Are you struggling with acrylic paint drying on your palette?
- These 4 tips should solve your problem!
Hello fellow artists!
Have you ever tried to use acrylic paint for a larger project or a longer period of time? Then you know that because of the components in the paints, they dry super fast! Both on the canvas but also, sadly, on the palette! I have, in this post, a few tips for you, so if you want your acrylic paints to stay workable for longer on the palette - Keep reading!
Tip 1: Buy a slow drying medium.
You can get slow drying mediums for your paints. Different brands offer different kinds.They usually come in 2 types of consistencies. Like a thin watery gel, and a thick gel.The watery gel has a tendency to be cheaper to buy, from my experience, but they are still both reasonably priced, when it comes down to it.They also don't last quite as long as the thick gels do out from, again, my experience in my own practice.
You should always mix according to the description on the bottle or the bin of the medium, most of the time, very little goes a long way. What you do is that you put some paint out on the palette, and then you add the slow drying medium in the amount as described on the product.Then you mix carefully with a palette knife or something else, just… Please… Don't use the brush you are about to paint with, thank you! :D
The mediums should keep the paints workable for a couple of hours, like 4 to 6 hours depending on the amount of paint you put out, which is a lot longer than the 1 to 2 hours they are workable straight out of the tube…
The slow drying mediums also are transparent when they dry so they don't affect the color or vibrancy of your acrylic paints at all.
Tip 2: Use plastic containers.
What I do when I have a larger project that I know will take me weeks to complete, is that instead of using a palette to squeeze out paint on, I use small plastic containers with a lid that closes tightly, so the paints don't dry out. They can typically fit 2 to 6 paint dollops in each container if you squeeze them out near the edge.
You can also use the containers to premix your paints in, if you have to mix a specific color and you want to make sure it won't dry before you are done using it.
Sometimes you can buy cheap plastic containers with lids included in bulk, in dollar stores or grocery stores.
I got mine from my local supermarket.
The paints will maybe dry out a little over time, especially if you forget to put the lid back on or close it properly. But in my experience, I have had premixed paints in sealed plastic cups laying around for months, and they are still workable! If you have left the lid off for a couple of hours, a quick mist with a water spritzer should do the trick to keep them moist.That is a pretty solid option of doing it in my opinion.
Tip 3: Get a “stay wet” palette, or make one yourself.
Stay wet palettes is a great option, but also one of the more expensive ones to buy. The palette is built up like this; it is an airtight container, with a sponge that you wet/moist and then some parchment like paper on top of the sponge, that you lay your paints on, as the palette.
The moisture from the sponge beneath, keeps the paper workable as the moisture seeps through the parchment.You are supposed to change the paper after every use when it's filled up with paint. The palettes range in size and price, depending on where you buy them.
You can also go the DIY route and make one yourself, with your own airtight box, a sponge and parchment paper.
I own 2 stay wet palettes, and the only real issue I have with these types of palettes, are their tendencies to develop mold in the sponge if left unopened too long. Besides the outrageous price here in Denmark…I don’t know about the price of a palette like that, from let's say “Mastersons” in the U.S.
Tip 4: Buy “Golden” slow drying acrylic paints
The art supply brand “Golden” produces a line of acrylic paints that are slow drying. So it is like a hybrid between acrylics and fast drying oil paint. They are pretty expensive than standard acrylic paints though.
The paints in this line are more transparent than regular standard or heavy body acrylic paints. But they do have the advantage of drying way slower. I have experienced that they usually take about 2 days to dry in dollops on the palette, and about 1 hour to half a day on the canvas depending on how thick the paint layer is applied.
I would use them like oil paints. With a regular layer of acrylic paint on the canvas as an underpainting, and then use the slow drying paints from very thin and watery consistency to thick.
They take a little bit to get the hang on, and for some people they are not what they expect or want them to be. Luckily you can buy a small set and try them out. They come in sets of 6 to 10 colors, most of them in 22ml tubes, but sometimes, if you’d buy a larger set, the white paint comes in a 59 ml tube, and the large sets also include a small bottle of medium to mix into the paints.
I hope these tips were helpful to you, in some way! Remember, sometimes it is better to buy larger tubes or bottles to save money in the long run; and only squeeze out a little amount of paint. Usually you need much less paint on the palette than you think you do!
A short n’ sweet post. Take care!
-ONYX