Acrylic Paint
5 features of an artist-quality acrylic paint
How to recognize good acrylic paint — and how to test each feature yourself at the painting table.
“Artist quality” is printed on many labels. What lies behind it only shows when you paint: in the color strength, in the opacity and in whether a painting still looks the same in a few years as it does today.
Our Acrylic Paint is highly pigmented, made from pure acrylic and solvent-free. It is smooth and creamy and dries satin matte and waterproof. It comes in 77 standard shades and 5 neon shades, each in 30, 120, 250 and 500 ml. It is developed, mixed and filled in Bludenz.
Here are five features that tell you it is artist quality — with a simple test for each.
1 The color strength comes from the pigment
Good acrylic paint gets its effect from the pigment, not from additives. With our Acrylic Paint, the opacity is not artificially altered by adding large amounts of filler. An opaque shade covers because its pigment covers. A transparent shade stays transparent.
The high pigmentation lets you dilute the paint heavily with water. 26 shades are pure single-pigment shades, made from exactly one pigment. Single-pigment shades mix more predictably. Mixes of shades with several pigments can turn gray or dull.
How to test it yourself:
- Draw a pencil line on canvas or paper.
- Paint a shade neat across it, and next to it a heavily diluted mix.
- With opaque shades the line disappears; with glazing ones it stays visible. The diluted sample shows you how far the color strength goes.
2 The opacity is on the label
Artist quality also means: you know before painting how a shade will behave. Every shade of our Acrylic Paint carries one of four ratings: transparent, semi-transparent, semi-opaque or opaque. The rating is on the back of the bottle, on the product page and in the color chart.
In the Acrylic Paint line, 35 shades are opaque, 34 semi-opaque, 6 semi-transparent and 2 transparent — Quinacridone Magenta and Ultramarine. The same color name can cover differently in another line. Signal Red and Titanium White are opaque as Acrylic Paint and semi-transparent as Aquarylic Color.
- Use opaque shades for underpainting and for corrections.
- Use transparent and semi-transparent shades when you want to glaze and layer colors optically.
- See all shades with their opacity in the color chart.
3 The lightfastness is stated
Whether a painting fades by the window depends on the pigment. That is why the lightfastness belongs on the bottle. 71 of the 77 standard shades of our Acrylic Paint reach “excellent lightfastness”. That is 5 out of 5, equivalent to Blue Wool Scale 8.
Six shades are rated “very good”, that is 4 out of 5 and Blue Wool Scale 7: Bordeaux, True Violet, True Violet Light, Lavender, Lavender Dark and Magenta. Five of these six shades contain the pigment PV23. The five neon shades carry the rating “high lightfastness for fluorescent pigments”. They are semi-transparent and glow especially in daylight and under UV light. We do not carry paints with lower lightfastness. Once dry, the paint is age-resistant and non-yellowing.
- If you paint for a bright room or for outdoors, choose shades with excellent lightfastness.
- Read the rating on the back of the bottle before you use a shade over a large area.
- Protect the finished painting with Final Varnish. It has UV protection and protects the colors from yellowing and fading.
You’ll find background on both ratings in the article Lightfastness and opacity in art.
4 The shade stays the same as it dries
Many people know the moment: the mix is right, and once dry it looks different. Our Acrylic Paint shows no color shift while drying. What you mix wet stays that way when dry. That makes results predictable and remixing easier.
Once dry, the paint is waterproof. Until then, you have time for corrections. Thanks to its high elasticity, you can work in several layers.
- Paint a finished mix on a scrap piece and let it dry. Then compare it with the wet mix on the palette.
- For a large area, mix enough right away. If you do have to remix, the consistent shade helps you.
- Wash brushes out immediately. Dried paint is waterproof and can no longer be removed with water. For thorough care there is Brush Shampoo.
5 Creamy for painting, diluted for pouring
A good acrylic paint adapts to your tool. Our Acrylic Paint is smooth and creamy and easy to brush. You apply it with a brush, a palette knife or other painting tools. For pouring, you also dilute it with water. For large cells in pouring, Acrylic Paint is the better choice than Aquarylic Color.
It adheres to absorbent grounds such as canvas, paper and primed painting surfaces. Likewise to non-absorbent ones such as plastic, metal, glass and porcelain. On wood and, with a primer, on walls too. You can combine it with watercolor, gouache and other acrylic paint.
- For palette knife techniques, use the paint neat.
- For glazes, dilute a transparent shade with water.
- For pouring, stir the paint with water until it flows, and test the consistency in a small cup.
Store the bottles tightly closed between 8 and 25 °C. That keeps the paint smooth.
The best way to check the five features is with a selection that runs right across the palette: yellow, red, blue, green, earth tones, white and black. It includes Ultramarine and Quinacridone Magenta, the two transparent shades of the line, and Signal Red and Titanium White, two opaque ones. That way you see the full span of opacity on one palette.
For testing and painting: the Acrylic Paint 18 x 30ml Set
Acrylic Paint 18 x 30ml Set
Reviews come from customers after a confirmed purchase (Loox) or are verified by Trusted Shops.- 18 shades in 30 ml: Titanium White, Lemon Yellow, Permanent Yellow, Orange, Signal Red, Dark Madder Red, Quinacridone Magenta, Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine, Phthalo Blue Cyan, Indigo, Cobalt Turquoise, Lime Green, Phthalo Green Bluish, Chrome Oxide Green, Ochre, Sepia, Deep Black
- Opaque to transparent: from opaque Signal Red to transparent Ultramarine
Enough shades to run through the pencil line test, glazing and mixing sample from this article with real paints.
€69,00incl. VAT, plus shipping
Frequently asked questions
What makes Acrylic Paint different from Aquarylic Color?
Acrylic Paint is creamy, dries satin matte and ranges from transparent to opaque depending on the shade. Aquarylic Color is silky and fluid, contains no fillers and is transparent to semi-transparent. The comparison of paint media gives you an overview.
Is Acrylic Paint suitable for encaustic?
No. For encaustic and cold wax, Chalk Paint is one of the few suitable paint media.
Which safety notes apply to Acrylic Paint?
The paint is intended for artistic use. You’ll find the safety data sheets with all notes for each product under Downloads.