Acrylic painting isn’t limited to flat color—by adding mediums like gels and pastes, you can introduce stunning texture, dimension, and depth to your work. This blog dives into what acrylic mediums are, how they work, and how to use them creatively in your art.
What Are Acrylic Mediums?
Acrylic mediums include gels, pastes, and specialty additives that modify paint properties—such as thickening, gloss/matte finish, drying time, and texture. Unlike water, which thins paint but reduces durability, these mediums enhance and extend your paint’s capabilities.
Gel Mediums
Gels like soft, regular, or heavy gel range in consistency and finish (matte to gloss). They preserve brush strokes, increase volume, and dry clear. Add gloss gel to boost color vibrancy or use matte gel for a subdued look. Artists also mix gels with paint to create glazes . Gels can even be used to adhere collage materials in mixed media art.
Modeling Paste & Texture Pastes
Pastes are thicker, ideal for impasto effects—creating peaks, grooves, and sculptural surfaces. Modeling paste dries opaque white, while texture pastes can include gritty finishes or even sand. They’re perfect for building up reliefs or carving into once dry thesprucecrafts.com.
Adding Grit & Found Objects
Customize your texture by mixing in sand, crushed glass, or fabric fibers directly into paste or gel. For bold 3D textures, artists often use unconventional tools like palette knives, spackle, or household items—building sculptural scenes before painting over them .
Techniques & Tips
- Direct Application: Use palette knives or stiff brushes to sculpt paste/gel onto canvas.
- Layer & Glaze: Build texture with paste, then glaze with diluted paint mixed with gloss or matte medium.
- Combine for Effect: Heavy gel + sand for gritty texture; paste for peaks and sculptural shape.
- Tools Matter: Try spatulas, toothbrushes, combs—each tool carves unique textures.
Video Tutorial
Explore How to Use Acrylic Gels and Pastes in this detailed video demonstrating a range of techniques—from building peaks with paste to using gel coatings on collage
Materials You’ll Need
- Acrylic paint (heavy body for thick textures)
- Gel mediums (soft, regular, heavy; matte or gloss)
- Modeling or texture pastes (opaque or gritty)
- Found materials (sand, fabric scraps)
- Tools (palette knives, spatulas, combs, old brushes, sponges)
Sample Projects to Try
- Textured Sunrise: Use modeling paste to shape hills, then glaze with gloss medium for color depth.
- Mixed-Media Collage: Embed fabric bits in gel, paint over with matte finish for layered interest.
- Beach Scene: Mix sand into gel medium for realistic shorelines with impasto waves.
Why Artists Love Mediums
- Versatility: Achieve smooth finishes or heavy textures with minimal effort.
- Durability: Mediums enhance adhesion and shelf-life on varied surfaces.
- Expressiveness: Add visual drama and tactile interest that paint alone can’t create.
Ready to get messy and creative? Dive into textures and discover new dimensions in your work! Share your experiments with gels, pastes, and found objects in our community gallery or submit your story via our contact page. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter for more texture tips, tutorials, and inspiration from Art Love.
Happy creating!
