This was a simple blog – a comparison if you will – that I found from March 2023 that I never shared. Below is my experience with watercolor and acrylic paint.
I have a lot of trouble committing to a painting that requires a lot of time and patience. I’ve even been known to abandon a few. I process very quickly which helps me to work fast. I also have a short attention span and get bored quickly. This seems contradictory because I love details so much. You’d think that would require much more time and, in some ways, it certainly does! But that is one of the reasons why I love watercolor so much. The quality of quick drying is such a great advantage to the way I work. And achieving the right color comes so easily to me after so many years of experience. Another amazing benefit to watercolor is creating great textures and allowing the paint to flow and play.
Acrylic, on the other hand, requires the mixing of colors which takes more time. I have trouble achieving the color I need and to compensate I own a plethora of paint tubes. Getting the color I need is much more difficult for me than watercolor. And if you don’t mix enough the first time around, you may get a variation in your second mixing. Sometimes that’s okay and you can work with it but other times it may be detrimental to your painting. Also the drying time is longer depending on how thick your paint is.
With watercolor you start with the lightest of colors and work up to your darkest values. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that but with practice and experience it comes naturally. That was a big learning curve for me in the beginning of painting with acrylic. But the advantage with acrylic is the ability to highlight overtop. Once you get paint on your watercolor paper it can’t very easily be removed.
Acrylic tends to be more of my impressionistic medium whereas with watercolor I can achieve the realistic quality I love.
What are your favorite or least favorite things about either medium? What have you learned about them? I’d love to hear your experience.
The watercolor painting is titled Bluebird in the Sunlight. One of my personal favorites and popular with my customers.
The acrylic painting is titled Her Love. Likewise, one of my personal favorites and also appreciated by my customers.