Lungo il Percorso (Along the Way)

I never thought I would paint in acrylics, but here it is, my first acrylic painting in over thirty years. Since I am a stickler for using archival materials and techniques, you could say that I am rather critical of this medium. But when I was asked to donate a painting to the local arts alliance for fundraising purposes, acrylics came to mind. You see, the theme of the fundraiser is "Texture", and this immediately brought acrylics to mind, since my usual approach to oil painting tends to very smooth finishes.

But that's not all. Just before I started this painting, one of my fellow G+ oil painters introduced her recent painting, a quickie done in acrylics. I knew that she had chosen the medium for her recent travels in Europe, for its quick drying qualities. But now, back home in her studio, she had painted an acrylic study of her groceries! We discussed the utility of having a medium that lends itself to quick exploration of a topic, and ta da… I picked up the brushes and gave it a whirl.

Let me start off by saying that although you can not see it in the photo, I overlaid the basic painting with droplets of acrylic medium, creating a dewey light-catching affect, while at the same time, fulfilling the requirement that my piece feature "texture." Under direct light, the affect is pleasing.
Yet while I can't say I dislike it, for me, acrylics seem to be void of an essential quality that makes painting in oils so exciting. Now I am certain that if I spent more time with it I would discover new and exciting ways to use the medium. But is it worth spending the time to master this medium? For me, going from oils to acrylic is like going from glass to plastic. Plastic may be safer around the pool, but it isn't what I want on my dining table when I serve my guests. It may be fool-proof to apply, but in the end it seems to lack a certain authenticity that comes with mastering oil painting. While I know artists who paint quite masterfully in acrylics, yet to me acrylics seem like "starter paints:" something you use to get the feeling of holding brushes while you spread pigments across a surface.

And yet, I admit, there is something seductive about the medium. Imagine not having to give a second thought to "fat over lean," the basic tenet of sound oil painting technique. But at what cost, this utility? Even if I was sure that I could create works of similar depth and luminosity with acrylics as I know I can with oils, there is one major drawback that stops me cold from abandoning my smelly pots of oils and resins: longevity, or rather, the lack of it.

The thing I just can't get around with acrylics is that. to date, they are not restorable, which means they are not archival, which means that once they spoil, they are done. And given their propensity to incorporate dust into their surfaces in temperatures above 60 C, and to become brittle in temperatures below zero, chances are they will spoil.

And so can oil paints spoil. But they can be restored, moreover, oil paintings have stood the test of time. And while there is much debate over the secret mediums used by the artists of yore, the basic principles are understood, leaving a possibility that carefully executed oil paintings will outlast their acrylic contemporaries.

As an artist who strives to create "permanent" works of art, I am learning all the time, and as such, I do not claim to be an expert. For more information on the preservation of acrylic emulsion paintings, I invite the reader to check out this article on the care of acrylic paintings by the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute. http://www.si.edu/mci/english/learn_more/taking_care/acrylic_paintings.html