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Dan Avenell
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Joined: 06 March 2008
Posts: 1038
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| Posted: 07 August 2008 at 7:25pm | IP Logged | 1
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By the time I've finished an acrylic painting there's little lumps and bumps of paint all over the place. What's a good way to get rid off them? Sandpaper? Pick em off with a scalpel? Thinner and a cotton bud?Anything that works for you please advise.
The painting btw is Britney Spears with shaven head.
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Warren Leonhardt
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Joined: 10 July 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 454
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| Posted: 07 August 2008 at 7:31pm | IP Logged | 2
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Use some thinner, or even just a dash of walnut oil. Also, there are some additives/retardants you can buy that will give the paint different viscosities that might help with the consistency. It sounds like you're using older tubes.
Wouldn't those lumps & bumps suit the subject matter tho?!
Edited by Warren Leonhardt on 07 August 2008 at 7:31pm
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Michael Huber
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Joined: 27 August 2007
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| Posted: 07 August 2008 at 7:34pm | IP Logged | 3
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I dunno bout acrylics, but many oil paintings have a texture to the paints. I wouldn't call em lumps though.
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Warren Leonhardt
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Joined: 10 July 2008
Location: Canada
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| Posted: 07 August 2008 at 7:56pm | IP Logged | 4
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Yeah, acrylics are a weird paint in comparison. They behave really differently than oils. My wife's a professional painter with a couple of galleries stocking her stuff and she went nuts when she tried to switch from oils to acrylics. There's just a different set of issues with them.
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Andy Mokler
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Joined: 20 January 2006
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| Posted: 08 August 2008 at 2:38am | IP Logged | 5
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Acrylics are the best all around medium to work with in terms of versatility and ease of use. They do take some getting used to but with the right technique(s) you can emulate just about any other medium(watercolor, oils, etc.). They're cheap and water based for easy cleaning. Fast drying, too.
As far as removing "lumps" I wonder what the painting looks like with them? Texture is a big part of an original painting. If you're going for a smooth look to the finished product you'll probably want to work with scrubbing techniques and/or dry brushing to attain your tones. Also, I've found that layering the colors helps with depth and uniformity.
Smoothing out paint that is already dry without having to do some touching up is a trick that I unfortunately don't know. Rubbing alcohol breaks down acrylics but I don't know how controlled you'd be able to apply it.
Just for reference, remember that even though acrylics are water based using water to thin them isn't the same as using acrylic thinner.
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Joel Biske
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Joined: 18 January 2007
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| Posted: 08 August 2008 at 2:12pm | IP Logged | 6
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Nothing like painting with plastic. If I'm understanding it correctly, the little lumps and bumps are probably bit of dried paint that you've either picked up off your palette as you're mixing, grabbing more piant, etc... or simply bits of paint that have dried on/in your brush and are flaking off as you paint.
One of the things about acrylic... when it dries... it DRIES.... It's plastic. YOu can pick it up, you can't move it.
If you're painting thin enough to get... or to care about the lumps, oyu need to be diligent about keeping your palette wet and your brushes clean. Keep a spray mister of water next to you and get in the habit of misting it down fairly frequently.... Or... paint thick!
Acrylic is hell on brushes. Use the synthetic ones, they actually hold up better that a more expensive sable brush.
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Joel Biske
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| Posted: 08 August 2008 at 2:16pm | IP Logged | 7
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Warren,
I feel you're wife's pain there. I know people who have gone from acrylics to oils, but that's the first I've heard of the reverse. I imagine she got quite a surprise the first time she tried them.
I used to use acrylics, but moved to gouache and oil years ago. Most of my color work now is digital, for the sake of ease... but these are illustration, rather than gallery work.
I still use some acrylic for underpainting the gouache AND the oils. That way my value work remains intact underneath...
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John Caliber
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Joined: 19 July 2008
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| Posted: 08 August 2008 at 3:38pm | IP Logged | 8
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Or, use a computer program like Painter X which simulates all manner of paints and finishes but lacks the annoying surface texture?
I've found it a lot of fun, but realise of course that the smell and feel of old school painting is a pleasure to lots of others.
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Jo Harvatt
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Joined: 06 July 2006
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| Posted: 08 August 2008 at 5:44pm | IP Logged | 9
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I think you have to work with your medium and accept it for what it is - if you want a really slick surface go for oils or digtal
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Matthew Panek
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Joined: 18 June 2004
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| Posted: 08 August 2008 at 6:23pm | IP Logged | 10
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I checked out your website, Dave. You've got some pretty pictures of some saucy ladies!
I like your Spider-Man sketch a lot. Nice work.
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Warren Leonhardt
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Location: Canada
Posts: 454
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| Posted: 08 August 2008 at 7:31pm | IP Logged | 11
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I know people who have gone from acrylics to oils, but that's the first I've heard of the reverse.
++
Yeah, she was trying to find ways to reduce fumes. She's switched back because, well, the acrylic fumes you can't smell, but they're probably worse. As you say, it's a liquid plastic. We have since bought a larger house and she's in a better painting space now, so oils fumes aren't an issue as much. Plus, switching from turp to walnut oil made a huge difference. Headaches she used to get are gone.
Edited by Warren Leonhardt on 08 August 2008 at 7:32pm
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Dan Avenell
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Joined: 06 March 2008
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| Posted: 09 August 2008 at 1:26pm | IP Logged | 12
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Thanks for your responses - Joel I think you're right, I need to be more careful when applying the paint, and not let blobs form into raised lumps. There's not too many, but I want a smooth finish. Picking them off with my fingernail seems to work ok, I was just wondering if anyone had a better technique.
I used to paint a lot with acrylics way back when I used to paint leather jackets. But once I discovered Photoshop I was hooked on the power and control, and that's how I colour most of my work once it's been pen and inked. But I wanted to do some paintings for an upcoming exhibition, and broke out the acrylics again - and the thing that's toughest is that unlike Photoshop, if you screw something up you can't just go back a few history states to when it was better.
It's coming along though... slowly.
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