photo credit: chaparral
Learning to use acrylic Painting Gels and Mediums are a often confusing and intmidating part of acrylic painting. As a beginning acryic painting, I would typically just stand in the paint aisle at the art supply store with my mouth hanging open in a rather dum fashion, staring at the large number of bottles and jars full of white goop.
I was left asking: What is a gel? What is a meduim? What’s the difference and how do I use these products?
Most importantly I asked myself: If I use this stuff the wrong way, will it mess up my painting?
The best advice I have for getting started is to:
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Relax
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Buy small sample kits and begin to experiment with them one at time.
Alot can be learned simply by reading the label on the bottle. Most explain what the the product will do and how to est use it. In general, you rarely ever have to worry about layering the wrong product on top of another with acrylic paint. You can pretty much use anything on top of anything else and it will all dry to be one beautiful creative work.
Be careful with anything called VARNISH. This is NOT a medium, it is intended to be used on top of a fully cured painting as a final protective coat. There are exceptions, but this hold true of 95% of varnishes made for acrylic paint.
The more difficult challenge for beginning painters is traveling backwards into mediums.
By this, I meant that you have a certain effect or look you want to achieve, but you don’t know which product to add to your paint get the look you want. Here is where a art supply store with knowledgeable staff can be invaluable. Just ask them! Usually they can steer you to a gel or medium that will help you.
Liquitex makes a nice little sample starter kit containing a small jar of the these six products:
- Clear Gesso
- Slow-Dri Blending Medium
- Flexible Modeling Paste
- Gloss Super Heavy Gel
- Pouring Medium
- High Gloss Varnish
Although I don’t really consider varnish to be a medium, it is a topcoat, this is a nice set to start experimenting. Each of these six products has unique characteristics which are quite different from one another.
Liquitex Gel Mediums – Starter Kit
