. By the 1960s, acrylics were widely used across the art world.
I started by describing acrylics as ‘versatile,’ and they truly are. You can use the paint thickly as though you’re painting in oils or thin it down and use it almost like watercolour.
One of the key benefits (or sometimes frustrations!) is that acrylics dry VERY quickly.
Where an oil painting can stay unworkably wet for days, your acrylic can be dried in minutes, even faster when you use a hairdryer!
Acrylic paints are lightfast and don’t fade. They are very stable and won’t crack or fall off the canvas. There are no toxic solvents, as acrylics are water-based, and you wash your brushes in a jar of water.
They are absolutely forgiving; you can just go over the mistake if you go wrong!
Equipment to Get Started with Acrylics
Here is an essential list to get you started in acrylics.
- Acrylic Paints
- Brushes
- Palette
- Palette Knife
- Paper or Canvas
- Acrylic Mediums
Acrylic Paints – What to Buy
You’ll see a difference between ‘student’ and ‘artist’ grade paints when buying acrylic paint. Student-grade paint is fine when you’re starting to get to grips with acrylics.
At Little Art School, we use Seawhite Acrylics and love the coverage they give.
There is a bewildering array of acrylics, and you will see labels like Heavy, Medium, and Soft Body.
The ‘heavier’ the paint, the thicker it is. Heavy-body acrylic is great when painting with knives or applying thick paint, but a medium or soft body is good for starting.
Winsor and Newton’s Galeria range or Dales Rowney’s System 3 have good paint packs for beginners.
However, suppose you want to eliminate all the confusion about ‘what to buy’. In that case, check out our Online Art Course, which includes all the materials you need to get started with acrylics—that is, the acrylic paint, paper, brushes, palette, and palette knife!
Term three of our Level One Course is dedicated to acrylics and has ten step-by-step lessons that build skills in using acrylics.
Find out more about learning to paint and draw online.
Brushes for Acrylic Paints
When I was new to painting, the selection of brushes at an art shop made me panic.
Just go for three brushes. Three short-handled flat brushes will cover everything—one larger for coverage and two smaller for detail. When people enrol in our beginner art course, we send them those three in the kit!
It’s also handy to have a couple of small round brushes.
As you build your skills, I promise that adding to your brush collection will create joy!
Eventually, it is also worth having long-handled brushes so you can step away from the canvas and work in a loose, gestural style.
You can paint using any type of brush with acrylics; synthetic brushes keep their shape and wash well. Just a bit of washing-up liquid removes the paint, so make sure you rinse and dry to keep the shape.
Palette for Acrylic Paints
You will need a palette to squeeze your paints onto and mix your colours. We find a flat piece of clear plastic perfect. I’ve also used an old plate before—basically, anything you can wash!
A sheet of glass can work, but I’m rather clumsy, and fear of breaking the glass has made me stick with my washable plastic!
One drawback of acrylics is that you can spend ages mixing your colours and then start painting only to find that your mixes are drying.
The Stay Wet Palettes are great for overcoming this. Our Online Art Course includes a Stay Wet Palette and a lesson on how best to use it at Level 3.
Palette Knife
A palette knife is a necessity for mixing paints. Initially, you can just buy one, but as you develop skills, you might invest in more and start painting with palette knives, which give you some wonderful effects!
Paper or Canvas for Acrylic Painting
Here at Little Art School, we switch between canvas boards, box canvas and canvas paper. Purchase acrylic paper within our shop.
Acrylic Mediums
Because acrylic paints are a water-based medium, you can use them just with a jar of tap water.
Water can be used to thin the paint and wash your brushes.
However, many specialised acrylic mediums can be added to your paint to give it greater versatility: gel mediums, gloss and matte mediums, stay-wet mediums, impasto and modelling paste, and many more.
I advise the beginner to just start with the paint and some water. Keep it simple!
As you develop skills, you can begin experimenting with acrylic mediums.
We don’t start using mediums until Level 4 of our course; up until that point, we simply use paint and water.
Use Acrylic Paints
You wanted to know how to use acrylic paints? We say, just go for it.
Once you’ve got your paints, paper, brushes, and palette, you’re good to go. Grab a jar of clean water and start painting.
Squeeze out a bit of paint and have a play! You can use acrylics thickly like oil paint or thin them down and use them like watercolours.
Great Books for Acrylic Beginners
Gill Barron: The Compendium of Acrylic Painting Techniques
This fantastic book is a ‘highly recommended’ from us; packed with top tips and ‘trade secrets’
Terry Harrison: Terry’s Top Tips for Acrylic Artists
Along with lots of valuable pointers, this little book includes some lovely paintings to copy, which will get you started and help you build your skills.
Mistakes in Acrylic Painting
MISTAKES ARE YOUR STEPPING STONES. Please remember that, and enjoy the journey to getting better.
Think of your art practice as a pianist learning to play. Don’t expect to get it right each time. Just keep trying!
Little Art School Online Art Course
If you’d like to learn to draw and paint following a structured and progressive art course, look at our Drawing and Painting Course at the Little Art School.
Our Online Art Course allows you to work independently and at your own pace.
Unlike other online courses, we send you all the art materials you need to complete the course.
Little Art School provides a nurturing environment and a thriving online community that comes together in a spirit of kindness and help.