Acrylic Medium

Acrylic Mediums

An acrylic medium is the same binder as the paint with less or no pigment in it, which is why adding medium extends colour without turning it chalky the way water alone does. Past about a quarter water by volume you start breaking the film; medium has no such limit.

Which one you need

Gels thicken and hold a brush or knife mark, and come in gloss, satin and matte. Pastes add body and opacity, with modelling and light moulding pastes for relief and texture. Fluid mediums thin colour while keeping adhesion, and glazing medium extends drying time enough to blend. Retarder slows drying, which matters more in Kolkata's humidity than most instructions admit. Flow improver breaks surface tension for staining and pouring.

One rule worth keeping: varnish is not a medium. Medium goes into the paint, varnish goes on top as a removable layer once the work has fully cured.

We stock acrylic mediums from Liquitex, Golden and Winsor & Newton. See also acrylic colours, gesso and grounds and the wider mediums range. Stationerie, Kolkata, 25 years in art materials, shipped across India.