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PAINTS

Oil Paint

Oil's come in several different forms. Some artists make their own paint by mixing powdered pigment with oils. Most artists use pre-mixed oils that come in tubes (seen right). Oil paint can be thinned with turpentine, paint thinner, various mediums, or linseed oil, depending on
the desired consistency. Oil pastles and Paintstiks (seen next) can be used in the same manner.

Like all paints, oils come in different grades. Certain lesser grades of paint can have little to no "lightfast" or enduring qualities. After being exposed to light, air, moisture, pollution, time and other factors, a paint can lose it's color brilliance, or can crack and peel. The cheaper grades of paint are for student or academic practice.

Oil paints dry slowly and can be reworked or wiped from the painting surface, which makes this medium the ideal medium for learning painting techniques. Oils, turpentine and/or paint thinner have fumes and odors that may be disagreeable to some people, so use them in a well ventilated area. Use paint thinner to clean brushes prior to soap and water.
(CLICK HERE TO READ TIPS ON BRUSH CARE)
Image supplied by Dick Blick Art Materials - www.dickblick.com

Paintstiks

Unlike conventional oil colors, Paintstik Oil Colors are dry to the touch in 24 hours! They are perfect for sketching out shape, composition, and color without messy palettes or mixing cups.

Colors can be spread or blended with a brush, knife, or Colorless Blender. The colors are completely compatible and can be blended with any oil paints. Use turpentine to thin. Paintstik colors are self-sealing. Just peel off the film before each use.

There are no unpleasant odors or fumes, so you can paint virtually anywhere, at any time, and on almost any surface: canvas, paper, wood, plastic, metal, and fabric. Non-toxic and hypo-allergenic.
Image and verbiage supplied by Dick Blick Art Materials - www.dickblick.com

Acrylic Paint

Unlike Oils, acrylic paints dry quickly and have little to no fumes. Acrylic paints come in few different forms, such as hobby paints, jars, and tubes. Because acrylics dry so quickly, you need to work fast with them, and be careful not to have too much paint on the pallet at one time.

Like all paints, oils come in different grades. Certain lesser grades of paint can have little to no "lightfast" or enduring qualities. After being exposed to light, air, moisture, pollution, time and other factors, a paint can lose it's color brilliance, or can crack and peel. The cheaper grades of paint are for student or academic practice.

Acrylic paint cleans up easily with soap and water (for brushes and hands) or with rubbing alcohol for hard surfaces. There are many different products available for changing the texture and consistency of acrylics (see next).
Image supplied by Dick Blick Art Materials - www.dickblick.com

Acrylic Mediums

Gesso
Ready-mixed painting ground for any kind of paint on a great variety of surfaces. Covers in one coat, remains brilliant white and flexible.

Gloss Medium
Use with Liquitex colors as a painting and glazing medium and as a final picture varnish where a glossy protective coat is desired.

Matte Medium
Mix with colors to retain completely matte or flat effects.

Gel Medium
Dries crystal clear for sparkling, transparent impastos and textured glazes.

Modeling Paste
For 3-D forms. Can be textured while wet, carved when dry. Also used extensively for decorating picture frames.

Iridescent Tinting Medium
Makes all acrylic colors iridescent while allowing the artist to control the iridescent intensity.

Matte Varnish
Satiny, non-glare final coat that enhances depths of color.

Texture-
Gel mediums that produce a variety of textural and impasto effects. Use alone or mix with acrylic colors.

Image and verbiage supplied by Dick Blick Art Materials - www.dickblick.com

Watercolors

Pigments blended with a binder that are waterbased, appear translucent or transparent. Watercolors come in different forms.

Watercolor in the Tube

Seen right is watercolor in the tube. Like oils, watercolor can be exposed to the air. Even though the watercolor dries on the pallet, with water the paint comes back to life. Without a fixative (a product that seals the watercolors after being painted) the paint can run or lift from the surface, although most colors stain and cannot be completely removed.

Watercolor Pans

Watercolors can be found in the "pan" form. Pans are just like tube colors except they have already been squeezed out and pre-dried. Water causes them to become liquid again. This is the type of watercolor most often found at school (seen right) and like other paint comes in many grades. Academic or student grades have a lot more binder, and less pigment. This of course lowers the cost for those practicing the use of watercolor.

Watercolor Pencils

Watercolor pencils are fairly new to the artistic scene. Just like other colored pencils, except that water can be added (usually painted on) to create various effects. Watercolor pencils are the perfect tools to draw the beginnings of a watercolor or acrylic painting as the lines will disappear when paint or water is added.

Because watercolor pencils are used in a solid form, there is more binder added to hold the pigment together and make it firm enough to hold a sharpened edge. Colors will be less brilliant and have a waxier feel to them. These great tools blend well with any waterbased paint or ink. Watercolor pencils also come in different grades, from student to professional.
Images supplied by Dick Blick Art Materials - www.dickblick.com

Gum Arabic Solution

A watercolor medium that increases brilliancy, gloss and transparency of watercolors. Used for controlling how watercolor spreads when painting wet-on-wet.

Image and verbiage supplied by Dick Blick Art Materials - www.dickblick.com

Gouache

Gouache is an opaque watercolor paint. Whereas watercolors allow you to see the "white" of the paper below the paint, gouache can be applied in solid colors. This allows an artist to paint in layers from dark to light. Gouache dries to a matte finish, which makes it easy to scan or reproduce electronically, since there is no glossy shine.

These versatile, easy-to-use paints are an excellent choice for color theory instruction and other educational uses. In cakes or tubes.

Image and verbiage supplied by Dick Blick Art Materials - www.dickblick.com

Alkyds

What are Alkyds? Alkyd's main advantage over oil paints is that they are dry to the touch in 12-24 hours, and they may usually be varnished in 30 days. All colors dry at the same rate, and to a uniform semi-gloss finish.
Alkyd colors are made with an alkyd resin binder that has been modified with a nonyellowing drying oil for optimum color retention, excellent durability, and rapid drying time. Use alkyds with Liquin and other traditional Oil Painting Mediums. Clean with Mineral Spirits.

Image and verbiage supplied by Dick Blick Art Materials - www.dickblick.com

Casein

Casein is a milk-product based paint which may be thinned with water. An extremely versatile medium, caseins may be applied in any manner, from impasto to thin watercolor washes. They are water soluble, but become insoluble with time and exposure.

Caseins dry quickly to a natural matte finish, making them unexcelled for reproduction. They can also be brought to a satin sheen simply by buffing with a soft cloth. If a gloss finish is desired, casein paintings can be varnished.

Caseins may be used on most surfaces, but because of the inflexibility of the binder, they should not be applied to canvas in heavy impastos. Colors are brilliant, permanent and intermixable.

Verbiage supplied by Dick Blick Art Materials - www.dickblick.com

Tempera

Tempera uses an all-natural, biodegradable egg protein binder, and it contains no chemical preservatives. Once a container has been opened it has a limited shelf life, and it should be used quickly. Always keep tempera in its original container, and keep it tightly sealed for freshness. Never return unused tempera to the original container after it has been exposed to air.

Comes in cakes, liquid, and powder.

Images and verbiage supplied by Dick Blick Art Materials - www.dickblick.com

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