Please educate me on acrylics - I need to buy some

[Bartc]

I size my boards with three layers of thinned medium on all sides and then gesso the side I'm painting on. When the painting is finished off I then coat the edges again with acrylic gel. Golden used to recommend GAC 200 but they recommend medium instead now.

I have submerged my panels in water and left them there and there is not a single sign of warping or deterioration. I know a lot of people thumb their noses at the archival nature of MDF because it isn't battle-tested — but the same people say that of acrylics. Using inductive reasoning I am confident they will at least outlive me.

I've seen really poorly prepared wooden boards (no sizing) last for decades. I'm sure mine will do much better than that.

MDF is not only cheap, it suits my painting. I like its thinness, zero grain smoothness and if it bends slightly after sizing, unlike wood that needs cradling, you can gently flatten in by hand. The only thing to watch is not to bang the corners since they aren't very strong (I use 3mm) — but I have yet to do this since I'm careful when handling paintings.

I'm equally as happy on hardboard. The smooth side is almost identical to MDF and I find it stays smooth after sizing so you don't really need gesso. I just dislike the rough side — and MDF seems easier to get hold of in the UK.

As to whether the natural glue in hardboard is better or worse than the formaldehyde in MDF remains to be seen — but I do not think either is of concern in the context of the next 50–100 years.

I completely agree. I block in with a flat or dagger and then do the rest with a small filbert and small round — that's pretty much it! My own gripe with brushes is decent synthetic “sable” ones are hard to come by.

I find my overall preference is an angle shader or a dagger, the former being a variation of your flat and the latter being a versatile marriage of the angle/flat and a good round. I have tried swords thinking they would be even better for my use, but found them to be less usable than a good dagger. But to prove a point to myself, decades ago I painted a few with just a synthetic cheap crappy glue brush and found that it worked too. These are more personal preferences. You can paint with a kitchen knife, the side of a credit card, a piece of cardboard or a scraper or putty knife when you get right down to it.

As to "hardboard" and "Masonite", the latter is just a brand of the former. And I've done well with those if tempered on the smooth side from the hardware store with simply 2 coats of acrylic gesso. You go to much greater lengths than I would. I do like the flexibility of sizing possible by going the hardware store route, and it's certainly less expensive too, just more work.

 

[Artyczar]

I take forever to find the perfect brush in the store. I don't buy them online unless I already know the brand of brush and have used them before. I will feel them for firmness, softness--depending on what media I'm using them for, or which technique. They each have a very distinct purpose. I prefer synthetics for some techniques, real hair brushes for others. It all depends.

Now, I am NOT an acrylic painter, so I could not recommend what brushes would be the best for them. I know what to best use for oils and watercolors because I've been using the tools for over 35 years, so over time, you tend to get to know the tools and what works. But I'd imagine the oil brushes would be similar for acrylics (I'm only guessing) because the consistency is similar. They just dry fast.

It's important (for me) that the bristles don't shed, that they keep their shape, and are firm, but soft. This would be for general application like filling in color. I like using flats, angulars, and very small rounds. I'll use real hair sables (super soft), like flats and fans for blends. Those do tend to shed a bit, but I'll just pull the hairs up after the dry a little, or use a tweezers.

 

[Trier]

I size my boards with three layers of thinned medium on all sides and then gesso the side I'm painting on. When the painting is finished off I then coat the edges again with acrylic gel. Golden used to recommend GAC 200 but they recommend medium instead now.

I have submerged my panels in water and left them there and there is not a single sign of warping or deterioration. I know a lot of people thumb their noses at the archival nature of MDF because it isn't battle-tested — but the same people say that of acrylics. Using inductive reasoning I am confident they will at least outlive me.

I've seen really poorly prepared wooden boards (no sizing) last for decades. I'm sure mine will do much better than that.

MDF is not only cheap, it suits my painting. I like its thinness, zero grain smoothness and if it bends slightly after sizing, unlike wood that needs cradling, you can gently flatten in by hand. The only thing to watch is not to bang the corners since they aren't very strong (I use 3mm) — but I have yet to do this since I'm careful when handling paintings.

I'm equally as happy on hardboard. The smooth side is almost identical to MDF and I find it stays smooth after sizing so you don't really need gesso. I just dislike the rough side — and MDF seems easier to get hold of in the UK.

As to whether the natural glue in hardboard is better or worse than the formaldehyde in MDF remains to be seen — but I do not think either is of concern in the context of the next 50–100 years.

I completely agree. I block in with a flat or dagger and then do the rest with a small filbert and small round — that's pretty much it! My own gripe with brushes is decent synthetic “sable” ones are hard to come by.

Hey AKrillLic, If you don't mind my asking, what brand of medium do you find is the most economical (cheapest) to use? I ask because I think you must use a lot of it and I am going to need some more fairly soon.
Thanks
Trier

 

[CindyMoonMcKee]

Someone mentioned that you can paint with egg, spices, etc. One thing I've experimented with is egg tempera (egg yolk) with pigments, mixed with a little Golden Open gel. On Canson XL student-grade watercolor paper. It worked fine and it was cheap.
Also, I bought a tube of student-grade Liquitex Basics phthalo blue. It's so intense, that the lesser amount of pigment in student quality paint is fine. I use Golden heavy body mainly.
The 3-primary plus white system is fine. You can mix almost everything. Either a cyan-magenta-yellow, or the classic ultramarine blue-alizarin crimson hue-yellow. If you don't need high chroma, you could substitute earth colors.
Really, the painting support is the place where I like to cut costs.

 

[fedetony]

My opinion is get different brands and textures and try them for yourself. Color perception, texture and all the stuff just depend on your taste. What is true is to get well known and with good quality materials. It makes a huge difference in the experience to have good quality (artist grade, professional are highly recommended). Be aware that it is not only the Acrylics, pay also attention to other supplies, like the brush or the surface. Is quite different to paint over paper than over canvas for example. Invest in a good brush and a good surface too.

I personally enjoy very much acrylic inks, they are wonderful to obtain extreme detail.
Have fun in your process