Vibrant and versatile Heavy body acrylics

In another extract from her book Contemporary Flowers in Mixed Media*, Soyara French shows how heavy body and open acrylics can be used to fabulous effect when painting flowers

Also known as high viscosity acrylics, heavy body acrylics can be used in all kinds of techniques similar to oil painting, with the advantage of fast drying times for the rapid application of many layers. You have the option of applying the paints in thick impasto layers right from the start or slightly diluting them for more translucent, thinner layers building up to thicker applications. You can also glaze thinner layers over the heavier ones. There are no particular rules and as an artist you can make your own choices as to how you wish to use this most forgiving medium. Heavy body acrylics can be applied using acrylic brushes with stiff hair, your fingers, palette knives, rollers, pieces of card, and many other implements. As long as you avoid a greasy or shiny surface you can choose from a wide range of supports – paper, board, canvas, wood, metal and many more.

Acrylic mediums

Acrylic gloss and matt mediums give you the option to extend the paints or change the sheen of the surface by mixing them with the paint or adding them as a final layer. The mediums can also be used to stick down collage or as a primer to seal your support. You can also apply a coat of medium as an isolation coat before varnishing your painting.

Acrylics with extended open time

If you find the relatively short working time of standard acrylics frustrating, you may find Golden Open acrylics a much better alternative. These stay wet for a longer period, so you have more time to push them around the paper or canvas. They are great for all types of oil and acrylic painting techniques, especially blending, and are the best option for plein-air painting with acrylics, particularly in hotter climates. You can also use them for print-making as an alternative to oils.

Open acrylics have their own gels and mediums to retain the same working time. However, you can also cut down the drying time by mixing them with standard acrylics, mediums and gels – the drying time will depend on the mixture’s ratio. You can also dry Open Acrylics with a hair dryer. If you intend to use both Open and fast-drying

White Roses and Bluebells, Open acrylics on watercolour paper, 20320in (51351cm). Open colours have a lovely creamy texture and my paintings often have a softer look when I paint with them. They are great for blending techniques that can be rather difficult with fast-drying acrylics

White Tulips, heavy body acrylics on mountboard , 20 314 in (51336 cm). I find painting with heavy body acrylics incredibly therapeutic, using brushes, a palette knife and sometimes even my fingers or other implements. I work in layers that are applied in quick succession, so I find the fast drying time an advantage for my painting process

acrylics in one painting, it is best to use the fast-drying colour in the first few layers to avoid cracking of the surface.