Paint

Introduction

Paint is an extremely versatile medium and there are endless techniques you can either specifically learn or invent and adapt yourself. Technically speaking, Paint is a liquid substance, usually with a pigment added, that forms a solid when dry. It is available in two broad categories; Artists Paint and Decorators Paint. Both types are available as either water or spirit/oil based.

Watercolour, Gouache, Acrylic and Oil are the main types of Artists Paints. Watercolours are the most transparent of all Paints, primarily used on Watercolour Paper. Gouache is slightly denser and creates a flat surface with no brush marks when applied consistently. Acrylic is slightly glossy and is extremely fast drying. Oil Paints are very thick and take quite a long time to dry so that changes can be continuously made to a work. Both Artists Paint and Decorators Paint come in and endless array of colours which can be mixed up to match a particular shade you require.

I would say that both Artists and Decorators Paint are valuable to the Artist. Decorators Paints are particularly good for painting large areas. In addition to the variety of paints there are a whole array of different mediums you can get which either thin down or thicken up your paint. For thinning, use Flow Enhancer, Turpentine or White Spirit. For thickening use Acrylic Mediums.

Paint is truly a wonderful substance and is used on mainly porous surfaces such as Paper, Canvas and Soft Woods. If you want to paint something with a non porous surface it is advisable to first sand down the area in order to give something for the paint to grip to. If you are using a water based paint and you want to seal it for protection it is a good idea to use a varnish for the specific type of paint you are using.

Paint is applied with a brush suitable for the particular type of paint you are using. Brushes for watercolours are designed to hold more water than brushes used for acrylic which are much denser. The hairs of a brush are either made of natural hair, are synthetic or made with a combination of both.

Techniques

Both Artists and Decorators have different techniques they use. You can reach into these sources and mix and match to create your favourite methods. Decorators techniques include rag-rolling, sponging and washing and are often used by Set Decorators and Artists who need to create effects on a large scale. Examples of techniques in Watercolours are washing, applying pigment to wet paper, using a dry brush and blotting. Some examples of using Acrylics are layering, impasto and glazing. Glazing is a beautiful technique which gives the finished painting a unique luminescent quality. Layer upon layer of Acrylic or Oil Paint is put onto a surface, leaving each one to dry. Lighter colours are used first, building up to the final colour. There are no hard and fast rules; experimentation is the main aspect here. Everglades, a fantastic Art and Craft material Supplier, do some great deals on Winsor and Newton Paints.

My advice is to just get some paint, get something to paint onto and just
GO FOR IT!

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