Weekend with acrylic paints



My venture into the world of acrylics and painting on wood. I'll be honest, I really haven't picked up a tube of acrylics since college... and I was nervous. But after a few hours I started feeling comfortable with the paints and can I just say, leaps and bounds more forgiving then gouache. Why the heck didn't I use this stuff sooner?! Sort of in love with the idea that I can rework a painting drastically if I need to, something gouache hasn't really allowed me to do. Once that paint is down (gouache that is), that's it-either repaint it or leave it. A wonderful medium but limiting in certain ways.

There are drawbacks to acrylics of course, the pigments and color in acrylic paints don't even come close to the vibrancy of gouache. Also (if you're impatient like me) the drying time of gouache is lightening fast compared to acrylics, even acrylic gouache. I found myself busting out my travel hair dryer trying to get each layer to dry faster. However there is a certain freedom acrylics allow, like being able to paint on a variety of surfaces other then paper! (yay!)

This past weekend I worked up these two ladies, both painted in Holbein Acryla gouache (acrylic gouache), Golden matte fluid acrylic paints on birch wood panels. The Golden paints are a new product to me, but I'm very familiar with the brand and great quality they bring to the table. I picked up a few bottles on a whim and am really happy with how they lay, dry and reproduce. Very excited to explore these paints more and create some new works with them!









1 comment:

Jenn Bower said...

These are just fantastic. Love the braver you put forth. What a talent.