How do I get acrylic paint to spread evenly on a cotton canvas?

Question

I'm new to painting. I recently tried paining a 11x14 stretch cotton canvas one color (green). As I was painting, I noticed that the paint would not spread evenly. Instead, it would be thicker at some points then thinner at others leaving it dark and light after drying. I did not mix the acrylic paint with anything, just used it straight out of the tube. Any tips or help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Was the canvas primed? Was green the first colour you applied?
How good was the quality of the paint? Some cheap acrylic paints have low levels of pigment and lots of filler and this means as they thin the colour gets weaker. If the canvas was not primed then the paint was soaking in quickly causing patchy effects. You could try adding some spreader medium to your paint. This will flow the paint quickly. How large was your brush, what type? A square brush will spread paint more evenly than say a filbert.
if you wanted a green ground on which to paint try applying the paint with a roller rather than a brush [still use some spreader medium] and try two coats in opposite directions..

Answer 2

you, actually, can you almost anything for acrylic painting... I have used skateboards, snowboards (no polyurethane), cloth, wood, even guitars. if you are going to use a t-shirt, you might want use 3 layers of white spray paint then apply gesso. That way it would be the same texture as a canvas. Also when you stretch it, you want an XXL and cut the sleeves and cut it down the sides. That way you can stretch it and have no wrinkles. Also, you can go to you normal hard war store and by some 1x1.5 and cut the wood at 45º angles, after you find the length and with of the painting. (Make sure the fabric is bigger than the wood.) Plus you need to get support going down the middle of peaces so that you will have some support. it shouldn't coast to much for the wood. I hope I helped..... Good Luck and Happy Painting.

Answer 3

Depending on the quality of your paint, water may actually make it streak more. Use a good acrylic gloss medium and mix that with your paint, it should flow more evenly. (Matte medium dulls your colour when used in layers.) The more you pay for paint, the better it behaves... buy the best you can afford.

Keep in mind, most green pigments are transparent by nature, and so any streaking will be more noticeable. Phthalocyanine (transparent) is the base pigment in most greens.You may need a few coats. The only opaque green pigment I know of is Chromium Oxide, see if you can find this if you continue to have trouble.

Answer 4

Don't get discouraged...take a CLASS. A beginner's acrylic class will get you going in the right direction. Always, always, thin your paints with water. Place a dab of your paint on your palette and use the brush to add water. I use styrofoam meat trays from the butcher for my palettes. They are disposable! If you have paint left you don't want to dry up, cover the tray with a sheet of plastic wrap and they stay good for the next time (a few days). I love acrylic painting, but you have to take a class or you will get discouraged. Have fun!

Answer 5

You shouldn't be using a cotton canvas, that's probably your problem. You just need a regular white canvas. If you go to a crafts store they usually tell you on the wrapper it comes in what paints are compatible with it and so on.


I also wanted to mention that acrylics usually dry darker than they go on.

Answer 6

thin it with water.make the strokes randomly with several coats.You can also thin with matte medium.This will dull the finish later you can varnish if desired