How Good are Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic Paints?

Liquitex is most likely the most widely recognized artist acrylic paint in the world.  Most every who paints in acrylics has used it.   Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic paint, sold in tubes and jars, is available in almost every craft, hobby, and art store in America.

Availability sometimes brings about a sense of the ordinary and commonplace.  Experienced acrylic painters often overlook Liquitex, choosing instead to use paint that seems more “exotic” or something that feels exclusive.

Liquitex Heavy Body Artist Acrylic Paint is real paint.  It is a high quality artists acrylic paint that performs well and contains a high pigment load.

If it matters to be “first” in the acrylic paint world, then Liquitex pretty much was the “the first” to manufacture and sell paint in the 1950′s.  See Liquitex Company Profile.   I personally don’t think that matter to me as an artist.  Big Whoop!  What matters to me is the quality, longevity, and price.

Liquitex produces 100 colors of Heavy Body Paint.  Now that’s a big palette.

How thick is Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic?

Liquitex Heavy Body is about the consistency of soft butter.  The thing is, when you paint, you can spread it more thinly or thickly.

If you have been painting awhile, you might remember this paint being called High Viscosity.

I think the new name is less confusing.  I only mention this because you old-timers might have some tubes in your box labeled this way.  Then when you go to purchase more paint, you can’t find it.

Heavy Body = new name
High Viscosity = old name

Brushstrokes and Impasto

Heavy Body Paint will retain some amount of brushstrokes.

I have not found it easy to use Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylics for impasto work without adding some type of gel medium.

Looking for thick, stand-up peaks and texture? I suggest you try the Liquidtex Super Heavy Body Line developed in 2004.

If you don’t like your brushstrokes to show, then save yourself some time and trouble and try fluid acrylics.   Loyal Liquitex fans seeking something thinner than the heavy body line, can dip their brushes into Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Colors.

Myth-buster: Liquitex is not student paint.

Due to price and availability a lot of art students use Liquitex.  Don’t be fooled.  Liquitex Artists Acrylic is NOT student paint.

Liquitex produces a line of paint called BASICS that is student grade acrylic paint.  Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic Colors is artist grade paint, full of pigment.

Use or Lose?

I vote to use Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylics.   Overall availability, quality pigment load, and 100 colors make this a keeper for me.  If you are just getting started and want to try Liquitex Heavy Body, you can grab a 12 tube pack from around $50 bucks.