Acrylic vs Watercolor
Many years ago I stood in front of my easel and thin wood panel and started my lifelong adventure with painting. Back in the 70’s, in the hills of Perth, West Australia, I had not yet heard of acrylic paint but had fallen madly in love with oils. I was about 12 years old and, somewhere between opening the tube of paint and cleaning brushes I knew my life would be forever entwined with painting.
It wasn’t until 1987 that I was introduced to the idea of using acrylics by a friend who had fallen off the oil paint wagon and onto the acrylic one. It would be a few years more before I would trade my oils for acrylics and the bright, odor free joy of painting they bring.
I have used watercolor on and off in illustration and journal work but have found that I rarely have the time to sit and paint with this meditative medium as much as I would like. During the Covid years, I took up my watercolor paints and taught online, finding myself pushed to learn more but still without time to develop my skill as deeply as I’d have liked. It comes down to time. I still have so much I want to do with acrylics and mixed media and they still get my creative juices flowing so, most of what I do is and will be in acrylic paint. I’m not an acrylic snob; just in my happy place.
I am often asked which of the two - acrylic or watercolor is the “easiest” to use. Tha answer doesn’t lie in the paint type - it lies in what the painter’s expectations are and how much they practice. If you can allow a decent learning curve and not expect a perfect outcome each time you paint, you will get better at it faster. Why? Because we learn more through our frustration and error than our perfect execution. Why do I know how to fix all my students’ painting problems? Because they were my mistakes along the way and I learned how to work with them and to fix them, I learned that sometimes leaving my ‘mistakes’ alone can add a layer or direction that makes my work richer.
Let’s take a look at acrylic vs. watercolor and even try them out to see which is more your style and preferred medium.
Acrylics Watercolor
Use water to thin and to clean brushes - use water to thin and clean brushes
Dry true to color - dry lighter than when first applied
Can be ‘fixed’ by drying and painting over - can be fixed by rewetting and pulling
Color off
Paint can cover over other paint, building - must be careful in layering so as not
Layers and texture to reactivate underneath color
Once dry does not reconstitute - can be reactivated after it dries
Is permanent - not permanent
Does not need framing - needs framing or sealing
Can be used UNDER oil paint - can be used under acrylic paint
Quick drying - quick drying
Difficult to use plein air due to paint drying - great for travel and plein air
On palette too fast as it can dry on palette and be
Reused
- White paint can be added as highlight - white paint generally not used
Paper is left unpainted for ‘whites’
Painting is constructed in layers, highlights - painting is constructed with planned
Can be added last white areas and highlights
There are many more similarities and differences between the two paint mediums including how the painter comes to the creative process energetically. I find I am quieter and more meditative when I use watercolor and more energetic and open to experiment with acrylic. I hope this comparison is of some help and that you find some time in your week to paint.