Milgrom takes great pains to ensure that a composition’s silhouette is as striking as the execution of the subject matter itself in her acrylic paintings.
25 Acrylic Paintings from 25 Top Artists
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If you want to talk about a modern-day art medium success story, look no farther than the nearest brush loaded with acrylic paint. It was the medium chosen by famous 20th-century artists like Andy Warhol and Mark Rothko. It has put thousands (and counting!) of contemporary artists on the path to excellence.
AcrylicWorks 6: Creative Energy, a book worthy of pride of place, showcases that excellence by featuring the winning acrylic paintings from the 6th competition book in the AcrylicWorks series.
Enjoy 25 acrylic paintings from 25 top artist-entrants whose works span subject matter and style, but all consistently deliver “best-in-show” power.
#1 Letting Go by Randy L. Honerlah
One sees what comes to mind . . . an abstraction of trees reaching for the heavens and releasing their leaves, or a courageous awakening to look up, breathe deep and expand on your awareness. We can learn from the nature of trees, staying grounded regardless of life’s obstacles.
The value play of light and dark colors helps to represent these concepts. The breakdown of shapes, adjacent colors and values in this work reveals these ideas and keeps it fresh and uplifting.
#2 Lanterns by April M. Rimpo
What seems at first glance to be black is really layers of purple, Phthalo Blue and other dark pigments to gradually build the darkest areas. The lighter grays were also mixed using Cobalt Blue, Quinacridone Coral and Quinacridone Gold.
Rimpo creates her own grays and blacks by mixing colors. The result is much richer than using tube blacks or grays.
A Short Description
Acrylic paint is a water-based, fast-drying type of paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylics are water-soluble, but when dry, they become water-resistant. They were first developed in 1934, used in the 1940s and widely used by artists since the 1960s. Due to their versatility and fast-drying nature, acrylics became an extremely popular painting medium for many artists and allowed for a lot of fast-paced freedom in artistic exploration and production. Depending on how they are used, acrylics can have the appearance of watercolours, of oil paints, or a unique appearance unto themselves.
The Invention and Use of Acrylic Paint
The first usable acrylic resin dispersion was developed in 1934 by German chemical company BASF, patented by Rohm and Haas. By the 1940s, acrylic emulsions quickly gained in popularity for home painting, as they were easier to use and clean and dried quickly. They were also far less toxic than many other paints. By the 1960s, more and more artists starting using acrylics, attracted by how cheap they were and the fact that they held colour well, dried quickly, were water-resistant when dry, and could resemble watercolour and oil paint. In 1955, to meet the demands of artists, Permanent Pigment Company developed the first water-based acrylic gesso, named Liquitex. A year later they put out their first water-based fluid acrylic paints.
Acrylics offered artists the possibility to achieve the transparent brilliance of watercolours (by diluting the paint with water) or the sharp, densely layered effects of oil paints. By using various mediums, the paint can be thickened and the drying time becomes slower, just like with traditional oil paints. It can be used on all kinds of different surfaces: paper, canvas, wood, masonite, cloth, concrete and brick, among others.
First Artists Using Acrylics
Mexican Muralists
Some of the very first artists to use acrylics were the Mexican Muralists, the most notable ones being Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. They started experimenting with acrylics due to the durability and practicality of the paint. The Politec Company was founded in Mexico City in 1953, and supplied most of the Mexican Muralists with water-based acrylics.
Abstract Expressionists
Many of the Abstract Expressionists started favouring acrylics. In the Color Field generation immediately following the AbEx period, Helen Frankenthaler and Louis Morris used them for their richness in colour and for the watercolour effects they were able to attain with them. Mark Rothko mixed oil paints, powdered pigments, acrylics and glue tempera to create his iconic paintings. Robert Motherwell mixed acrylics with graphite and charcoal to create many of the 200 versions of his painting Elegy to the Spanish Republic. Then there was Barnett Newman, who made a relatively late-career transition from oil paints to acrylics.
David Hockney
David Hockey used acrylic paints to create some of his best-known paintings in the 1960s, including A Bigger Splash.
Roy Lichtenstein
The famed pop artist Roy Lichtenstein was another lover of acrylics. He used this paint for his comic-book inspired paintings like Whaam! and Drowning Girl.
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol was all about innovation, about breaking with the stuffy, old-fashioned past. Acrylic paints fit perfectly with his philosophy on art and life. His Campbell’s Soup Cans are among the many paintings he did with acrylics.
Acrylic painting is affordable, portable, easy to learn, and produces a visually striking and durable medium for expressing artistic ideas. It is a method of painting where the color pigments are applied to a hard, smooth, and water-resistant surface called the canvas.
The canvas is then pressed against support (often aboard, but can be any flat surface) for several minutes. Often the painting is then allowed to dry for a period of time. Acrylic paint dries quickly and is, therefore, a very practical and flexible medium for painters. Today acrylic paint is used by all levels of artists. From beginners to world-renowned art professionals, everyone is using acrylic paints and paints.
Is it hard to create an acrylic painting?
Creating an acrylic painting isn’t as difficult as it may seem. The color you use can make or break a painting. If you want a vibrant, vibrant, and bold color, you should use paint that is made from pigments that are vibrant and bold. For people new to acrylic painting, the process can seem daunting. That’s because acrylic paint is not earth-shatteringly different than other art mediums.
For example, oil paint dries slower than acrylic paint, and the extra drying time is referred to as “open time.” As such, acrylic paint is great for beginners because it is simple to use, requires very few materials, and is much less intrusive on the senses than oil paint.
Is acrylic painting waterproof?
Acrylic painting is a great hobby and a very good alternative to oils paintings. Anyone who has ever tried to paint an oil painting realizes that they are not easy to paint. Oil paintings require special care and preparation, which is why many people prefer to try their luck at acrylic painting. Acrylic painting has several advantages over oil painting. With acrylic you can make the colors brighter, more vibrant, and more intense than with oil painting.
Acrylic painting is a beautiful art medium that can be used for many different styles of painting. However, since it is a water-based medium, it is not ideal for outdoor painting. Though it is not impossible to use acrylic painting outdoors.
If you are interested in acrylic painting, you may want to explore the following. First, make sure you have the proper supplies, such as acrylic paint and a container to mix it in. If you are going to be painting outside, you will need to make sure that it is not too windy, as the paint may get blown away.
