An Introduction to Painting Mediums

What Are Painting Mediums?

If you’ve ever seen a painting that looks glossy or has a texture similar to velvet, you’ve seen a painting that has been finished with a texture medium. This is what makes paint “fluid” when you apply it to support. It’s also what makes paint “stay” when you’ve applied it and allowed it to dry. There are many different types of painting mediums. Some are meant to be mixed with watercolors or acrylic paint, while others are meant to be mixed with oil paints. Some are meant to be applied to the support before you paint and others are meant to be used once the paint is dry.

Distemper

Distemper is made from rosin, chalk, and water. It’s a painting medium used for oil-based paintings, most notably by artists painting portraits. It’s said that distemper was the medium used by Van Gogh for his famous self-portraits. Distemper is used to create a soft, velvet-like texture on the support. It is applied with a palette knife, which makes it great for applying paint to larger areas. Distemper dries to a matte finish, so it’s not ideal for every painting.

Oil

Oil painting is as old as civilization itself. It’s made from a mixture of linseed oil and pigmented minerals like ochre, umber, or sienna. Although it’s often thought of as a singular medium, oil paints come in a wide array of colors. Once you’ve applied oil paint to your support, you can add a medium called “oil” to make the paint flow more easily. Oil paint dries slowly, which means you have plenty of time to work with it. It also creates a very rich texture, which is ideal for portrait paintings. Oil paints are extremely pigmented, so you don’t need to apply a lot of paint to cover a surface. Oil paint dries to a matte finish, so you can’t use gloss mediums with it.

Acrylic Paint

Acrylic paint is water-soluble, fast-drying paint made of acrylic resin, pigment, and water. It’s most commonly used for large-scale murals, but it’s also great for artists who want a bolder, more vibrant palette than watercolors provide. Acrylic paint dries to a high-gloss finish, making it ideal for more modern paintings. It comes in a wide array of colors, and there are many different mediums you can use to alter the texture and finish of acrylic paintings.

Water Colors

Watercolors come in tubes and are made from water-soluble pigments, gum arabic, and a synthetic polymer. They’re ideal for creating more subdued paintings, as they are often very light in color. Watercolors dry to a matte finish, but they have a high capacity for rewetting. This means that if you make a mistake, you can easily re-dampen the area of the support and “fix” it.

Using Mediums Together: Mixing and Scumbling

If you want to create an ombre effect in your painting, you can mix mediums to achieve this. For example, if you’re using acrylic paint and watercolors, you can mix the two to achieve an ombre effect. This is called “scumbling”. Scumbling is very easy; you just need to add water to acrylic paint or add watercolors to acrylic paint. You can also mix mediums with decorative paints, like metallic paints.

Gel Medium

Gel medium is a thick, acrylic-based medium that dries to a glossy finish. It’s ideal for creating texture in your paintings, and you can use different colors to create different effects. Gel medium dries slowly and can be applied to wet paint. You can use it to add texture and create an ombre effect in your paintings, or you can use it to create a watercolor effect by painting with a wet brush on dry paint.

Sumi Ink

Sumi ink is a traditional painting medium that’s been used by Chinese and Japanese artists for many centuries. It’s made from a mixture of soot, rice paper ash, and water, and it can be applied to almost any support. Sumi ink is a very bold medium and works great for painting landscapes. It dries to a matte finish, so it’s not ideal for portraits.

Conclusion

As you can see from this list, there are many different types of painting mediums. Some are meant to be mixed with watercolors or acrylic paint, while others are meant to be mixed with oil paints. Some are meant to be applied to the support before you paint and others are meant to be used once the paint is dry. Distemper is made from rosin, chalk, and water. It’s a painting medium used for oil-based paintings, most notably by artists painting portraits. Oil painting is made from a mixture of linseed oil and pigmented minerals like ochre, umber, or sienna. Acrylic paint is water-soluble paint made of acrylic resin, pigment, and water. Watercolors come in tubes and are made from water-soluble pigments, gum arabic, and a synthetic polymer. Sumi ink is made from a mixture of soot, rice paper ash, and water and can be applied to almost any support.