HW 4/11

Isabelle Lydick

Acrylic:
The binder for acrylic is matte medium.  You can thin acrylic with water.  The most common surface is canvas, usually gessoed.  Acrylic is pretty much in the middle in terms of opacity between oil and watercolor.  A variety of brushes can be used with acrylic paint, it just depends on the effect you want to achieve.  For example, fine brushes can be effective with acrylic paint.  Three different painting techniques for acrylic are glazing, pouring the paint directly on the canvas, and also dry brush, in which a small amount of paint is applied to the canvas with a dry brush, often done in layers.

Oil:
The binder for oil paint is linseed oil.  You can thin oil paint with turpentine.  The most common surface for oil is pretty much the same as for acrylic paint, a gessoed canvas.  Oil paint can be very opaque, with little translucence.  The best brushes for oil paint also vary, but bristle or sable brushes tend to work well.  Three different painting techniques for oil are wet-on-wet, under painting, or applying paint with palette knives.

Watercolor:
The binder for watercolor paint is gum arabic.  You can thin watercolor with water, as you can with acrylic.  The most common surface for watercolor is thick paper.  Watercolor paint is usually very translucent.  The best brushes for watercolor tend to be sable brushes.  Three different techniques for painting with watercolor are working in layers, spraying it, or applying it in a wash.