Acrylic
Great first paints – they are very forgiving and dry quickly.
- Acrylic molecules are bigger, and the medium very stable, so you don’t have to size or prime your raw canvas, but can use the colour directly onto the canvas – very nice for staining washes.
- Acrylic can be used as underpainting for oils – if the underpainting protects the canvas sufficiently then you don’t need to prime first.
- Acrylic on paper works well as the paint does not sink as much as oils do.
- Mixing different brands of acrylic colour can be tricky, so test first.
Gouache
Pretty much an opaque watercolour … but different.
- Can be mixed with watercolour.
- Can be mixed with acrylic, but do tests first – there can often be colour changes.
- Good for making areas of flat colour, which can be difficult with watercolour as you tend to see the brush marks.
Watercolour
No matter what you do, have a regular play with these – so lovely.
- Always use acid-free paper.
- You need to stretch the paper you will be using: soak the paper to expand the fibres; tape it flat to dry taut.
- Soak the paper completely – up to 20 minutes for thicker papers
- Drain off excess water
- Lay paper over flat board with some water-proofing
- Use brown gum strip (not masking tape) to tape edges along each side
- Keep the board flat to dry
- When paper is dry, remove and paint