What Is The Best Paint For Artists? What Paint Is Best For Me?
Are you tired of struggling to find the perfect paint for your artistic endeavours? Or do you want to understand what makes each paint unique?
With wide ranges of acrylic, gouache, oil, watercolour and artist inks we've listed the benefits of each that we stock here at Jarrolds Art & Stationery, for your benefit.
It’s time to paint your way to greatness!
Acrylic Paint
The All-Rounder
Acrylic paint is a versatile medium known for its quick-drying and vibrant properties, making it popular among artists for various applications such as canvas painting, murals, and crafts. Its ability to adhere to a wide range of surfaces and blend easily allows artists to explore different techniques and achieve desired textures and effects.
Benefits:
Versatile - Paint on virtually any surface.
Quick Drying - You can finish your project faster.
Easy To Clean - Washes off brushes with ease.Value For Money - 5
Ease of Use - 5
Versatility - 5
Use with canvas, wood, plastics, clothes, pottery and mixed media sketchbooks.
Gouache Paint
Lovers of Retro Art
Gouache paint is an opaque water-based medium that provides a smooth, matte finish and vibrant colours.
It is commonly used by artists and illustrators for its ability to be layered, reworked, and corrected, making it ideal for creating detailed and precise artworks.
Benefits:
Best Of All Worlds - Washes like watercolour, blends like oil and dries like acrylic.
Matt Finish - Gouache dries with no glare, making this paint the best to photograph.
Rewettable - The paint on the palette can be rewetted to make it last longer.
Value For Money - 3.5
(Smaller tubes than acrylic)
Ease Of Use - 3.5
(Quick dry can lead to cracking if painted thick)
Versatility - 3.5
(Not waterproof when dry)
Use with canvas, water colour paper, mixed media paper and pottery.
Watercolour Paints
For On-The-Go Nature Artists
Watercolour paint is a transparent medium known for its delicate, luminous effects when applied to paper. It is popular among artists for its fluidity, allowing for beautiful washes and subtle gradients, as well as its portability, making it a favourite choice for open air painting and travel sketching.
Benefits:
Versatility: Create washes, glazes, wet-on-wet effects and more.
Portability: Lightweight, compact, and easy to carry.
Unique Effects: Watercolours have a transparent quality that allows for layering and creating luminous effects.
Value For Money - 4
(Whilst it can be pricey, it is long lasting)
Ease of Use - 4
Versatility - 3
(Difficult to fix mistakes due to its transparency)
Use with water colour paper and lightweight mixed media paper.
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Oil Paints
For Professionals/Traditionalists
Oil paints are renowned for their vibrant pigments and the ability to blend smoothly, resulting in rich, textured artworks.
Their slow drying time allows artists to work on their compositions over extended periods, facilitating detailed and nuanced brushwork.
Benefits:
Long Lasting Colour: vibrant pigments mean oil is lightfast and ages well.
Coverage: due to it's thickness, it provides vast coverage when using.
Time: Oil paints take longer to dry, this provides more time for artists to work with their creations and make changes.
Value For Money - 3
(Higher price point paint than acrylic, and take into account correct cleaning solvents and mediums)
Ease Of Use - 2.5
(Hard media to master initially, long time to dry and has to be cleaned with correct solvents)
(Winsor and Newton Artisan Griffin Alkyd Tubes are a quick drying alternative)
Versatility - 4
(Drying time allows you to blend and use mediums throughout)
Use with canvas and oil paper.
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Artist Inks
Art for Print
Artist drawing inks are highly pigmented, water-based inks that offer intense and saturated colors.
They are commonly used by artists for drawing, sketching, and illustration work, providing a smooth and fluid application with the ability to create both fine lines and bold, expressive strokes.
Benefits:
Expression: allows you to draw more free form and various sized lines and imagery.
Accessorise: use sponges, brush sprays, straws etc. to create exciting textures.
Writing: Use for calligraphy, not just artwork!
Value For Money - 5
Ease Of Use - 5
Versatility - 3
(Made for a specific use and art type)
Use with water colour paper and lightweight cartridge paper.
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