Acrylic Paint: The New Kid on the Block

A newcomer is in town in the world of art.

Its hues and shades are the same, but in new ways.

The freshness embraces itself, as any other paint.

Looks are reminiscent of those of the past, with novelty given on its behalf.

Past features met with the present elements for new things to have.

Thus, acrylic paint becomes commonplace amongst man.

The New Paint Hybrid

Acrylic paint is the new kid on the block. 

It came about just over a century ago. 

A German researcher and businessman invented acrylic resin, which then developed into what is known today as acrylic paint. It went from a home product to a new artistic medium that artists can now use for their paintings.   

If one looks at the main predecessors of acrylic paint, they have been around for a very long time.

The closest cousin for acrylic paint is oil paint, which came about a thousand years ago, per recent discoveries in Asia. 

Then, watercolor paint is much older than oil by a long shot. It surpasses oil paint by thousands and thousands of years, which originated in Asia as well. 

Attributes of Acrylic Paint

Acrylic paint is a type of hybrid between oil paint and watercolors. It embraces certain qualities from these two paints.

The merging of these different elements created this new harmonious medium. It brought about as a result its own unique features.  

These new properties gave acrylic paint the ability to adhere to various surfaces in which oil paint and watercolors aren’t able to do. Acrylic paint is water-based like watercolors, but it acts and looks like an oil at the same time to some degree. 

In watercolors, the paint would always dissolve in the presence of water even after it dries on paper, but with acrylic paint it doesn’t dissolve after it cures.

When comparing acrylics with oil painting, acrylic paint dries fairly fast after it was applied on a surface similar to watercolors, but oil paint takes many hours to dry.

On top of that, acrylic paint is much flexible than the other two mediums in how it is applied, including the correction of any details you might want to fix.

On the other hand, oil paint has an overall nicer final look than acrylic when they are both dried. Though, a special vanish finish can be applied to acrylic paintings once they are completed to add luster to the picture or even to create a matte finish if that’s what you intend to do with your painting. But acrylic paint is always a much richer quality than using watercolors. 

Also, acrylic paint can be applied to many surfaces, but canvas material is usually the common standard for this paint. If you decide to use any porous materials like wood, it would be more effective to get that surface primed first so that the acrylic paint can adhere to it well.

This hybrid paint comes in various forms, catered for beginners and professionals.

If you are using acrylic paint for beginners, the quality, and options available are less than using professional acrylic paint. There are fewer colors available. Though, the price is quite reasonable for beginners intending to get their feet wet with this type of paint. 

Now, acrylic paint, which is made for professionals, is much higher in quality. It helps resist various elements from the environment that might harm your painting down.

Also, this high quality paint gives greater control over to the artist in how this medium gets mixed, and it's applied onto a canvas. It helps provide a richer concentration of color as well.

That means that any acrylic paints, which are made for beginners or students, don’t have such benefits as the professional types.

So, the type of paint that you use comes down to personal preference.

Overall, acrylic paint is for anyone to use.

Conclusion

Acrylic paint overall has brought new attributes to the artistic world of painting. 

Thus, acrylic paint is definitely the new kid on the block.

Join its elements and see what it has.  

It’s a new way to look at art.  

Written by,  

Nathaniel Bernard—Art Blogger