Acrylic Paint for Professional Artists

As a professional artist who has been painting for over 20 years, I have developed strong preferences when it comes to acrylic paint. With so many brands and options to choose from, selecting the right acrylics can be overwhelming initially. Through trial and error working on numerous pieces, I've learned what works for my style and needs.

What Makes Acrylic Paint Desirable for Professionals

Acrylic paint offers artists many advantages over other paint mediums. As a quick-drying water-based paint made from acrylic polymer emulsion, acrylics combine the best of oil and watercolor. The fast drying time allows artists to layer and texture colors rapidly. Mixing acrylic paint with water or mediums also provides versatility when altering textures and techniques. Additionally, acrylic paints resist cracking and becoming brittle over time. This makes acrylic ideal for professionals creating large volumes of work.

Key Qualities Professionals Seek in Acrylic Paint

• Vibrant, highly pigmented colors
• Thickness and texture for impasto techniques
• Quick drying with option to slow drying time
• Ability to build layers without disturbing lower layers
• Resistance to cracking and fading over time

With those priorities in mind, let's explore some of the most popular professional acrylic paint brands and how they compare to the exceptional quality of Golden Artist Colors .

Comparison of Leading Professional Acrylic Paint Brands

Golden Artist Colors

As my preferred brand for over a decade, Golden Artist Colors heavy body acrylics set the standard for professional quality. I continue using Golden paints as my primary acrylics because of the unmatched pigment concentration and lightfastness . The rich, highly saturated pigments allow me to create vibrant focal points in my abstract pieces.

Golden acrylics also provide excellent thickness and texture . With a smooth, buttery consistency straight from the tube, the heavy body paints evenly coat my canvas. The dense, opaque paint covers underlying layers or allows transparency for glazing techniques. When mixed with acrylic retarders, I can emulate the subtle color transitions of oil paints.

Liquitex Professional Heavy Body

With comparable quality to Golden Artist Colors, Liquitex Professional offers a close second choice. The heavy body acrylic paint provides professional artists with rich, permanent pigments and a smooth, buttery texture. I find Liquitex's 2-3 hour drying time slightly too quick for blending wet paint into wet paint, but suitable for layering.

While Liquitex provides professional quality for most acrylic techniques, I prefer Golden paints for the superior lightfastness. Golden Artist Colors passes all ASTM lightfastness standards, whereas some Liquitex colors fade faster in UV light. For museum-quality work made to last lifetimes without color changes, Golden acrylics excel.

Winsor & Newton Galeria

As a 100% acrylic paint, Galeria produces quality results for professionals without the premium price tag of finer art brands. The acrylic polymer formula provides good adhesive properties for solid color retention on primed canvas. With an average consistency and opacity, Galeria offers artists reasonable performance for layering techniques.

However, unlike professional level brands, Galeria has some less permanent pigments prone to faster fading in UV light. And the mid-range fluid viscosity doesn't achieve the buttery or impasto textures performing artists often desire. For these reasons, Galeria serves well for student artists, but falls short of expectations for career professionals.

Daler-Rowney System 3

While System 3 allows artists to practice techniques affordably, the quality isn't suitable for finished pieces in a gallery collection. I experienced disappointing cracking issues when applying System 3 paints in thicker layers. So I cannot recommend System 3 for professional level work where longevity is key.

Key Considerations When Purchasing Acrylic Paint

With a wide assortment of acrylic paints filling art store shelves, it helps to know what attributes contribute to quality when making purchases.

Pigment Concentration

Higher volume of high-grade pigments in the vehicle produces richer, long-lasting color. Professional acrylics have a pigment volume between 20-60% for intense saturation.

Lightfastness Ratings

The ASTM lightfastness scale rates paint permanence when exposed to UV light. Professional acrylics ensure colors endure with the highest, Excellent (I) rating.

Viscosity and Opacity

Dense heavy body paints provide opacity for coverage without thin translucency. The buttery texture also enables brushstrokes for impasto techniques.

Packaging

Quality acrylics use air-tight dispensing caps and tubes to preserve moisture levels during long storage periods without drying or hardening.

Value Sets

Starter sets provide artists a selection of commonly used colors to begin building their palette affordably. Individual tubes can fill specific color needs.

How Professionals Use Acrylic Paint

While acrylic paint offers versatility for many techniques, professional artists tailor their approach to the medium's unique characteristics.

Color Mixing and Layering

Artists mix acrylics with water or mediums to produce washes and customize viscosities. They layer colors wet-on-dry for texture depth without disturbing lower layers.

Glazing, Scumbling, Stippling

Glazing involves applying a transparent layer of paint over another dry color. Scumbling lightly drags opaque paint over dry layers creating broken color. Stippling uses the brush tip to apply small flecks of paint.

Impasto

Using paint straight from the tube or thickened with pastes, artists apply very textured, thick paint in visible 3D strokes.

Recommended Products for Professionals

When selecting acrylic supplies, professionals choose products optimized for the demands of acrylic technique.

• Brushes - Stiff hog bristle or synthetics designed for heavy body paint.
• Primed Canvases - Acid-free cotton duck or linen canvas provides archival longevity.
• Stay-Wet Palettes - Keeps acrylic paint usable for days instead of drying quickly.

Best Acrylic Paints Recommended by Professionals

Looking at the results in my studio and hearing feedback from students and colleagues, these are the acrylic paints favored by professionals.

Golden Artist Heavy Body Acrylics

The exceptional quality and lightfastness of Golden acrylics make it the #1 choice for myself and many career artists. Comparable brands Liquitex and Winsor & Newton Artist Acrylics also rate highly but at a greater cost.