Introduction
Art is many things among them, fun and therapeutic. There is something thrilling about seeing your amazing work being displayed and shortly after contemplating what you should create next. And when you finally settle and decide to work with a canvas, you are plagued by what paint you should use for the canvas. It is hard to understand the medium that is best suited for canvas when there are many paint options available in the market. If you don’t mind experimenting, you could try and figure out the ideal paint through trial and error, but not everyone has that time on their hands while some would just prefer the less messy and straightforward way. When creating masterpieces using canvas, the recommended paints are acrylic paints and oil paints. In our article below, we have curated and included the different paints available in the market that is best suited for canvas.
Liquitex Basics 48 Tube Acrylic Paint Set
Intro
Regardless of whether you’re a novice or professional, the Liquitex basics acrylic paints set is the medium you did not know you needed. This product has been designed for quality-intensive professionals and students who are looking for an economical but reliable medium that performs exceptionally well without compromising on standards. The paints in this set are heavy body and adhere stunningly on canvas even when thinned. The Liquitex basics paints are one of the few paints that are affordable but still offer the brilliance and clarity of the color pigment used.
Pros
- The Liquitex Basics acrylic paints glaze and layer quite beautifully.
- The paints are perfect for creating textured art as they peak effortlessly and retain the brush stoke details applied by an artist.
- You can mix the paints in the Basics set with other colors and mediums from Liquitex.
Cons
- Mixing different hues to produce a color, does not always result in the expected color.
- Professional artists may not appreciate the fact that they have to mix their colors on a palette.
- The Liquitex acrylic paints have some cadmium pigment which can be toxic for painters if they are exposed to it in large quantities.
Old Holland Classic Oil, Intro Set
Intro
A lot of artists and professionals will agree that oil paints are the best way through which you can put your art ideas on canvas as there is something unique in the way that oil paint mixes and performs on canvas to deliver the ultimate results. Many artists, including Van Gogh and Vermeer, have used Old Holland oil paints which should give you a pretty good idea of how great they are. The Old Holland oil paints are consistent, viscous, and have stunning pigments that deliver the most consistent and accurate colors when they are put to use. Anyone looking to paint figures, abstract designs, and even landscape painting can use these paints to create saturated art with unbelievably rich hues.
Pros
- The lightfastness of the Old Holland oil paints is exceptional. Your painted canvas will retain its colors and textures for many years to come.
- The paints do not contain cheap fillers and artificial driers which have a tendency of ruining the color pigments in paint.
- The paint stretches quite a bit and spreads wonderfully and as such a little goes a long way.
- Mixed with pure cold-pressed linseed oil, the pigment concentration is impressive an element that artists will appreciate.
Cons
- The paints are quite costly
Winsor & Newton Galleria Acrylic Set
Intro
The acrylic paints in the Winsor & Newton paints set give artists opacity and durability, a brilliant satin finish and rich pigment levels that are unrivaled. These paints add depth and texture that unexpected of student grade paints. The paints are high quality and work brilliantly on canvas even when mixed with water and other mediums. Aside from the ten paints, the complete paint set package includes a Plastic Palette, a Winsor Canvas Board, two Galleria Brushes, and an instructional leaflet. Despite this being a student grade paint, professionals on a budget can still use it as it is high quality, saturated and brags brilliant hues.
Pros
- The galleria acrylic set is ideal for multilayered painting.
- The paint affordable and can be used by artists of all skill levels.
- The colors in the set mix perfectly to accurately create other colors that are true to what an artist envisioned.
Cons
- It is not ideal for all painting styles.
- Artists who do not like soft paints will have a problem with this one as the paints are extremely soft, and as such, when working with some mediums, artists will require texture paste.
Golden Open Acrylic
Intro
The Golden Open acrylic paints are a bright, clean pallet ideal for anyone looking to “touchup” their artwork with a variety of shades and tints. The set which consists of 8 colors is ideal for shading, softening, blending, glazing and adding details onto paintings as they have a very relaxed working property. These paints have some characteristics such as slow drying that are often associated with oil paints. The Golden Open Acrylic paints in this series operate exactly as indicated by the manufacturer, remaining moist enough to work with for extended periods and generating vibrant works of art with saturated colors. Nevertheless, this paint set is ideal for creating secondary and tertiary layers rather than being the primary layer of an art piece.
Pros
- The paints can be mixed with other acrylic paints and still work beautifully.
- The slower drying time means that the paints can be used over extended periods allowing artists the ability to effectively mix and spread the paint as they work.
Cons
- Most “touch-up” jobs require a lot of color mixing to match your initial application.
- The paints do not work well as the foundation layer.
- They are not as pigmented as the other paints we have discussed in our list.
- The paints are not ideal for beginners who are yet to learn different painting techniques.
Schmincke Mussini Oil paints
Intro
These German-made artist-grade oil paints are yet another choice of paints that one can consider when working with canvas. The paints are highly pigmented, and the pigments are created from a combination of linseed oil and an overly traditional damar resin instead of the commercial oil binders to facilitate the even drying of art pieces. The color in the set can be mixed with other acrylic paints while the brand has more semitransparent and transparent colors that artists can pick from. Mussini oil paint offers unmatched purity and brilliance with the utmost lightfastness you can think of. The fluidity and transparency of the colors makes them ideal for glazing and finally, they spread easily
Pros
- The paints dry evenly, thus minimizing the chances of the paint wrinkling while it dries up.
- Even though this set consists of ten colors, there are about 100 Mussini oil paints that you can purchase individually.
- The colors are quite stable with the lightfastness that they offer your artwork will last for a long time.
Cons
- The Mussini oil paints are quite expensive
Grumbacher Academy Acrylic Paint
Intro
The Grumbacher paints are a vibrant student grade acrylic paint, that brag a flowy medium body, and intense tinting strength. These acrylic paints have been in the market since I can remember and the wide array of colors, they offer artists is just one of the few reasons why they are loved by many. The reason why they are the best paint for canvas is because they are extremely durable and offer lightfastness that will have your artwork lasting for a long time.
Pros
- The Grumbacher acrylic paints are available in several iridescent and metallic colors that make a great addition when adding details onto an art piece.
- The paints are extremely affordable and budget-friendly
- Beginners can use the paint effortlessly.
Cons
- The Grumbacher acrylic paints are not available in professional grade.
Conclusion
Canvas Painting is a lot of fun, but it is even more fun if you are using the right medium to create your art piece. As previously mentioned, the best paints you can use on canvas to achieve the best are acrylic and oil paints; however, this does not mean that you cannot use other mediums. There are a few other paints such as latex, tempera, and gouache paints that we did not recommend but can be used on canvas. Gouache, latex and tempera paints give a so-so outcome which may not necessarily be the best, but it is also not the worst. The worst paint you can use on canvas has to watercolors which behave weirdly when put down on paper. When applied on canvas, watercolors form beads on the surface of your canvas, and they also dry unevenly, which means you can easily smudge them, thinking they are dry when they are not. Our list above includes some of the best acrylic and oil paints in the market that will, without doubt, leave you impressed with the canvas work you’ve achieved.