When painting, what is your favorite medium, and why?

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   Emer420posted 12 years ago

   I, myself, love to mix mediums.  My paintings seem to always have a better flow if I use more than one.  My favorite so far is watercolor and acrylic, not mixed but used in the same piece of work.  They seem to flow together really well, and the acrylic gives the watercolor an extra glow.  I would like to hear other opinions on paint mediums and what other people like to experiment with.

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      Randy Godwinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Welcome to HubPages!  I'm not an artist so I cannot comment on your question, but there are some very fine members of your ilk here so they will probably give you their opinions on this subject.

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         Emer420posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks Randy for the very nice welcome. 

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            Randy Godwinposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            You're very welcome, Emer!  I hope you enjoy the community. 

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      Insane Mundaneposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I'm more familiar with Acrylic paint, as it is a fast drying paint that can be diluted with water, if desired. Depending on how much the paint is diluted with water or modified with acrylic gels, media, etc., the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media.
      I'd say that most professional painters use the slower-drying oil paints, but whatever works for you! 
      I used to participate in art quite often, using various types of mediums.  Dang, I have so many old hobbies that I never find time to enjoy anymore; hmm...

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   Shanna11posted 12 years ago

   I prefer to paint with my roommate's blood-- it always turns out better if it's unwillingly given.
   
   
   

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   LoriSoardposted 12 years ago

   I don't paint often, but when I do, I really prefer to work with chalk pastels rather than paint. My daughter, who is an artist, loves oil painting the best.

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   NiaGposted 12 years ago

   I enjoy acrylic. I've tried oils but find myself stumbling on how to properly use it. I have to one day take the time to learn the skill of it.

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   Emer420posted 12 years ago

   Oils can be very tricky sometimes.  They dry really quickly and it's very difficult to fix mistakes.  Takes some time to practice to get the hang of it.

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      Robie Benveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I paint with acrylics, and they do dry quickly... I thought oils were the slow dryers...?

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         Emer420posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         They can dry slowly to.  It depends on how thick the layer of paint is.  I like to use thin layers which are difficult with oils because they dry so fast when applied thin.

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   awareposted 12 years ago

   i participate in  many mediums . clay, polymers , oil  , acrylic, pastels , pencil, charcoal, and  varied construction arts. but by far my fave medium to paint with is words.

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   livewithrichardposted 12 years ago

   I work with acrylics and oil. Acrylics dry real slow for me.  I also like mixing mediums and often use watercolor pencils and re-purposed items such as old book pages and strips of cloth or whatever it takes to get the texture and feel I'm looking for.

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   Iampankajposted 12 years ago

   Preferably acrylic. It is easy to use not to worry too much about shades and all. It is good for lazy people like me I can complete one painting in different time slots & as per convenience

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   kccampposted 12 years ago

   For me I like variety depending on my mood. Sometimes changing to a different medium is a nice change/break....can be refreshing!
   I do like to use more than one medium in a painting or a sketch. Sometimes with oils I will do all the undercoating work in acrylics then finish in oils.....sometimes casein and then oils. When I do watercolours I often use gouache and watercolour together etc.
   It also depends on the subject matter and style I'm doing. Oils I love for portrait/people....to me give such strong depth and more drying time to work with (depending on medium used to mix with)
   My latest is learning the flemish style, where you do a grisaille undercoating that is followed by a dead layer (often several layers). The final is the colour layers.  The thing I like about this is that as light passes through each layer, it makes the skin tones glow so much.
   Sometimes the grisaille would be done in a olive green(which is the opposite colour of skin tones).
   
   Each gives such a different look and feel to the artwork. Thats what I love about art....so fun to experiment and try new things!

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