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The Best Paint To Use For A Beautiful Collage Painting
Published in
George St Gallery
8 min read
May 25, 2020
Acrylic paint was first developed in the 1930s. A revolutionary product that allows artists to create the thickness of oil paint consistency or thin watercolour transparency. What I love best about acrylic paint is that it is all water-based — no toxic vapours and easy to clean up.
Acrylic paint dries fast and is waterproof when it is dry, means you can work in layers. Or even paint over the top and start all over again if you don’t like the first attempt. There is nothing like the feeling of the lavish application of beautiful, thick paint. Especially in an abstract expressionist style of application.
Acrylic paint is made up of two components: pigment (colour) and acrylic binder (polymer). Full body paint or heavy-bodied paint has thickeners added. Fluid acrylic paint is made up of the binder without thickeners and with just the pigment. You can also make the paint thicker by adding a medium or gel, or you can use the paint in thin transparent layers.
There are a variety of gels, mediums and pastes, which create a diverse range of textures and applications. Acrylic products are compatible with each other, and the versatility means you can create whatever it is your imagination can conceive. I will cover the use of gels, mediums, and stencils to create texture in another article.
I use three brands of acrylic paint consistently. I don’t get paid to endorse any particular brands; I’m just telling you what I have used for over 25 years. My favourite acrylic paints are Atelier, Liquitex and Golden Paints. They all have a selection of heavy-bodied and fluid paints.
Picking a Hero Object to Paint in Water
First of all, imagine a picture you want to get and pick an object that will be a hero of your shot.
You can shoot only abstract clouds of paint, that’s cool too. Especially if you combine two or three colors in one cloud.
But, with a specific recognizable object, you can tell a story with your photo. Your shot becomes not only a cool wallpaper but a work of art.
You can put an amazing cloud of paint behind a perfume bottle. Or pour some paint inside a martini glass and make a ‘cloud cocktail’.
You can pick some fruits or vegetables and make them dissolve in colorful clouds. Or maybe even photograph several objects at the same time and make a fast-dissolving salad.
Flowers are also a great choice for this trick. For example, here I picked a tiny Like icon made out of thick paper.
Check the Color Wheel Before Mixing Colors
It’s very tempting to use complementary colors in abstract liquid photography. Getting an image with a high color contrast is a good idea, right?
Well, not when you’re dealing with real paint. Mix red with green in a fish tank and you’ll get an unpleasant brownish mess. The same goes for purple and yellow or a popular combination of orange and blue.
Instead, use colors that are a bit closer to each other, but still have some color contrast. Say, blue and hot pink would produce a fantastic shade of lilac.
Warm yellow and colder shades of green can look very fresh. And orange with red can be a fiery combination!
I recommend thinking about a rainbow. If you can imagine your color combination creating a nice gradient inside a rainbow, you’re on the right path!
What Props Do You Need?
Fish Tank
The first thing we need is a small fish tank. I can’t stress enough that the fish tank should be really SMALL! Four litres would be enough.
It’s important because after every iteration we need to clean and refill the fish tank. And start again.
It’s much easier if you can lift it and carry it to the bath or sink without the risk of dropping it or exhausting yourself.
I made my first experiments in 15-liters fish tank. I consider myself to be a rather sporty person. But carrying around 15 litres of water in a slippery glass box was hard.
After that, I bought the smallest fish tank I could find, and it works like a dream!
Acrylic Paint Mixture
Another important thing is the paint. Keep in mind, that different types of dyes behave differently in water.
Acrylic paint is much denser than water. It holds together as it drifts through the tank and forms pleasing opaque clouds.
Ink (spirit-based) is light, transparent and a bit hard to control. It has a tendency to escape from the syringe before you start to push it.
Food dye is transparent, not as bright as ink and has the same density as water.
I favour acrylic paint both for its fantastic look and the natural way it interacts with solid objects.
When I was shooting dissolving tomato or chilli pepper, I assumed that if they dissolve in water, they would produce a dense transparent smoke, as acrylic paint does.
Before we are ready to form a cloud, we need to have some modifications. First of all, use some water to make acrylic paint a bit less dense. So you can pour it easier.
Don’t add too much water! A too watery solution won’t produce sculpture-like shapes we want to see. Also, mix the color to match the tone of your object.
It doesn’t have to be 100% correct, but should be close enough.
I like using syringes without needles for pouring paint. It gives me more control. If you like using something else (even a teacup), that’s okay too.
Supports for the Main Object
If you’re not shooting only abstract clouds of paint, but have an object to play the leading role, you’ll need something to fix the object on its place.
The entire construction should be steady and motionless. So the only thing that’s moving will be painted.
There can be several solutions to this problem.
- First, use special clamps, if you have them.
- Second, a sheet of glass. For my shot of the chilli pepper, I glued a fork to an additional sheet of glass. If the glass is clean and unscratched, it would be invisible inside the water.
- Third, a combination of a stick, a glue gun, and a stationary clamp. I did that for the shot with Like icon, as you can see.
Whatever you do, don’t use threads and strings. Unless you can attach them at the bottom of the fish tank as well, and thus make the construction steady.
They tend to react on every motion in a body of water, making the object unstable and draining all the fun from the process. Keep everything in its place and enjoy.
