Last updated on August 14th, 2024 at 08:59 pm
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Ranking My Most Used Art Mediums
I threw myself wholeheartedly into mixed media art about 3 years ago. In that time, I’ve tried out a lot of supplies and paints or art mediums. Over time, I’ve found I have favorites that I reach for daily, while some others I don’t use much. Below I rank my favorite art mediums from least used to most used. My absolute favorite medium to use is funny to me now because before 2018, I was too scared to use it! (And now it’s my number 1 favorite!)
7. Watercolor Paint
I used watercolor a lot back in 2016 when I did most of my art on paper. Since I switched to working on canvas, I just don’t use it much anymore. With watercolor you have to build up the color quite a bit, so there’s a lot of layering, letting it dry, adding more colors, etc. When I used watercolor, I would often add other art mediums on top like colored pencil, ink, or paint pens. This gave everything I did in watercolor an illustrator type quality. I tried both tube and pan watercolors and found I preferred pan. This is a personal preference, and you might be different. My favorite brands for watercolor pans are Daniel Smith and Sennelier.
Pros: Affordable and easy to get started. Once you establish your drawing you can often “color” it in with your watercolors.
Cons: In order to make watercolor art look good, you do have to learn proper techniques, such as making boundaries between colors by wetting first and then adding color to the water so the color only stays within the wet area. Also, to make white areas in a watercolor painting, it is best to leave those areas unpainted and just use the white of the paper, since watercolor “white” is never going to be that bright or vibrant. Or, you can top with a white paint pen for pops of bright white.
6. Acrylic Paint
Acrylics were my art medium for years! I did many paintings in acrylic because they are so versatile and quick drying. There’s no waiting around for paint to dry, in fact you often have to hurry up and paint before the paint dries. The cool thing about Acrylics is that there are so many ways they can be used and so many effects you can get. Thick paint with a brush or palette knife will hold texture, while thinning with water makes them more like watercolors.
Pros: Very inexpensive and very forgiving. Once one layer of paint dries, you can paint right over it again if you made a mistake. Acrylics are also extremely versatile. You can experiment with many styles and techniques.
Cons: The fast drying time can be tricky. Sometimes the weather affected my paints and I swear I would be fighting drying paint within minutes, making it really hard to blend colors. Also, colors vary widely between brands. You can buy some acrylics extremely cheap, but sometimes that does diminish the quality of the paints.
5. Gouache
Gouache is a fairly new art medium to me. To be honest, I tried it once before and hated it, so I decided it just wasn’t for me. Turns out, I was just using it incorrectly! When I first tried it, it was during a lesson for an online class. We were supposed to make a portrait using gouache. Mine was almost complete when I went back in and ended up pulling all the color up on areas of the face. I was so mad! I broke up with gouache after that.
However . . .
Fast forward 3 years and my art mentor did a lesson using gouache. I learned that gouache stays workable almost indefinitely, so if you go back after it has “dried” you are working with your current color plus all the original layers because once you rewet them, they are basically like new. His suggestion for using them was to put the gouache where you wanted it to go and then use water to remove it in areas that should be lighter.
Again, like watercolor, I have used both tube and pan gouache and I much prefer pan.
Pros: Quick drying like acrylics with some watercolor-like qualities, although gouache is a lot more matte in finish. Also, a little lasts forever. I bought my gouache pan set in 2019 and still use it in 2024 regularly!
Cons: Learning how to properly use gouache helps a LOT!
4. Inks
I use ink on every background I do. Metallic, watercolor, alcohol and regular inks. I love the effect inks create, and also how free and random I can be with my inks. I just drop the colors around my canvas, spray with water and let them roam freely like little herd animals.
Pros: Good for doing intuitive or abstract works. I have not really tried to do controlled “painting” with my inks. If random is your jam, inks are your plan! Plus, you can get dropper inks or spray inks for different fun effects.
Cons: You have to know how the ink you’re using works. Alcohol inks can be transparent while spray inks can mix with layers on top of them, which can be surprising (and frustrating) if you’ve forgotten they do this and you’re expecting to be able to paint white over your ink.
3. Watercolor Crayon
My favorite watercolor crayon is by Caran D’Ache. I did a whole blog post about it, if you would like to check it out here: Fun Mixed Media Supplies: Watercolor Crayons
I have used watercolor crayon on my backgrounds and to make portraits and paintings by using them like traditional watercolors. While I don’t do much with using them as watercolors anymore, I do use them on all my mixed media backgrounds!
