Acrylic Painting Step by Step

Introduction

Since the late 1940s, interest in acrylic has gained popularity in an art world dominated by watercolor and oil paints. Acrylic paints can produce a wide range of painterly effects—from thin but vibrant washes to thick, impasto strokes. And this versatility has increased the demand for acrylic as a fine-art tool, delivering the medium from the realm of commercial art alone. But acrylic’s versatility isn’t the only reason for its growing popularity. This medium also holds a number of advantages over oil and watercolor; for example, it doesn’t yellow or crack over time, and it doesn’t bleed under protective varnishes. Acrylic does dry quickly, though, which allows painters to apply new layers of paint or rework underlying layers without ...