Unexpected problems

The fifth day in my own challenge and let me start by saying that photographing this was very difficult! LOL. Yes, an experienced photographer who says that the photography was difficult. Please remember this words. I don't plan to write that often. Which seriously means I really need to up my photography game again. I seriously can not remember that I had this problem ever before! And I certainly don't like this!

I've ignored my camera for far too long! My camera felt abandoned, rightly so I must admit. So I will definitely have to give more love to my camera again so that we can be best friends again soon, as it always has been before. Another problem I ran into is that my creative photography brain appeared to be pretty rusted. Really… I had serious trouble finding a creative angle for the acrylic paint photos!

Ah, yes of course I had to photograph my paint.

Since I started painting again, it is almost daily that I use this paint. And that's something I really didn't expect from myself until a year ago. After all, it had been at least 15 years since I had painted, and I was certainly not a great artist then. I liked it, and THOUGHT I could do it, but to be honest there wasn't much of that at the time. LOL.

That has changed nowadays, and now I sometimes dare to show a painting that I made. Watching tons of tutorials definitely helped me. But you notice, I'm digressing again. Today I don't want to talk directly about what I paint, but about the paint I photographed. The acrylic paint.

Google was NOT my best friend

Now that I wanted to write about acrylic paint, I also wanted to know WHY acrylic paint actually originated. And after reading whole stories about HOW it originated, WHO invented it and HOW it is made, I still don't know the reason WHY acrylic paint actually originated.

What did I learn?

I can tell you that acrylic paint is not that old actually. It has only been in use since about 1930. However, acrylic paint has quickly become popular, also with professional artists. And in theory, acrylic paint would not decay either, so there is a greater chance that the support on which you worked with your acrylic paint will decay sooner. Whether time will inflict other negative effects on the acrylic paint cannot yet be said. The type of paint is simply not old enough for that. As a type of paint, acrylic paint is less than 100 years old, while oil paint has existed since time immemorial.

Acrylic paint is often used for a few important reasons. It really is seriously cheaper than oil paint. And you can work without the toxins that you have to breathe in when you use oil paint. But there are also disadvantages to acrylic paint. The fast drying time means that you have to work very quickly if you want to do something wet in wet. And acrylic paint is flat! You really need to use tools to try an impasto technique. With acrylic paint, the touch does not remain in the paint. In addition, some techniques that are very easy to achieve with oil paint are not so easy or even impossible to perform with acrylic paint.

Does that make acrylic paint less like oil paint? No not at all. It's just different! And as a painter you will have to adapt yourself to the material you work with, and in some cases you choose it consciously, in other cases it's because you have another choice. Entirely depending on what you want to make, it doesn't make a difference, or it makes you have to adjust your idea.

Personal reasons

My personal reason for working with acrylic paint is very simple, it is a lot cheaper than working with oil paint. I paint for myself and not professionally. My work is not in galleries around the world. And I haven't even thought about selling anything at all. That only gives extra pressure, while I paint for relaxation.

A second reason is that acrylic paint is not harmful to the environment, while oil paint is. Also in terms of health, acrylic paint is much kinder to a person. With oil paint you always need agents such as turpentine and turpentine. I don't even have to explain that this is not so nice for your lungs. You will have to ventilate very well if you are going to work with this, and even then you cannot avoid breathing in these toxic fumes. You don't have to worry about this with acrylic paint. Acrylic paint is water-based, which means you only need water and maybe some soap to clean your brushes, and you can thin your paint with water if necessary.

Now I have to add that diluting your paint with water is not the smartest thing to do, it is better to use the special mediums that have been developed for that. This is for the simple reason that it keeps the color and opacity of the paint intact. With water you not only dilute your fluidity, but also the color and opacity of your paint. Depending on what you want to make, this can also be a conscious choice. In this way it is even possible to make a painting with acrylic paint that looks like you have used watercolours.

I'm not a professional painter

Many possibilities, but also impossibilities with acrylic paint. Oh well, in the end it's a hobby for me. And while a hobby may certainly cost money, I don't want to plunder my bank account with it, and I don't want to risk my health either. So I try to find all the possibilities, and accept the limitations. This way it is fun for everyone.

^{@rubencress, thanks again for the inspiration to start this challenge. If you find this inspirational, have a look at how it all started with the Not So Ordinary Challenge and join in.}

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