Learn acrylic painting technique tips

Acrylic painting offers more technical possibilities than any other paint.
You can use acrylics in thin, transparent layers, just like watercolors. Or, you can apply the paint thickly and texturally, without worrying about it taking a month to dry like oil paints. You can scratch acrylics, wash them off, sand them to create interesting textures, and draw on top of them with chalks and pencils—the possibilities are almost endless.
But to use acrylic paints effectively, you need to keep two key things in mind.
First, if you want to paint with acrylics in transparent, watercolor-like layers on canvas, it's crucial to prepare your canvas correctly. You might love a heavily textured surface with texture pastes and multiple colored grounds—that's fine. However, the final, top layer of your ground is what matters most. It shouldn't absorb water too quickly, but it also shouldn't repel it, causing the paint to bead up. The ideal top layer should evenly spread and hold a thin film of water on its surface, just like high-quality watercolor paper does. And you can achieve this simply and for free—I'll tell you how at the end.
Now, before I get to the second key point, I have a question for you. Have you ever wondered why, with all the advantages of acrylics, so many artists still prefer oil paints? Despite being more expensive, less convenient, and even harmful to your health? The secret lies in linseed oil, the base of oil paints. It's plastic and slow-drying. You can blend and rework it on the canvas almost endlessly to get the perfect effect.
Acrylics, being water-based, behave differently. While you're trying to blend them, they either dry, get absorbed, or start dripping—even on a properly primed canvas. But this can be fixed, and this is the second key point. You need to add a special fluid, similar to glycerin, to your acrylics. This makes them more fluid and dramatically slows down the drying time, giving them oil-like qualities.
I've tried every acrylic additive I could find, and the one I use is VAN HEMESSEN Flow Improver. If you add it to your paint straight, it won't dry for a long time and can be blended just as well as oils. But most of the time, I dilute it with water in different ratios, depending on what I need.
And now, as promised, the recipe for the perfect top layer for your acrylic painting ground:
Mix together:
• 50g of acrylic paint with a silk or satin finish
• 25g of powder grout (or any powder filler)
• 25g of water
Apply this mixture in two thin layers over your existing primer. You can use a brush, but a small roller works best.
If you found this helpful, please share this video with other artists. This information might be exactly what someone needs to unlock their creativity with acrylics.