Making Acrylic Paint Denser for Impasto Effects
Artists can adjust acrylic paint to a range of consistencies, from watery washes to heavy, sculptural layers. Adding thickening agents allows the paint to hold its shape and produce dimensional surfaces, a style referred to as impasto.
By Toby Williams4 steps
Add sand to acrylic paint for an interesting texture.
Acrylic paint offers flexibility in both look and feel. It may be diluted until it behaves like watercolor, or it can be built up into thick layers that give a painting a three-dimensional quality, a method called impasto. Over time, artists have found numerous approaches for introducing texture and extra body to the paint. Trying out different methods to achieve the result you want is encouraged.
Step 1
Get an acrylic medium. Choose a heavy gel medium or a texture paste. Gel medium makes the paint thicker and also introduces some transparency. Texture paste comes in either a transparent or an opaque version.
Step 2
Place the paint on a plastic palette. Mix in as much medium as required to achieve your desired effect. You may use just a little medium, or you may add considerably more medium than the amount of paint on the palette.
Step 3
Combine the acrylic medium and the paint using a palette knife. Mix thoroughly so that texture and color remain consistent.
Step 4
Explore other additives for different results. Sawdust, flour or sand can be used to thicken acrylic paint.
