The Paints Dry Too Fast!

This is often the first complaint about acrylic paints, particularly from oil painters. The paints do dry quickly and drying time changes with the weather. This quick drying factor has become an advantage for me. It helps me work with layers, letting colors show through, and I believe that gives me better control and more vibrant colors. It’s a matter of preference and experimentation.

Quick drying lets you paint over passages that don’t work in 5-10 minutes. You can layer transparent colors just as quickly. Also, you don’t have to wait as long to varnish or frame acrylic paintings but you do have to work differently with these paints:

Take care of your brushes while you paint: Wipe them on rags and rinse them frequently as you work. This is more urgent when the weather is dry, like in heated rooms in the winter. Don’t let paint dry in a brush. If that happens the brush has gone to the Dark Side.

Don’t let your paints dry out on your palette: A small mister or spray bottle will keep the outer surface of your paints from drying or “skinning over” while you work, costing you lost paint and causing lumps. An air-tight palette will be a great help in this and save you a lot of paint. Commercial paint palettes with padding and special paper to keep your paints wet are great and come in different sizes. I once forgot paint and left it in a large palette for over two years. When I opened the palette a couple of colors had grown mildew but they were still wet and some cadmium yellow in there was still as clean and workable as it had been when it came out of the tube. Don’t eat the cadmium paint.

A cheap alternative to commercial palettes: I save 1/4 lb or 1/2 lb clear round plastic deli containers then use the lids as palettes and the bottoms as airtight covers. As I work I spray the paints now and then with plain water. When I finish a painting session I wet a cotton ball, place it on a clean part of the palette and snap the lid in place. The wet cotton keeps the paints from drying and my paints can last for weeks. The small size is enough for most of my painting and keeps me from squeezing out half a tube of paint when I only need a little. Note: It is good to wash the mayonnaise out of the containers first.