Choosing the Best Painting Medium

What is the best painting medium for the artist?

Humans have been creating art for centuries, ever since the caveman days. People have an innate desire to express how we feel and what we see.

Over the centuries mankind has used various types of painting mediums. The oldest paintings in existence are over 40,000 years old.

Let's see what artists use for painting today.

Alkyd is a popular medium.

Alkyd is a popular medium.

What Are the Best Painting Mediums?

All art paints use the same pigment colors. The only difference between the mediums is the substance added to carry the paint's color pigments.

For example; various oils in oil paint, acrylic polymer in acrylics, alkyd resin for alkyds, and gum arabic or glycerin in the case of watercolors. 

What painting medium should we start with?

Our painting medium is a matter of individual preference. Oil, watercolor, acrylic and alkyd are all good choices for the beginning artist. Let's look at them.

Oil Paint

Oil paint pigments are commonly suspended in linseed oil, hence the name "oil" paints.

The oil makes the paint slow drying. That is an asset because it gives time to change and adjust things before the paint dries.

Actually, I am partial to oil painting. That is what I used while learning to paint.

Oil paint is a pleasure to use.

How long do oil paintings take to dry?

Temperature and humidity affect the drying time. Thin oil paint can dry to touch in 2-12 days.

We may use various mediums to speed the drying time such as Liquin or Galkyd.

However, thick layers of oil paint may take up to 6 months to dry thoroughly.

What do we need for painting oils?

Oils are normally painted on a canvas. Choose either traditional stretched canvas or gallery wrap canvas.

It is stapled on the back, so the finished painting does not require a frame.

Canvas boards are great for practice and learning how to paint.

Oil paint is thinned and cleaned-up with a solvent. Gamsol, an odorless mineral spirits, is considered the best solvent for painting indoors.

Hog hair brushes are traditionally used for oil painting. Synthetic brushes, labeled specifically for oils work well, too.

Alkyd: The Modern 'Oil Paint'

Alkyd is a modern painting medium. The color pigments in alkyds are mixed with an alkyd resin, instead of oil. That speeds up their drying time.

They dry completely within 24 hours to a uniform matte finish.

I enjoy painting details with alkyds.

During the 1980s my mother and I were attending a workshop where the instructor introduced us to alkyd paint.

We tried it so our paintings would be dry for the trip home. I have been using it ever since.

There is plenty of time for blending. But they dry fast enough to paint layers in a short amount of time.

I find their fast dry time makes it easier to paint the finer details.

All the 'oil paintings' on this website are actually alkyd paint. Finished alkyd paintings look exactly like an oil painting.

Alkyds use the same brushes, solvents, supports and painting techniques as oil.

Look here for oil or alkyd painting supplies.

Watercolor

Many watercolors are transparent and let the white of the surface show thru. It gives them a light, luminous appearance.

Watercolor is perfect for butterfly paintings.

Watercolors are thinned and cleaned up with water. They dry quickly and have a fresh appearance.

There are two types of watercolor paint. It may be purchased in dried cubes, called pans. Or we may get moist watercolor paint sealed in tubes.

Watercolor paintings are traditionally done on paper. To protect the finished painting, it must be framed with a mat under glass.

Today watercolor may also be painted on Aquabord panels or canvas made specifically for watercolor.

Dry watercolor paintings on Aquabord or canvas can be sprayed with a fixative, so the painting may be framed without glass.

It is difficult to adjust watercolor after it has dried. It is easier to remove from Aquabord or watercolor canvas. See them in watercolor supplies.

Acrylic

Acrylic is a water-based paint that dries very quickly. Slow drying mediums may be added to extend the drying time.

Acrylic is a versatile medium.

Some people consider acrylic the best medium for beginners.

This medium may be painted in thin layers to resemble watercolors. It may also be painted thick to resemble oil paints.

Acrylic may be painted on anything from paper to fabric, wood or rocks. I painted fruit and flowers on my kitchen cabinets.

Acrylic pouring is a popular form of modern acrylic painting.

Dried acrylic is flat without any gloss, so the finished paintings are normally varnished. Acrylic paintings are very durable and they are framed without glass. 

Compare the Popular Painting Mediums

Let's compare oil, watercolor, acrylic and alkyd for color, cost, ease of use and longevity.

