Home Forums Explore Media Acrylics “untraditional” additives to arcylic paint

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  • #982730

    i have only tried one small acrylic painting.
    i have started oils. (i’m not a snob…i think though that relating past “masters” and the time-honoured history of them though pulled me towards them)

    Anyways, since acrylics are “plastic”
    per se, right?, could one add any powder etc. to them for effects, such as sand or whatever and not worry about a bad something happening?

    just curious….

    ——————
    Everybody is an artist;
    now, whether one choses to be referred to as one or not is another story…. -paul-

    Everybody is an artist;
    whether one choses to be referred to as one or not is another story.... -paul-

    #995677

    :) hello Paul
    I have done several paintings in acrylic and added sand directly to the paint and used also “impasto”( so is it called in germany) to ad sand in greater amount to the painting together with paint or without paint, and I also worked with impasto and surgical gauze on canvas
    hope that helps, if you get further questions please send an e-mail
    willem

    #995660

    You can mix just about anything into acrylic paint, with a few possible exceptions:
    1. Do not mix anything oily or greasy. Oil and water do not mix.
    2. Do not mix anything that will rust or otherwise react with water, unless that’s what you want to happen. Metallic sodium is right out.
    3. Do not add chlorine bleach or other chemicals that react with the acrylic medium to produce toxic gases.
    :D

    Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?

    #995676

    Not to be overly cynical, but can anything related to acrylics be untradional?

    :D

    Dave

    Any images appearing in this message are hereby placed into the public domain and may be freely used for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to private or public use, unless otherwise stated, and excluding images for which I am not the copyright holder.

    #995656

    There are also a lot of new mediums on the market for adding to your acrylics….tar medium, mediums with beads, irridescent, sand, glitter, etc. You can add almost any thing that will adhere with your paint or medium as mentioned before.

    Recently I saw someone use kitty litter! instead of sand for texture and it worked great!
    carly

    #995654
    Deb

        Of course it was clean, unused kitty litter!

        But what about painting on paper? Can you use any paper and do you have to coat it with an acrylic medium before you start painting?

        #995661

        Sure, you can use acrylic on paper. However, as a waterborne medium, it will cause all the buckling and degradation that other water based paints cause, depending on the quality of the paper. Fortunately, once it’s dry, acrylic will serve to bind and protect the fibers. No need to worry about rot like with oil on paper, eh?

        Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?

        #995666

        acrylic on paper is totally fine! i don’t gesso or coat my paper with medium as it seems unnecessary. acrylic is nondestructive and can be applied directly to almost any clean surface. it’s not wrong to gesso first, you just don’t have to.

        i tend to paint more thinly on heavy printmaking paper or matte board. i just pin it to the wall and buckling is minimal. thinner paper will buckle but you can tape or glue it down like a watercolorist and when it dries buckling will be minmal the most solvent portion of acrylics in this context is the water!

        paints handmade by brooklyn artists
        contact us ([email protected]) for a free sample!
        http://store.yahoo.com/sarkana

        #995668

        i didn’t mean to post twice!

        Darcy

        "Heaven and Hell are right here on Earth. Heaven is living in your hopes and Hell is living in your fears. It's up to each individual which one he chooses."
        -Tom Robbins

        #995669

        Ok, i made a panel with 8 sections, 4 for acrylic and 4 for acrylic gesso. (I tried the kitty litter, and it was HORRIBLE. i would like to know what type you are using, cuz it has to be something else.) I tried 4 different additives from my front yard. Dirt from an ant mound, kitty litter, tiny pebbles and small pebbles. amazingly, the ant dirt was VERY NICE! :clap: it made a fabulous sandpaper texture, and made the gesso a pretty tan color!

        I will use it in the future.

        also, when i made each square, i did the top part by brushing it on with a soft brush and the bottom part by using a foam roller. very different textures.

        So go dig up your ants, (be careful not to get stung!)

        i guess the fact that ants are so picky is what makes the dirt so fine and even! I love it!

        i may post a pic if i ever figure out how! :cat:

        Darcy

        "Heaven and Hell are right here on Earth. Heaven is living in your hopes and Hell is living in your fears. It's up to each individual which one he chooses."
        -Tom Robbins

        #995662

        With fine powders, and quite likely absorbent granules like kitty litter, you may need to add a surfacant to allow the water/acrylic emulsion to mix without being repelled. Also, in the case of absorbent clays, like kitty litter, it may be beneficial to use a more viscious medium, like heavy gel or modeling paste, with a generous amount of extra water. The added water will be soaked up by the granules anyway, dehydrating as the paint drys normally, and the heavy gel will tend to stay between the grains rather than flow out the bottom.

        Don’t take my word for this, though. I haven’t yet tried this myself, but I’ll report back when I do.;)

        Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?

        #995681
        espax
        Default

            Anyone try white flour?

            Last year I sold a triptych with three similar panels. Additionally, I painted a fourth panel in a similar style. It was for my personal collection and I was open to experiment a bit.

            To the paint was added gelex and a bit of white flour. Within days, the flour had gentle cracking effect, however adhesion does not seem to be a problem. Gave it extra time to cure before varnishing.

            #995658

            Espax: That sounds like something I’d want to try. I’ve hated all of the texturizing gels (pumice, glass beads, etc.) I’ve experimented with. But what is Gelex?

            Victoria

            I've had all I can stand, I can't stands no more!
            - Popeye

            #995680
            espax
            Default

                Gelex is the (former?) name of liquitex’s Matte Opague Extender Gel Medium.

                #995667

                [i]Originally posted by strawberrrie [/i]
                [B] amazingly, the ant dirt was VERY NICE! it made a fabulous sandpaper texture, and made the gesso a pretty tan color! [/B]

                now you are thinking like an old master! if you were in siena or umbria, you’d be making a raw umber or raw siena variant! i hope you do figure out the photo thing because i’d love to see how this looks.

                and i feel so inspired by my fellow acrylic enthusiasts’ love for experimentation!

                paints handmade by brooklyn artists
                contact us ([email protected]) for a free sample!
                http://store.yahoo.com/sarkana

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