The Paints Dry Too Fast!

This is often the first complaint about acrylic paints, particularly from oil painters. The paints do dry quickly and drying time changes with the weather. This quick drying factor has become an advantage for me. It helps me work with layers, letting colors show through, and I believe that gives me better control and more vibrant colors. It’s a matter of preference and experimentation.

Quick drying lets you paint over passages that don’t work in 5-10 minutes. You can layer transparent colors just as quickly. Also, you don’t have to wait as long to varnish or frame acrylic paintings as opposed to oils. That said, you do have to work differently with acrylics:

Take care of your brushes while you paint, they are your biggest investment: Wipe brushes gently on rags and rinse them frequently as you work. This is more urgent when the air is dry, like in heated rooms in the winter. Don’t ever let paint dry in a brush. If that happens the brush has gone to the Dark Side. I use two rinse cups: Wipe the brush with the cloth, rinse the brush in the first cup, pat it dry, then rinse it in the second cup, shape it and put it in a flat position to rest. Don’t crush the brush into the bottom of the rinse cup because that damages the bristles. You will see the first cup of water fill up with color very quickly. Remember that with the pigment there is a lot of acrylic plastic in the rinse water too. The second cup does not show much, if any, color but there is still enough acrylic plastic there to ruin a brush. When I finish a painting session I wash all of the brushes with a gentle soap (I use baby shampoo) and luke-warm water. Wash the bristles gently but thoroughly all the way to their base, The acrylic loves to hide where the bristles meet the ferrule. I then rinse them a final time, dry and shape them gently and lay them flat on on top of a cup, box or anything that will support them so that the bristles are not pressed against anything.

This isn’t as much work as it seems to be and after a couple of times it becomes habit. Your brushes will love you for it and you can get a lot of years out of cared-for brushes.

While you are working, do not just wipe your brushes and put them in water to soak. The water can cause the brush handle to swell and make that paint flake off, dropping onto your artwork. The water can also loosen the ferrule of the brush enough to make it unusable.

Don’t let your paints dry out on your palette: A small mister or spray bottle will keep the outer surface of your paints from drying or “skinning over” while you work, costing you lost paint and causing lumps. An air-tight palette will be a great help in this and save you a lot of paint. Commercial paint palettes with padding and special paper to keep your paints wet are great and come in different sizes. I once forgot paint and left it in a large airtight palette for over two years. When I opened the palette a couple of colors had grown mildew but they were still wet and some cadmium yellow in there was still as clean and workable as it had been when it came out of the tube. Note: Cadmium is toxic.

A cheap alternative to commercial palettes: I save 1/4 lb or 1/2 lb clear round plastic deli containers then use the lids as palettes and the bottoms as airtight covers. As I work I spray the paints now and then with plain water. When I finish a painting session I wet a cotton ball, place it on a clean part of the palette and snap the lid in place. The wet cotton keeps the paints from drying and my paints can last for weeks. The small size is enough for most of my painting and keeps me from squeezing out half a tube of paint when I only need a little. Note: It is good to wash the mayonnaise out of the containers first.

Jay HelfrichAugust 8, 2019