Acrylic paints help?

Question

I am wanting to put some of my art on a website like Ebay. I see all these other people who are selling theirs saying 'quality acrylics' what are good quality acrylics? I use test pots of acrylic paint, from the hardware store. Is this OK? The colour dosn't seem any different, and the ones in the tubes don't last long enough if your painting on a big canvas.
I'm self trained (a family of artists) so don't know the rules of fine art.

Answer 1

Find an art store, like Dick Blick's or The Art Store, that sell acrylic paint in jars instead of tubes. They're cheaper. You would even be safe using Liquitex Basics. They're fairly cheap and come in most colors.

Tubes suck. With jars you can put back in the paint you don't use. With tubes what isn't used goes to waste. Jars of paint come in 4oz, 8oz and 16oz.

Also, you may decide to mix and create your own colors. I do this all the time. Your mixed colors will last forever in you store them in air tight jars.

As to covering a large canvas, there is two ways to go. The first is to buy pre-primed canvases. Because I make my own canvases they have to be primed by me. I use gesso to do this. Gesso is cheap (and can be diluted) and you can get it in 16oz or 1lb jars.

I wouldn't use cheap hardware paint if you even consider wanting your canvases to last a lifetime or several lifetimes. Acrylic artists paints are formulated differently than house paints and house paints might not bond well with the artist paints you paint over it with.

I've known of fellow artists whose paintings have peeled off of their canvas because the base they used wasn't compatible with their artist paint.

Real acrylic paint, good quality paint like Golden or Liquitex has already proven itself to last a long time. Acrylic paint is plastic based, plastic is a petroleum based product. Good quality acrylic paint will last.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Rules? The only rule is to paint what's in your heart and mind. Forget about ebay and their nonsense quality acrylics...whenever someone starts with the adjectives, you can pretty much guess that their work is crap. If you want to create value, do something original as best you can with what you have. You'll never get enough for it from ebay or probably anywhere else, but you've got a better chance with the anywhere else.

Answer 3

To cover broad areas on a big canvas, use the cheaper stuff from the hardware store and then for the more delicate detail work- spring for the tubes or jars (Liquitex is nice and buttery). Just don't eat it. If you feel the need to come clean with your potential buyers, do so to avoid problems later.