Unlike tempera, acrylic paint is thick in consistency, easy to apply to a surface, and intuitive in use. As mentioned in my last entry, I find it to be a more welcoming entry into painting than tempera, and those who work with it often will naturally pick up transferrable skills that will be beneficial should they eventually make forays into oil painting. Mixing colors is relatively easy, as are experiments in layers and washes due to acrylic’s inclination to dry quickly. Drying speed is a boon to teachers as well, in that wet paintings don’t have to be safely stored for days. If cleanup procedures are begun with a good 10-15 minutes of class time remaining, chances are students will be able to take their pieces home or store them in a folder or flat file (assuming they didn’t apply the paint too liberally).
Cheap, low-quality brushes can easily be used for acrylic painting projects in an elementary school setting, but if the budget allows for it, it’s worth providing a wide range of brush sizes and shapes for students to play around with. Acrylic paint leaves a thick, distinct mark on paper or canvas, having multiple brush types allows students to really lean into the possibilities for expressive mark making.
As it is latex based, this paint will apply to practically any surface. If materials are available, I think it’s worth encouraging students to try painting on a variety of surfaces and expand their concepts of how and where art can be made. A simple project example would be to have them paint on a glass window that receives ample sunlight. This will quickly teach them lessons about opacity, as they must manipulate the thickness of the paint to control how much or little light they want to show through. Again, because of its latex nature it would not be overly difficult for the teacher to clean the windows at the end of a term, as the paint can be scraped off with little effort.
Given the time I’d gladly play around with acrylic paint for hours. Because of constraints inherent to our classroom setting, this go round I simply doodled a monkey eating french fries. Is this a searing commentary on globalized consumerism encroaching on the natural environment, or the juvenile musings of a simpleton with a weird sense of humor? You’ll find no answers here, I let my art speak for itself.
