To use acrylic as watercolour, make an acrylic wash by placing the paint (in an amount to cover a fifty-cent piece) in a container (takeaway ones are great) and cover with a little water. Mix gently with a hake brush until smooth, to make a sloppy paste with all lumps of solid paint dissolved, then add more water until the desired fluidity. These washes are great to unify collage on watercolour paper etc and for underpaintings on canvas.
In the photo above are two washes, one is Paynes Grey and the other Red Gold, with a watercolour collaged work ready for completion through drawing and pastel application. These washes can be stored for months because they have been made with reverse osmosis treated water. With this particular work, the wash is only used to unify the collage elements, but acrylic washes make great “watercolour” paintings full of intense colour and vibrancy. When used on a canvas, they lend a moody soft focus to the work. In “Orange Trinity” below, the first layer before glazing was an acrylic wash.
Because washes contain more than 30 % water in the acrylic paint mix, they have disturbed the adherence ability of the Binder Medium present in the paint. I will deal with making fluid running acrylic washes in a more stable way (with painting mediums) in a future post.
If tap water has been used, the washes can only be stored for a little while before going off – it is the dissolved solids in the water that does this. If reverse osmosis treated water, or demineralised water, has been used, the washes will last for months stored in air-tight containers.
There is more information in my book “Using Chroma Art Materials – Tips and Techniques for Creating Art” available for purchase from the home page on my web site triciareust.com.au.