by Rose Spotts

Created on: June 24, 2008

While many artists prefer one medium over another, I find that each medium has a time and place. For me, it depends on the image, the texture or even the mood I am going for in the piece. One of the most versatile mediums, in my opinion, is acrylic paint. I am able to mix many types of textures, paint using more or less paint depending on the thickness I am looking for in order to create my own textures.

I don't want to make this about my preferences, so I'd like to point out some of the versatility of acrylics that appeals to many artists, in many genres. First of all, acrylics dry faster than oils. I think everyone knows this whether they paint much or not, but that is a definite advantage if you are trying to paint something in a specific amount of time. Another advantage is that acrylics come as a heavy bodied acrylic or a liquid acrylic. A heavy bodied acrylic will allow brush strokes to be seen more in the art and they are designed to be used on canvases, panels, boards and other types of prepared surfaces. Liquid acrylics mix much easier with other mediums and are great when you are working on watercolour effects, as they are a high pigment but contain less viscosity.

There are also many mixing mediums out there that help to create textures and effects with acrylics. There are iridescent, pearl, bronze, even glitter and other interference colours that will mix with your acrylics for a completely different look to add depth and shimmer if you are looking for those types of effects in your artwork. This makes working with acrylics a lot of fun. There are even glow-in-the-dark interference colours out there for your acrylics. Imagine the possibilities!

Acrylics are not just for the serious artist either! There are acrylics that are made specifically for doing craft projects. So if you are serious about your crafting and you haven't tried painting with acrylics, you might want to give it a go. Craft acrylics are a great way to paint surfaces other than just canvas. They work great on glass and wood as well as metal and fabric.

Acrylics are so versatile, that really anyone who enjoys painting can find a reason to use them. Why stick to just one medium? Branch out! Of course we all have our favourites, it is up to the artist's preference in the end, but with the versatility of acrylics the possibilities are endless for what you can create and even what you can create it on. The only thing you can be limited by when it comes to acrylics is your imagination.

Learn more about this author, Rose Spotts.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.