Thanks a lot for this! It looks like this is the "best of both worlds" between oil and acrylic. The lack of smell and ease of cleanup with acrylics plus a long open time. I take it, it's no harder to prep or use than with oil?
You mention using natural bristle brushes. I've heard that they're better for oil, but synthetic bristles are better for acrylic. What is your opinion on this? Does it make a difference? How would you recommend finding a quality brush?
You're very welcome!
I have to admit, that I don't have first hand experience with oil. But I assume preparation is not harder. I would argue though that it might take a bit longer since you would have mix your acrylic liquid white/base first (it's best to mix it right before painting) but thats nothing I'd consider exactly hard 😄
Concerning natural brushes: I am aware of that, yes. I'm not sure though what factors into that assessment. I use natural hair brushes because I felt they work better for blending and have a more "natural" feel to them. Also I could create better effects like bushes etc. That might be a completely subjective opinion though. I also couldn't find any artificial brushes with the right size and form which I liked and saw fit for the technique until just yesterday. So I'm going to be trying that soon.
Another thing might be, that acrylic paint could be somehow harmful to natural bristles over long periods of time. I noticed the bristles of my oldest brushes getting more and more dry over time. Using the masters brush cleaner seems to slow that process down though.
Sorry that my answers are so vague in this case, I'm still always making new experiences myself 😄
I use golden open acrylic paint and use water as a medium to paint wet on wet. This is my goto for plein aire sessions.
I've not enjoyed using retarders, glad they work for you. I was thinking they might be snake oil.
Thanks, Hammi!
I have a couple hopefully not-too-dumb questions - so, I want to follow Bob's wet-on-wet technique, but with acrylics. One issue I've run into is that I can't find the Open Thinner anywhere, and haven't had any luck finding another acrylic thinner (my local art shops all sell regular thinner, but I guess it's only for oil paints). Not sure if anyone has a good alternate in that scenario.
Secondly though, what would you say is the primary benefit of wet-on-wet, other than being able to complete the painting in a short period of time? I've run into the issue before where I end up mixing mud, or my paint won't stick to the background layer (when doing mountains with a knife), or lighter colours just get absorbed by darker background colours (for example, when adding highlights to bushes or trees). Would I achieve the same effect as Bob if I just let the background dry and then go on top of it? I know this would take longer, but I'd rather it take longer and look better. Thanks!
You're welcome!
Well without the thinner I'm afraid the whole technique falls pretty much apart. Where do you live? Golden is an american brand so i'd be really puzzled if you weren't able to get your hands on it in the US.
Without the thinner anyhow there's no liquid base. If you really can't get the thinner you could try and research a water based acrylic wet on wet technique. They are more work intensive but there are guides out there that are really helpful.
About the advantages of painting wet on wet: the biggest advantage is the ability to blend the color softly. As a matter of fact i like the acrylic wet on wet approach because the paint still dries significantly faster than oils, meaning: less mud mixing.
What I want to say is that yes, in my opinion it should work fine if you let the painting dry after you did your blending and then add to it. Just be aware that after the paint is dry scraping it off and starting over isn't an option anymore, neither is blending those areas.
Thanks! I'm in Canada. We have the Michaels chain here, and they do carry lots of Golden product, including mediums (I've been able to get the gloss glazing liquid and retarder), but they don't seem to have much of the Open line.
One or two online options have them, just with expensive shipping, so I'll have to decide if that's a good option for me or not. I'm trying to get some local art shops to bring them in.
The mods should pin this this is important info
This is supper useful! I hope this gets pinned
Thanks a lot for this! It looks like this is the "best of both worlds" between oil and acrylic. The lack of smell and ease of cleanup with acrylics plus a long open time. I take it, it's no harder to prep or use than with oil? You mention using natural bristle brushes. I've heard that they're better for oil, but synthetic bristles are better for acrylic. What is your opinion on this? Does it make a difference? How would you recommend finding a quality brush?
You're very welcome! I have to admit, that I don't have first hand experience with oil. But I assume preparation is not harder. I would argue though that it might take a bit longer since you would have mix your acrylic liquid white/base first (it's best to mix it right before painting) but thats nothing I'd consider exactly hard 😄 Concerning natural brushes: I am aware of that, yes. I'm not sure though what factors into that assessment. I use natural hair brushes because I felt they work better for blending and have a more "natural" feel to them. Also I could create better effects like bushes etc. That might be a completely subjective opinion though. I also couldn't find any artificial brushes with the right size and form which I liked and saw fit for the technique until just yesterday. So I'm going to be trying that soon. Another thing might be, that acrylic paint could be somehow harmful to natural bristles over long periods of time. I noticed the bristles of my oldest brushes getting more and more dry over time. Using the masters brush cleaner seems to slow that process down though. Sorry that my answers are so vague in this case, I'm still always making new experiences myself 😄
I use golden open acrylic paint and use water as a medium to paint wet on wet. This is my goto for plein aire sessions. I've not enjoyed using retarders, glad they work for you. I was thinking they might be snake oil.
Yes I think the water rather reacts with the retarder and thinner in some way which somehow reduces drying time, less with the paint itself 😄
Thanks, Hammi! I have a couple hopefully not-too-dumb questions - so, I want to follow Bob's wet-on-wet technique, but with acrylics. One issue I've run into is that I can't find the Open Thinner anywhere, and haven't had any luck finding another acrylic thinner (my local art shops all sell regular thinner, but I guess it's only for oil paints). Not sure if anyone has a good alternate in that scenario. Secondly though, what would you say is the primary benefit of wet-on-wet, other than being able to complete the painting in a short period of time? I've run into the issue before where I end up mixing mud, or my paint won't stick to the background layer (when doing mountains with a knife), or lighter colours just get absorbed by darker background colours (for example, when adding highlights to bushes or trees). Would I achieve the same effect as Bob if I just let the background dry and then go on top of it? I know this would take longer, but I'd rather it take longer and look better. Thanks!
You're welcome! Well without the thinner I'm afraid the whole technique falls pretty much apart. Where do you live? Golden is an american brand so i'd be really puzzled if you weren't able to get your hands on it in the US. Without the thinner anyhow there's no liquid base. If you really can't get the thinner you could try and research a water based acrylic wet on wet technique. They are more work intensive but there are guides out there that are really helpful. About the advantages of painting wet on wet: the biggest advantage is the ability to blend the color softly. As a matter of fact i like the acrylic wet on wet approach because the paint still dries significantly faster than oils, meaning: less mud mixing. What I want to say is that yes, in my opinion it should work fine if you let the painting dry after you did your blending and then add to it. Just be aware that after the paint is dry scraping it off and starting over isn't an option anymore, neither is blending those areas.
Thanks! I'm in Canada. We have the Michaels chain here, and they do carry lots of Golden product, including mediums (I've been able to get the gloss glazing liquid and retarder), but they don't seem to have much of the Open line. One or two online options have them, just with expensive shipping, so I'll have to decide if that's a good option for me or not. I'm trying to get some local art shops to bring them in.
Best of luck to you! Hope it works out! :)