Better Blending with Acrylics

This video explains how to slow the drying time and create better blends with acrylics.

Products used:

Liquitex Blending Medium https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/10023...
http://goo.gl/K9QUvx

Liquitex Hansa Yellow Light Heavy Body https://www.dpbolvw.net/click-1002328...
http://goo.gl/6UaS3b

Liquitex Bright Aqua Green Heavy Body https://www.jdoqocy.com/click-1002328...
http://goo.gl/HHvfYI

The most frequently asked question I get is "How long will it take to dry?" There is not one answer to this question. It depends on relative humidity and temperature where you are painting.

The earliest additives available to painters for this were RETARDERS. Retarders simply slow the drying time of acrylic paintallowing more TIME to blend but don't necessarily also enhance the ability of colors to meld mores smoothly.

Also because retarders contain no acrylic polymer in them, you must be careful to only add a small amount to prevent underbinding of the paint film. PLEASE READ PRODUCT LABELS CAREFULLY to find out the maximum allowable amount of retarder. Generally it is about 25%.

In this video I am showing a BLENDING MEDIUM, Liquitex's Slow-Dri Fluid Blending Medium. It is the thickness of heavy cream. If you desire a more full bodied result after mixing it in, they also make a Slow-Dri Blending Gel (not shown in this video) which is more like a thick mayonnaise consistency.

I recommend adding a generous amount of the blending medium to achieve best results. In this video I mix about half blending medium to half paint. Once you become familiar with it, you can adjust the ratio to suit.

The blending medium allows colors to meld and glide more easily into one another. To me the consistency achieved is reminiscent of the alkyd mediums I used for oil painting. It give the paint what some call a "ropey" quality. I personally love the feel of it.

I recommend it for any areas of painting where you might want to achieve a more smooth gradient from light to dark or where you want to significantly slow the drying time.

You can add as much as you want to the paint. Because it has acrylic polymer in it, you don't need to be concerned about destabilizing the paint film as you would if you were adding retarder or water. (see my video on underbinding here    • Worst Mistake Acrylic Painters Make   ).

My online Acrylic Stain Painting Workshop : https://shrsl.com/2ttks​
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