In contrast to oil paints, acrylic paints are not diluted with oil, but with water. This has the great advantage that acrylic colors are usually dry within minutes or hours and enables the artist to apply different layers on top of each other in a relatively short time period. With a dried surface or structure paste, the surface is retained and the color can be changed again and again.

 

Acrylic paints often have a luminosity that appears artificial. When mixed with other acrylic colors, the resulting mixed color quickly appears dull and gray-brown. For me, therefore, the greatest challenge is to create an acrylic paint that retains its radiance, but at the same time still looks natural.

 

My favorite techniques are the spatula, the squeegee and the pouring technique or a combination of all of them. With the spatula and squeegee technique, thick, pasty paints, structure pastes or other structure-generating materials are applied to the painting surface. Instead of a brush, painting knives, spatulas or a large squeegee are used. Materials and colors are applied particularly thick and impasto.

 

With the pouring technique, on the other hand, the color is mixed with water until it appears translucent. When pouring over a relief-like surface, more paint remains in the deeper structures, so that a lively 3D effect can be created. The overall picture appears light, translucent and blurred. The combination of acrylic paint with structure paste, clay or sand on a rough canvas is particularly exciting for me. The quick drying fixes the grains and creates an earthy, natural subsurface.