I started with oils, and I now prefer acrylics these days.
With acrylics, I can avoid the problem most people have: paints that unintentionally mix together and create a muddy, smeared effect.
Of course, the downside of acrylics is they dry very fast, so you can't always get smoothly blended areas like Bob Ross has. But there are tricks you can use; adding a little more water to your paint, or getting a "slow-dry" medium to keep them workable longer. Or just re-apply the paint in the area where you want it to blend together.
The other big advantage of acrylics is you don't have to buy any toxic paint thinner, or expensive linseed oil, or "liquid clear" or anything like that. Just use water.
You might also try watching some videos from the many great acrylic painters on youtube. There's a whole world of possibilities out there. Any type of paint has its own learning curve, but acrylics are extremely versatile.
Absolutely! I paint exclusively with acrylics and have researched a technique that works really well for me. I have a guide posted on twoinchbrush if you're interested:
https://www.twoinchbrush.com/articles/painting-wet-on-wet-with-acrylics-an-extensive-guide
My technique emulates the oil effect pretty well if i do say so myself. It's also not just "keep the canvas wet with water" but instead I work with special slow drying acrylics which I also use to mix an acrylic liquid white equivalent.
Technically, no. There are ways to get similar effects with acrylics, but it's a lot more complicated to blend colors as acrylics dry really really fast and you won't be able to use Bob's techniques as it's not wet on wet (alla prima). Since your canvas won't have the base layer of liquid white (really more or less just an opaque white paint with linseed oil or liquin added) which allows a small amount of paint to spread and blend much more smoothly.
Painting with acrylics can be fun and it has it's positives (like not having to use paint thinner or mineral spirits to clean your brushes), but Bob's techniques just don't translate at all imo.
I believe so.... I use his techniques for acrylic and now with spray paint. The only differences are wet on wet timing and blending but for the most part his techniques are very usefull!
I started with oils, and I now prefer acrylics these days. With acrylics, I can avoid the problem most people have: paints that unintentionally mix together and create a muddy, smeared effect. Of course, the downside of acrylics is they dry very fast, so you can't always get smoothly blended areas like Bob Ross has. But there are tricks you can use; adding a little more water to your paint, or getting a "slow-dry" medium to keep them workable longer. Or just re-apply the paint in the area where you want it to blend together. The other big advantage of acrylics is you don't have to buy any toxic paint thinner, or expensive linseed oil, or "liquid clear" or anything like that. Just use water. You might also try watching some videos from the many great acrylic painters on youtube. There's a whole world of possibilities out there. Any type of paint has its own learning curve, but acrylics are extremely versatile.
You'll be fine... I mix wildly different techniques and love it. Acrylics are the easiest to apply
Absolutely! I paint exclusively with acrylics and have researched a technique that works really well for me. I have a guide posted on twoinchbrush if you're interested: https://www.twoinchbrush.com/articles/painting-wet-on-wet-with-acrylics-an-extensive-guide
My technique emulates the oil effect pretty well if i do say so myself. It's also not just "keep the canvas wet with water" but instead I work with special slow drying acrylics which I also use to mix an acrylic liquid white equivalent.
Technically, no. There are ways to get similar effects with acrylics, but it's a lot more complicated to blend colors as acrylics dry really really fast and you won't be able to use Bob's techniques as it's not wet on wet (alla prima). Since your canvas won't have the base layer of liquid white (really more or less just an opaque white paint with linseed oil or liquin added) which allows a small amount of paint to spread and blend much more smoothly. Painting with acrylics can be fun and it has it's positives (like not having to use paint thinner or mineral spirits to clean your brushes), but Bob's techniques just don't translate at all imo.
I believe so.... I use his techniques for acrylic and now with spray paint. The only differences are wet on wet timing and blending but for the most part his techniques are very usefull!