The Thrifty Painter

Reggie Hart

Here are some tips and tricks for

acrylic painting…

Unit #1 – Extend drying time of

Acrylic Paint

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Greetings Everyone,

I am a self taught painter. It took many years to learn

what I could probably have learned at art school.

But hey, I didn’t have the time or the money to go

to art school.

In this slide show, I am going to share some tips and

tricks with you.

The goal here is to have fun, create some paintings,

and save money.

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Acrylic paint dries super fast and becomes as hard as

plastic…

• Q. Do I need to paint fast?

• A. Yes, but there are ways to slow

down the drying process…

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• Use a “Wet-Palette” to slow down the

drying time of your acrylic paint.

Make your own “Wet-Palette” following

these simple steps.

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• I use a rectangular palette that I

bought at a department store.

Look around in the kid’s art

section. These are super cheap.

• You could also just use a plate or

any flat surface. Paper plates work

well and are disposable.

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rectangular palette

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Cover rectangular palette with

paper towels -- 2 or 3 layers deep

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Wet the paper towels thoroughly

with water and pour off the excess

water….

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• Use baking paper to cover the wet towels….

This stuff is cheap and can be bought at any

department or grocery store….

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• Try not to get water on top of the baking paper,

the water will absorb through the bottom. If

the baking paper gets wet on top, just dry it

with a rag or paper towels…….

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Don’t put too much paint on your wet

palette. Just use small drops or small

globs and add paint as it gets used up….

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Make your own acrylic extender to

slow down the drying time of the

paint.

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• Some painters use water to mix with acrylic

medium, but I do not recommend using water.

Too much water makes the paint lose it’s

ability to stick… it has no binder… binder is

like glue…. And all acrylic paint contains

binder…. Acrylic medium has binder in it

too…

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• Make your own acrylic medium mix to extend

the drying time of the paint. The mix should

have the consistency of honey or a thin

milkshake….

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• Acrylic Gel Medium – there are many

different brands…. I use a 50 -50 mixture of

gloss and flat medium…. I don’t recommend

any particular brand, but I normally use the

one on the right…

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• There is no exact formula, but here is what I

do….

• Buy some acrylic medium at your local art

shop.

• Buy some blend and stroke (flow) medium.

• Buy some acrylic retarder (do not buy retarder

varnish).

• We will make our own mix of these….

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• Flow Medium – there are many different

brands…. I use Jo Sanja’s Stroke and Blend…

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Retarder Medium – there are many different

brands…. I use Jo Sanja’s…sometimes I use

Matisse…

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• There is no exact formula, but here is what I do….

• You need to make up 2 different base mixes which

will be used for all of your painting requirements…..

• Gel Mix: Mix gloss and flat gel medium 50 - 50

• Flow Mix: Mix blend and stroke (flow) medium and

retarder 75-25

• 75 = flow medium / 25 = retarder

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Base Mix #1 – Acrylic Gel Mixture

• Gel Mix: Mix gloss and flat gel medium

• Mix it 50 – 50 (makes a satin mixture)

• You can skip this step and just use whatever gel mix you

bought at the store….flat or gloss depending on how you

want your painting to look… flat or shiny…

• (*Tip – Use this Gel Mix instead of varnish once your painting is

finished. Cut it with water Gel Mix 80 / Water 20…I dampen my

brush and then dip it into this mix and coat my finished painting 2

times.)

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Base Mix #2 – Acrylic Flow

Mixture

• Flow Mix: Mix blend and stroke

(flow) medium and retarder 75-25

• 75 = flow medium / 25 = retarder

• You might use less retarder if you like…

• Some painters add a little water, but I do not

recommend it….

• You could try one third water to the mix… but water

has no “glue” (binder).http://artsold.yolasite.com/

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Final Mix – use this when you paint

• Mix your “Gel” base mix with your

“Flow” base mix.

• Mix about two thirds gel with one third

“flow” – 75 - 25 shake it up well….it

should pour out like watery honey…• Again, there is no exact number for the mix, it might

be 80-20 or even 90-10.

Dip your brush in the mix and then into the paint… or mix

them together on your palette….

(Tip * - Always keep your brushes damp…. Acrylic paint

dries like plastic…)

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The Thrifty Painter

Reggie Hart

• Contact me on Facebook, or Youtube or

visit my website…

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Questions?

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