Three Main Paint Medium - Choosing The Right Paint. - Art Fun Studio (2024)

There are three main painting mediums – oils, acrylics and watercolours – and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Three Main Paint Medium - Choosing The Right Paint. - Art Fun Studio (1)

OIL

Used by all of the great masters, oil painting dates back to the 14th century and has been championed ever since thanks to its rich, glossy appearance and it’s longevity and durability.Oil paints are made by mixing raw pigment with oil binders, including linseed oil, poppy oil and walnut oil. You can have a go at making your own oils with raw pigment but this requires both practise and patience. Oils can be mixed with various mediums, including alkyd resins, wax or turps, in order to create a smoother texture or thinner consistency. Oils dry very slowly which means they can be worked on for long periods of time.
ACRYLIC
Three Main Paint Medium - Choosing The Right Paint. - Art Fun Studio (2)
Acrylic paints are relatively new: first developed in the 1950s, they became instantly popular with Pop Artists, such as Andy Warhol and Sir Peter Blake. Acrylics handle in a similar way to oils but they are water-based, meaning they can be applied in thin layers or thick impasto. They dry relatively quickly, although there are plenty of additives available that can be mixed with your colours to extend the ‘open’ time of the paint. Pastes and gels can also be bought to alter the surface texture of your finished painting.

WATERCOLOUR
Three Main Paint Medium - Choosing The Right Paint. - Art Fun Studio (3)
Watercolour is one of the oldest painting mediums. A version of it was first used in cave paintings and it became a popular artistic medium during the Italian Renaissance. Watercolours either come in small, hard cubes known as ‘pans’ or squeezable tubes. To work with it, the colour is diluted with water – you can choose between heavily diluted paint to create large, faint washes of colour, or a mix with less water for a stronger, more potent effect.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PAINT

For absolute beginners, acrylic is the easiest medium with which to gain confidence. The paint is opaque, meaning you can paint over mistakes – great when you’re starting out. The hardest medium to master is watercolour. This is because, aside from planning, the artist has little control over what will happen as the paint goes into the paper, although the painter can guide it, the watercolour mixture has a life of its own.

All paint comes in either student or artist grades. Artists’ quality paints will contain high levels of pigment and produce stronger colours. Typically, there will be more colours to choose from within the range and the colour will not change much after it dries – although, unsurprisingly, this all comes at a cost! Student quality paint is more affordable, but has lower levels of pigment and the colour shift is greater once the paint has dried.

Three Main Paint Medium - Choosing The Right Paint. - Art Fun Studio (2024)

FAQs

What are the three main types of paint? ›

3 Different Types of Paint for Artists
  • Watercolor Paint. Create soft and dreamy artwork with watercolor paint. ...
  • Acrylic Paint. Acrylic paint earns its popularity from its versatility. ...
  • Oil Paint. Oil paint holds unique qualities that make it stand out amongst the rest.
Apr 21, 2023

What is the main medium of art we use in painting? ›

Some of the most common media are oil paints (paints that use oil to hold pigments together), tempera (pigments held together with egg yolk), marble (soft, white stone), and bronze (a metal used to cast sculptures). Artists often use a particular medium because it affects the texture or color of the work of art.

What are the 5 common painting mediums? ›

While there are plenty of options to choose from, there are several mediums that are popular with painters all over the world: acrylic, watercolor, oil, gouache, and ink. These five paint mediums are the most versatile and allow artists the greatest flexibility when trying to create a certain look or style.

What are the choices of medium in art? ›

First, consider what kind of art you want to create. Do you want to create detailed, realistic drawings? Then pencils, charcoal, or pen and ink may be the best options for you. If you're more interested in painting, then you'll need to choose between oil, acrylic, watercolor, or gouache paints.

What is the 3 form of paint? ›

paint
present simple I / you / we / they paint/peɪnt/ /peɪnt/
he / she / it paints/peɪnts/ /peɪnts/
past simple painted/ˈpeɪntɪd/ /ˈpeɪntɪd/
past participle painted/ˈpeɪntɪd/ /ˈpeɪntɪd/
-ing form painting/ˈpeɪntɪŋ/ /ˈpeɪntɪŋ/

What are the 3 elements of painting? ›

A painting is likely to use space, color, and line, but may be less concerned with form and texture. A sculpture uses form, space, and texture, and sometimes other elements as well. A pencil drawing uses line, value, and shape, but probably does not use color or form.

What are 3 mediums in art? ›

A “medium” can refer to the materials used to make a work of art (such as clay, wood, paint, fabric, charcoal, etc.) and also refer to creation techniques such as sculpture, printmaking, watercolor, or pottery.

What is a paint medium? ›

An acrylic painting medium is a substance that is added to acrylic paint to change one or more of its properties. Mediums adjust how acrylic paint performs, feels and looks. They can be used to prepare your canvas, change texture, adjust flow, alter the working properties of your paint, or protect your final painting.

How to list art mediums? ›

Title of the artwork (in bold or italic), year created. Medium used to create (ex: crayon on paper) Brief description (This is where you can include any information about the artist, why they created the piece, how they created the piece, etc.)

What is the best medium for painting? ›

Below I've documented my own experience with the most popular art mediums.
  • Oil Paints. If you want the richest colors, this is your best bet. ...
  • Acrylic Paints. Think oil paints with less smell and a shorter dry time. ...
  • Gouache Paints. ...
  • Watercolor Paints. ...
  • Oil Pastels. ...
  • Chalk Pastels. ...
  • Colored Pencil. ...
  • Markers.
Sep 22, 2021

What is the easiest art medium for beginners? ›

Acrylic paints are one of the easiest mediums to work with. Therefore, even people with no prior art experience can simply buy an acrylic paint set and start experimenting with them.

What is the cheapest art medium? ›

10 Fantastic and Affordable Painting Mediums
  • ACRYLIC FLOW MEDIUM. ...
  • LIGHT CRACKLE PASTE. ...
  • LIGHT MOULDING PASTE. ...
  • CRACKLE PASTE. ...
  • SAFFLOWER OIL. ...
  • AMBER GEL. ...
  • REFINED LINSEED OIL. ...
  • THICKENED LINSEED OIL. A Thick Oil Medium used to improve flow, and reduce brush strokes.

What are the three types of art? ›

Prominent examples of the arts include:
  • visual arts (including architecture, ceramics, drawing, filmmaking, painting, photography, and sculpting)
  • literary arts (including fiction, drama, poetry, and prose)
  • performing arts (including dance, music, and theatre)

What are the three ingredients found in every type of paint? ›

Paint is a science of ratio. At the core paint involves three components: solvent, pigment and resin.

What is the most basic element in art? ›

Line is the most basic. With it you can create texture, shape, form and space.

What are the 3 components of paint? ›

There are various painting components from which the three major components are as follows: Pigment, Binder, Solvent.

What is System 3 paint? ›

High-quality medium, creamy body acrylic.

Daler-Rowney System3 Acrylic Paints are lightfast, permanent (ranking from 3 to 4 stars for most of the colours), opaque (10 opaque and 20 semi-opaque colours) and flexible.

What are the three main paint colors? ›

If you're talking about painting, then yes: Red, yellow and blue are the primary colors. If you're talking about physics and light, though, your primary colors are red, green and blue.

What are the 3 primary colors in art? ›

Primary colors include yellow, blue, and red. These are colors that can't be created by mixing of other colors. Instead, they combine to create secondary colors, which in turn combine to create tertiary colors. In effect, all colors stem from the three primaries.

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