Acrylic Emulsion Paints

[Acrylic Polymer Tempera] - Tools and Equipment

The Palette. Since the acrylic tempera paints dry very rapidly, forming films that adhere strongly to any absorbent surface on which they harden, and since, unlike other water paints, their dried films do not dissolve in warm water, the traditional wooden palette associated with oil technique is not commonly employed for mixing the acrylic colors. Instead a glass slab.... is used. Because the acrylic paints do not adhere to the glass, they can be easily removed even after they have dried by soaking them with a little warm water and then scraping them with a palette knife or a window scraper. As is the case in conventional water-paint techniques, it is helpful to clean the palette frequently to insure clear mixtures of colors and to obtain paint films free of unwanted remnants of dried color. A small sprayer that can hold about a pint of water is helpful in keeping the palette clean. Inexpensive plastic sprayers for house plants are sold in garden supply stores. They have adjustable nozzles that can produce a fine mist or a coarse spray. When the acrylic tempera paint dries out on the glass palette, the artist can easily remove it by spraying it lightly with water and then allowing a few seconds for the spray to soak the paint. The unwanted color film can then be easily scraped away from the palette with a palette knife or a window scraper. If the piles of wet paint on the palette are sprayed occasionally with a light mist of water, the paint will remain usable on the palette for a longer time. [p. 193]

Brushes. The brushes described in the section on oil technique and watercolor painting [pages 69-71, 132 in the book] can be used for acrylic paints. Since the color hardens rapidly to become a film in soluble in water, it is essential that no paint dry out in the brush. Therefore it is recommended that during a painting session the brushes be kept wet in a container of water immediately after they have been used. At the end of the session, brushes should be well washed in soap and warm water and shaped up to dry. Occasionally a natural bristle brush or nylon bristle brush may dry, after it has been restored by wetting the brush and wrapping it in heavy brown paper so that the bristles are shaped back to their correct position.

Brushes made of nylon bristles work very well with the acrylic tempera paints, often retaining more of the spring of the bristle, whereas natural bristles may become soggy in the water medium. [p. 193]

Knives, Palette Cups. The usual metal painting knives are useful in handling acrylic polymer paints. Palette knives, house painters' flexible putty knives, and wall [p. 193] scrapers are also helpful in cleaning the glass palette, and often these tools are used as well in developing pictorial passages.

Instead of the metal palette cup usually employed for oil technique, a glass jar with a plastic screw top is a convenient substitute which can hold mixtures of water and acrylic medium with no danger of rusting. A few larger jars filled with water are useful for quick rinsing of brushes during the working session to allow the application of paint free of traces of unwanted color. [pp. 193-194]

[Kay, Reed. The Painters Guide to Studio Methods and Materials. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1983.]