The adaptable nature of acrylic paint provides artists with the ability to experiment with various painting surfaces. Acrylic painting can be performed on canvas, painting board, paper, and even glass. While canvas and painting board may be best suited for unframed artworks, with a little surface or paint preparation paper or glass can be equally transformed with the paint. To ensure against the warping, paper should be prepared with the application of a thin coat of primer such as Gesso. When painting glass, artists will need to prepare their paint by adding caseine to ensure the paint stays in place.
Acrylic paints can be applied to the painting surface using a wide array of painting techniques. While acrylic paint taken straight from the tube can be thick, acrylic paints can be diluted with water to create the look of a wash. The quick-drying and waterproof nature of the paint allows for layering of the wash for a desired effect. To create oil painting-like artwork, retarders can be mixed with the acrylic to lengthen the time it takes to dry. Undiluted acrylic paint can be thickly applied to the painting surface using an artist’s knife or the impasto technique, which creates dimension as the paint seems to rise from the painting surface.
The addition of acrylic mediums such as gels and paste to acrylic paints offer artists a broad range of texture effects. Acrylic gel mediums are helpful in thickening acrylic paints when applied using the impasto technique. Texture gel offers a similar effect to acrylic gel but also contain bits of sand, marble dust, black lava, and crystal flakes. Modeling paste is less pliant than gels but offers artists the ability to create a textured base or relief effect for an acrylic painting. Wet paste can be manipulated into different shapes and, once dry, can be sanded, carved, and cut as desired.
While varnishes offer protection for paintings from the elements and passage of time, the coating can also be used as a technique to create color and material effects. Applying the varnish to only certain parts of the painting help to emphasize certain elements and using shiny or matte varnishes can change the depth of colors and materials within the painting. For example, when a matte varnish is applied to black acrylic paint the color is subdued with a grey hue. In contrast, a shiny varnish will intensify the black and create a glittering appearance.