Mixing different brands
Mixing Different Brands
Q: I have different tubes of paints from different manufacturers, can I intermix them in the same painting? Does quality make a difference, some of my paints are inexpensive student grades and some are professional? Also I heard you can use latex house paint instead of gesso? What do you think? Janet
A: I will answer your questions with the assumption that you are concerned about permanence. If this is not the case or if you are only working on studies or practice paintings then you can disregard the information. You can intermix acrylic paints, and mediums, from all different manufacturers without concern. Although they are formulated differently using different polymers their common chemical foundation (acrylic polymer resin) makes them compatible. Mixing different grades (qualities) of paint is not as simple. Student or inexpensive grades of paint are made with lesser quality ingredients and often have fillers to bulk up the paint. As a result these paints will not have the same working properties as professional grades of paint - things like flexibility and adhesive strength. On a rigid surface like hardboard this is less of a concern. You can do simple tests on canvas to check the flexibility and to see how well the cheap paint adheres to the surface and to a higher grade of paint. A good idea may be to use the cheap paints for underpaintings and preparing light tints while saving the better quality paints for the areas where you want stronger, brighter colors.
Intermixing various types of oils paints is a little bit different. All brands are compatible with others but mixing different qualities requires even more attention. One main difference between cheap and expensive paints in oils is the amount of oil versus pigment in the paint (pigment saturation) – the cheap paint has more oil (and fillers), less pigment. This means that the cheap paint will dry slower, wrinkle and turn brown more than an expensive version of the same color. So, using the inexpensive paints in the underpainting like we suggest with acrylics has to be done with more caution. Remember the ‘fat over lean’ thing (april 2000 issue)?
As for you last question the answer is “no”, latex house paint is not a good substitute for gesso if you want your paintings to last. House paint is not made with permanence in mind. It is not designed to adhere to a flexible fabric like canvas or to be a foundation for receiving paint (absorbency). In fact, most are specifically formulated to break down within set period of time (7-20 years) – they want you to re-paint your house once in a while. Commercial/industrial products are designed for specific purposes and use a wide variety of chemicals that will have unpredictable results when used by artists.
Q: Is it true that if I use pencil for my drawing that it will ‘come through the layers’ in my oil paintings? Gerry
A: Well, sort of, but not really. Pencils are made with graphite (a fine powder). It will not physically travel through the layers of the paint but it will smudge and mix with the first layer of oil paint if it is not properly fixed with an initial layer of varnish/glaze. This does not mean that it will not be visible underneath thin layers of oil either if that’s what you mean by ‘coming through.’ Remember that oil paint becomes more transparent with age, this effect is called ‘pentimento.’ Ink from normal pens on the other hand will physically travel through layers of paint and rise to the surface in most paintings. This is because most inks are dye based and so they tend to ‘bleed.’ The best ink to use for your drawings on the canvas or panel is India ink, which is dissolved in shellac. Once it is dry it will stay put. You can also do a preliminary drawing or line painting using acrylic paints before starting your painting in oils, or, you could just start painting; if that’s the type of painter you are…
