Welcome to our first blog post dedicated to the “Artist on a
Budget”.
If you are like me, you are an
artist with very little budget for art supplies or marketing. I have been
dedicating a lot of energy not only honing my craft but also with the challenge
of going about being an artist with very little money. We can still succeed in
spite of this challenge, we can seek information and advice from others who
have also been in our shoes.
Jon Masters, a.k.a. “The Homeless Artist” is an individual
who has gone through this experience and he is actively sharing his knowledge
that he has learned to “Give Back” to other artists.
Your questions and comments are encouraged on the topics
that we present here and if there are any points that we missed.. we will get
back to you as soon as we research on it a little more.
If there are specific topics that you have questions on…
please do add them to the conversation as this is one of the places that
readers can get actively involved. Your inquiries are encouraged and
appreciated.
Let’s talk about ACRYLIC PAINT – The primary medium used by
Jon Masters to create his beautiful paintings.
Acrylic paints are fast drying polymer water based paints
that, depending on how the artist applies the paint, can have a look similar to
oil paints but unlike oil paints, they do not require any solvents in their
application.
To begin our conversation we need to have a quick review of
the different types of acrylic paint available for artists to use. There are
Sooooo many different BRANDS to choose from and many of these BRANDS have
developed different viscosity, from fluid to heavy (or thick) body, of
acrylic paint that an artist could choose to experiment with but when I talk
about TYPES of paint in this article what I am really meaning are GRADES of
paint.
With Acrylic paint there are 3 main GRADES and they are as follows:
Lowest CRAFT GRADE, medium STUDENT GRADE and highest
PROFESSIONAL GRADE.
What differentiates the grades, other than price, from each
other? PIGMENT to FILLER (emollient that holds pigments together in suspension)
ratio and also “LIGHTFASTNESS” which is the ability for the paint, once
applied, to hold its vibrant color over time. The lower CRAFT GRADE contains
less pigment and higher levels of filler, the medium STUDENT GRADE has more
pigment to filler ratio than the CRAFT GRADE and lastly the PROFESSIONAL GRADE
contains the most pigment to filler ratio.
As for LIGHT-FASTNESS, acrylic paint is considered a new
paint technology and although there have been BRANDS that have done specific
testing to gain knowledge of a particular paints LIGHT-FASTNESS, the honest
truth is that the acrylics just haven’t been around long enough to be certain
the level of LIGHT-FASTNESS that the
different GRADES of paints will experience
over time.
Although there is no denying the PIGMENT to FILLER ratio of
the differing acrylic paint GRADES on the topic of LIGHT-FASTNESS there is much debate and opinion by
individuals that have reported that artworks using CRAFT GRADE paint is just as
vibrant as the day the artwork was created some years ago. How the artwork is
treated, displayed or stored by those who own it has a lot to do with the
acrylic artworks condition over time as it would any artwork.
Jon has stated in his YouTube video tutorials that it
doesn’t take much money to get some craft grade paint to get us started. In
particular he recommends the “Apple Barrel” brand that can be found in most
craft stores like Walmart, Micheal's, Cheap Joe’s, Jerry’s Artarama, Hobby
Lobby, (both walk-in & online). It is a blessing that those of us without
any disposable income can get a hold of low cost options and we can take further
lesson from Jon and do like he has done which is as we progress we can “upgrade” in our paint purchases. Take
note that the least expensive place to purchase the “Apple Barrel” brand
acrylic paint was easily found at Walmart stores.
The following is a breakdown of a few paints and their GRADE
level that is carried by Walmart:
Apple Barrel $0.50/2oz (purchase in store only, usually
good "in store" availability, no online ordering) Craft Grade
Americana $3.00/2oz (Purchase in store-color choices
subject to availability, or order online to be delivered to your) Craft Grade
Questionable whether American has better light-fastness than Apple Barrel as
some have claimed. Craft Grade
Chromacryl
Fluid Acrylic $8.00/8oz (Store
availability very iffy – best to order online with delivery to your door. You
will have to pay shipping costs) Student Grade
Liquitex Basics
six 4oz tubes $23 (Purchase in store –
usually good availability, or order online to be delivered to the store for
pick up or you can pay shipping to be delivered to your door. ) Student Grade
Liquitex soft body
professional 2oz/$12.00 - (Store
availability very iffy – best to order online with delivery to your door. You
will have to pay shipping costs). Professional Grade
If you
choose to start using higher than the Student GRADE level paints... you will
find the best deals at ONLINE ART SUPPLY STORES but you will most likely have
to pay for shipping costs unless you purchase over a certain amount (for
Walmart as of Feb 21, 2016 online purchases over $50.00 = free shipping and at
www.dickblick.com online purchases over $100.00 = free
shipping). You will want to watch for
deals/coupons. To do this you can join the online art stores mailing list and
they are likely to notify you of promo’s and coupons when available or if you
do not want to join mailing lists be sure to perform a google search for
available coupons from the particular online or walk-in art store that you
intend to visit.
Higher Grade paints have more pigment and less filler’s and
may be able to weather the test of time better than artworks made with paints
with less pigment and higher filler’s. As for the LIGHT-FASTNESS or
Brightness/vividness of the color staying as bright as when created? Only time
will tell if the higher grades fair better but there is a good chance, having
higher pigmentation… that we could guess that the higher grades would stay
brighter longer.
Bottom line is we need to use the type paint that we as
artists feel comfortable in using and for some that comfort may depend on the
cost especially if we are just starting out or if we are poor without any
disposable income allowed for supplies. I hope that you have found this information helpful and I look forward
to your comments.
Best
Blessings,
Chris Bell, an “Artist on a Budget”
