Acrylic Paints

Acrylic Paint For Sale

Since its introduction in the 1930s, acrylic paint has become increasingly popular due to several advantages over oil paint. It dries faster, can be applied more easily, has the same high intensity colours and can be diluted in water although it is waterproof when dry.

Acrylic paint, however, comes in different grades and qualities, so make sure you get the best acrylic paint to achieve the results you want.

Acrylic paint has several qualities that can vary between brands. One is the paint’s resistance to light exposure (known as light fastness). This generally depends on the amount of pigment in the paint, the most expensive fine art products being the most resistant while cheaper student grades have less resistance and fluorescent colours have least of all.

The purity of a paint’s colour (its brilliance) is greatest when there is only a single pigment and becomes duller when pigments are mixed to form a colour. When mixing paints, therefore, it’s best to buy acrylic paint that has few pigments since this retains brilliance better. Brilliance also improves when pigments are ground to a small particle size, student grades tending to be coarser and duller than fine art versions.

One of acrylic paint’s main benefits is its ability to dry quickly, taking around 15-20 minutes on average to surface dry as against potentially several days for oils.

That means an acrylic painting can typically be completed in a single session since there’s little waiting time between layers. However, if layers are thick, they may be surface dry but wet underneath, especially in cold or humid conditions.

A final consideration when choosing a type of acrylic paint is its tendency to change its appearance as it dries, a condition known as colour shift. This is less in higher quality paints.

Additives are available that make acrylic paint appear or behave differently. Drying time can be speeded up or slowed down by adding an acrylic medium while others cause the paint to dry with a matte or sheen finish, or add transparency.

Some mediums add special characteristics to your painting, such as making it cracked and appear old, while others increase or reduce brush marks or the level of gloss. It’s worth experimenting to see what you can do to give your painting that special look.

As well as having paint for sale, we have numerous products to enhance your experience with acrylic paint. These include varnish to protect your finished painting from damage. And rather than using brushes, acrylic paint pens are a useful alternative, especially for writing or drawing on various surfaces.

If you’re considering where to buy acrylic paint, rest assured we only sell the best at Art Shed and can help you select the one with the characteristics you need.

Art Shed supply art supplies online in Australia including canvas art supplies, acrylic paint, kids craft supplies and plenty more. Shop online with Art Shed and save big on your art supplies.