Pros: Easy to use and fairly inexpensive depending on which brand you buy. Fun to use in backgrounds because you can literally scribble like a little kid. I also like how they offer more pigment than watercolor paints.
Cons: I honestly can’t think of any cons. I just love watercolor crayons! Plus, this is another supply that I have used regularly for YEARS without having to buy a new set. These will probably outlive me! 🙂
2. Traditional Oil Paint
When I used acrylics, I was sure I would never use oil paints! I found them to be extremely intimidating! But then I was able to observe an artist using oil paints, and I learned how to use them and what you can and can’t do with oil paints. Suddenly I was obsessed with oil paints, and now I won’t create a painting without them.
Pros: Mix like a dream, and stay wet for a long time, so you don’t need to rush. Can be applied thick and layered or thin like a wash or glaze. Blending with oils is unlike anything else. You can get really nice skin texture with oils.
Cons: You have to use turpentine or solvents. Clean up and brush maintenance is important.
1. Water Mixable Oil Paint
The only thing better than oil paint? (In my humble opinion, of course). Water mixable oil paint! All the benefits of traditional oil paints, none of the toxic solvents! So all the cons I said above don’t apply if you can find water mixable oil paints. Also called water miscible or water soluble oil paint. Just mix and clean up with water. I first learned of these in the book Pop Painting by professional painter Camilla D’Errico. She recommends Duo Oil paints by Holbein, so I ordered a set and have used them ever since! No joke, I love these so much and use them daily! A cheaper option but almost as good are the Windsor & Newton Water Mixable Oils. I use those too, I just prefer the Duo Aquas a little more.
Pros: Great if you work in a small space and don’t want fumes, have health issues, or want to use the most environmentally friendly paint materials possible – but still want to have all the pigment and bendability of regular oils. In fact, if you still have traditional oils on hand, you can mix with the water mixable paints.
Cons: It helps if you have never used oils to learn the proper way to use them, either from a painting teacher or even with websites or YouTube videos. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it gets much easier. Also, these do still have a longer drying time like regular oils, so you’ll need to plan for that.
I hope you’ve found my ranking of my top 7 favorite art mediums entertaining and helpful! Is there a favorite that is not listed here? Please let me know in the comments what your favorite art mediums are. I love to try new art supplies!
Also, here is a handy list of all the supplies I mentioned in this post. I make a small commission if you click and purchase through these links at no extra cost to you. Just know that I use, love and recommend these products regularly!
Watercolors:
Tube – Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Paint Set, 20 Colors https://amzn.to/3VMVU1n
Pan:
Sennelier French Artists Watercolor Metal Tin Set, Set of 24 https://amzn.to/3RAZ5qu
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor Half Pan Set, 24 colors https://amzn.to/3RBWYCJ
Acrylic Paint:
Liquitex BASICS Acrylic Paint Tube 12-Piece Set https://amzn.to/3KQzsOz
Gouache:
Tube – Holbein Artists Gouache Set of 12 https://amzn.to/4b5z1e5
Pan – Caran d’Ache Gouache Studio 15 Assorted Colors Set in Metal Tin https://amzn.to/3RzbxXO
Inks:
Dropper – Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bombay India Ink Set https://amzn.to/3zhPONv
Spray – Ranger Dylusions Shimmer Spray Bundle – 12 Bottles https://amzn.to/3xwy1BK
Watercolor Crayon:
Caran d’Ache Classic Neocolor II Water-Soluble Pastels, 15 Colors https://amzn.to/3RyUTaI
Traditional Oils:
Winsor & Newton Artists’ Oil Color Paint Introductory Set https://amzn.to/3XvFL1v
Water Mixable Oils:
Windsor & Newton Water Mixable Oil Set of 20 https://amzn.to/4baaswn
Holbein Aqua Duo Water Soluble Oil Set of 20 https://amzn.to/3VMT7VX
Book:
- Art That Heals: The Mental Magic of Mixed Media - August 20, 2024
- The Fundamentals of Mixed Media Art: How to Create Art That Inspires - August 14, 2024
- From Chaos to Creation: 3 Experimental Mixed Media Painting Techniques to Try - June 24, 2024
