Acrylic Paint – The Happy Accident
Acrylic paint is a happy accident. It wasn’t made for artists, so who was it made for? Bob Ross often talks about happy accidents in art and the creation of acrylic paint truly was just that.
In this short video you will learn who and why acrylic paint was discovered as well as who were the first artists to embrace it.
Why I Love Acrylic Paint – The Happy Accident
One of the reasons I love acrylic paint is also the reason many people hate it. It dries fast! I love that I can completely start over in a half an hour if I’m not happy with how things are going, although I don’t recommend it.
The happy accident of acrylic paint started out as an industrial application for things like windows for airplanes, AKA plexiglass. Once the plexiglass was invented by German chemist, Otto Rohm, they decided they needed a coating to go on it. Enter acrylic paint.
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Artists as Scientists
Acrylic paint was discovered by accident. It came about by chemists trying to find something. Artists are like those scientists. In Acrylic Live, a recent 4 day virtual workshop I took, I learned I don’t play in the paint nearly enough.
Many of the fabulous acrylic artists I followed during those 4 days experimented in the paint a lot. I saw techniques I never even though about. I had so many AHA moments and decided I definitely needed to play in the paint much more.
For the last 6 weeks I’ve been doing exactly that. 
My daughter and granddaughter went to Greece a month ago or so and I played in the paint with stencils in honor of their trip. I painted each of them these paintings to remind them of their trip. So much fun and so much learning went on here.
I had high hopes for this painting when I painted it but was disappointed in the finished piece. Then I watched an artist used a product called molding paste on a painting of a tree and I was hooked. I used the think molding paste on the rocks in the foreground, the 3 main water lilies and the hanging vines and I love love love the results. I especially love the rocks in the foreground. When you rub your fingers over those 3 areas you can feel how they are raised. All from playing in the paint.
The purpose of this blog post is to encourage you to play in the paint, try different subjects, different colors and different techniques. Make up your own techniques. Try different brushes in different ways. You never know what you’re going to come up with and how much you just might love it.
In case you didn’t watch the video (it’s less than 6 minutes) click HERE. Let me know in the comments of the video how you’re going to play in the paint.
Have a great week and let’s paint together soon.
Sharon
P.S. Another bit of playing in the paint I did recently.
I recently painted this rug on my deck because the rug I had for several years kept molding when it got rained on. This was painted with outdoor acrylic porch paint. I was really playing in the paint with this.