Acrylic paint is considered to be a quick drying coat which contains a color suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. These paints can be watered down, but it becomes water-resistant on drying. Depending on how much the paint is diluted or customized with acrylic gels, media, or pastes, the completed acrylic painting can look like a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own exclusive individuality not achievable with other media.
The primary acrylic paint was invented by Leonard Bocour and Sam Golden between 1946 and 1949 under the brand Magna paint. Water-based acrylic paints were consequently sold as "latex" house paints, although acrylic dispersion uses no latex derived from a rubber tree. Soon after the water-based acrylic folders were set up as house paints, artists and companies alike began to discover the prospective of the new binders. Water-soluble artists' acrylic paints became commercially available in the 1950s, offered by Liquitex, with high-viscosity paints parallel to those made today becoming available in the early 1960s. In 1963, Rowney was the first producer to commence an artist’s acrylic paint in Europe, under the brand name Cryla.
Acrylic artist paints may be watered down and used as washes in the way of watercolor paints, but the washes are not re-hydratable once it dried out. For this reason, acrylics do not lend themselves to color elating techniques as do gum arabic depends on watercolor paints.
These acrylic paints with surface shine or dull finishes are offered, although a satin sheen is most common and some brands display a variety of finish. As with oils, pigment quantity, and particle dimension or nature can naturally affect the paint sheen. Matting agents can also be inserted during the creation to dry the finish. The artist can combine media with their paints and use topcoats or varnishes to modify or unite sheen if desired.