Keep these comparisons in mind as you choose your painting medium and venture into your artistic journey.

Art Mediums in History

Charcoal was one of the first painting mediums. Cave dwellers did charcoal art around 28,000 years ago. Charcoal is still used by artists today for sketching or doing complete charcoal paintings.

Black ink: Around 5,000 years ago, charcoal was ground into a powder and combined with liquid to make black ink. Later the Chinese used plant dyes to make colored inks. Modern artists have a vast array of inks to choose from.

Lovely graphite artwork by Ermir Kolonja

Graphite has been in use for centuries. It was discovered in England in the 1500s. 

Many of us probably used the common yellow #2 pencils in grade school.

• Art pencils labeled from B up to 8B are soft pencils, suitable for darker values.
• Pencils labeled H thru 6H are hard pencils generally used for sketching and light values.
• HB and F are between the soft "B pencils" and the hard "H pencils".

Modern artists, also have a wide selection of colored pencils.

Early paints were made from iron oxide ore. Today we know them as; yellow ochre, raw sienna, burnt sienna, raw umber and burnt umber.

We still use these earth paints today because they are reliable, color-fast and economical. They are an excellent addition to the artist's palette.

Earth colors are included in my recommended palette colors.

Historical Paint Mediums We Use Today

Artists still use the historical mediums like tempera, casein, fresco and gouache for modern artwork.

Fresco

Many fresco murals and paintings were done during the time of the Italian Renaissance.

In the early 1500s Michelangelo did nine fresco paintings portraying the book of Genesis on the ceiling of the chapel. The most famous one is the Creation of Man (Adam) in the painting below.

Man has been painting since the "Creation of Man"

Fresco was the best painting medium for the interior, plaster walls. The paintings are created by mixing powdered paint pigments with water. The mixture was painted on top of a thin layer of wet lime plaster.

As the plaster and paint dry, the two were fused together and dry into a lovely matte finish. They are extremely durable in the absence of water.

Tempera

Tempera is paint pigments mixed with egg yolks. It is also called, egg tempera. Tempera is fast drying and permanent. It is not flexible, so it needs to be painted on a rigid surface.

It has been used for centuries, as far back as the third century. The Egyptians used tempera and casein for their murals and paintings.

Tempera was the favored painting medium during the Middle Ages from about 1200 until 1500 when the Renaissance began.

Casein

Casein is a painting medium similar to tempera. It is mixed with milk instead of eggs. It is thinned with water.

Today casein is considered one of, if not the best painting medium for painting murals. See my casein butterfly painting.

Gouache

Gouache is another painting medium that has been around for centuries. It is an opaque water-based medium that dries fast. Their pigments are combined with gum arabic or dextrin and white paint.

Many modern artists consider gouache the best painting medium for design work, comics and illustrations.

Gouache is also used for airbrushing.

Pastel

Pastels were first made in the late 1500s. Ground paint pigments are combined with gum arabic or other glues. The pastels are formed into a stick similar to crayons or in a cake form.

In the 1600s Edgar Degas, a famous renaissance artist did 700 pastel paintings.

A modern pastel painting by LiberalLoner

There are soft pastels, hard pastels, oil pastels and water pastels depending upon how they are manufactured. Pan pastels are soft pastels placed in a small pan. 

Pastels are fast and fun to use. Use pastel paper with a textured surface to grip the pastels.

They can produce a lot of dust during use. Consequently, pastels are not considered the best painting medium for people with breathing problems.

Finished pastel paintings are subject to fading and may be smeared by touching.  A spray fixative can be used to protect the painting, but it is known for dulling the colors slightly. Finished pastels should be framed under glass.

Pastels may be used over a dry watercolor painting to create emphasis and highlights.

What is Medium in Art?

In the art world the term medium is used different ways:

• The type of art such as carving, printing, painting, etc.
• The material used for art for example, acrylic and oil are types of mediums.
• Mediums are something mixed into paint to thicken, thin, extend it, or change the drying time.

Mediums and media are both plural forms of medium in art.

Choose Your Medium and Enjoy Painting!

Most artist try different mediums before settling on a favorite. It's a matter of finding your own best painting medium.