Painting Media, Materials and Tools
Painting Media, Materials and Tools tests which medium suits a task, how surfaces and brushes are chosen, and safe handling.
Media
Watercolour is transparent, uses gum arabic and water, and needs absorbent paper, often 300 gsm, stretched to avoid buckling; techniques include wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry and dry brush. Gouache is opaque watercolour. Tempera is matte and quick-drying. Acrylic is a polymer emulsion, thinned with water, fast-drying and permanent when dry. Oil paint dries slowly, usually on primed canvas or board, and brushes need solvent. Pastel is pigment with a binder and may need fixative.
Tools
Round brushes suit line and detail; flats suit washes and blocks; filberts combine both. Synthetic brushes suit acrylic; natural hair is traditional for watercolour and oil. Clean brushes promptly and never leave them standing in water.
Worked example
Choose a medium for a quick outdoor sketch. Reasoning: watercolour on stretched 300 gsm paper is portable, dries fast and needs no solvent; acrylic also dries fast but sets on the palette and stains clothing; oil is too slow outdoors. Choose watercolour and carry limited water.
Traps
Using an oil brush in watercolour; thinning acrylic excessively so it loses adhesion; varnishing oil before it is fully dry; not stretching watercolour paper; leaving brushes in water so the shape is ruined.