In the context of abstract painting courses, many of you have asked me what is the most appropriate paint to start with. So I decided to produce this article and video.
Reminder: What is paint made of?
Before we can understand the differences between acrylic and oil paints, it’s important to understand the composition of the paint.
Pigments
Pigment is the substance that colors your paint. Pigments can be natural, mineral or synthetic.
Pigments are now generally created chemically and presented as a fine powder.
Today, pigments are often synthetic, unlike long ago, when pigments had to be found in animals, flowers, plants, rocks, etc.
Binders
The binder binds your pigments and transforms them into a kind of paste. This famous paste is the paint you have in your tubes.
The binder will also enable your paint to adhere to your canvas or support.
The binder is different for acrylic and oil paints.
- For acrylic paint: The binder for acrylic paint is acrylic resin.
- For oil paint: The binder is simply vegetable oil such as walnut oil or linseed oil.
If you are interested in paint composition, please read my article and video: Creating your own acrylic paint
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is made by mixing pigments and synthetic resins.
Acrylic paint has many advantages
:
- Can be diluted with water
- Fast-drying in just a few minutes (retarder can be used to extend drying time)
- Easy to apply
- It’s easy to mix
- Low odour compared to oil paint
- It’s strong and indelible
- The range of acrylic paints is very wide, and the cost of acrylic study paints is very affordable for beginners.
The main advantage of abstract painting
The fast drying time is, in my opinion, the main advantage.
Indeed, in abstract painting, we often need to go fast and work on several layers.
Oil painting
Oil paint is a very slow-drying type of paint. This slow drying allows for touch-ups over time.
Oil paint is historically the oldest (late Middle Ages) and has been used by most of the great painters in our history. At the time, it was the only way to paint, since acrylic paint is a much more recent development.
Oil paint is a simple mixture of pigments and oil, resulting in a paste of varying thickness and oiliness.
Oil paint offers the following advantages:
- Slow drying
- You can work in cool conditions for longer
- The paint is smoother
- Interesting material work
- It’s considered the queen of paints! (Probably for historical reasons)
The paint I use in my case
The priority for me is to have a paint that dries quickly, for the simple reason that I love working with different layers.
So I naturally turned to acrylic paint, which was perfect for my needs.
I’ve been working with acrylics ever since I started. I dilute it, mix it with whatever comes to mind, and gradually tame it.
To conclude
As much as I’d like to recommend acrylic paint to get you started, there’s no single paint that’s ideal or most appropriate for abstract painting.
It all depends on how you work and what your objectives are.
Want to create your own paint? I invite you to read this article.
What about you? What kind of paint do you use?
Post your own testimonial in comments and tell me which paint you prefer for your abstract painting practice.
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