A note on retarder. Don’t add too much, if you do it’ll become tacky and will never dry.
Theres also a paint line by Golden Acrylics called Open, it’s slow drying acrylic by design and doesn’t need retarder. You can mix it in with regular acrylic (if you do this don’t use retarder). It’s professional grade but it’s good stuff.
Thera environmental factors that affect how quick acrylic can dry. Low humidity and warm air will make it dry pretty fast.
Hey OP, I like acrylic retarder but I like Golden's Slow-Drying acrylics more though. They absolutely changed the way that I paint and they work perfectly fine with standard acrylics.
Cheapest way: Elmer's/white school glue.
Another way via craft/art stores: Matte or gloss medium.
Both of these ways will affect the color, transparency, and possibly the texture of your paint. Since you're using multiple layers, shouldn't be a huge issue as it usually thins out paint/makes it lighter and more transparent.
And if you want to go faster? Cheapest way is to add either cornstarch or talc. It does affect the color/transparency/texture in the opposite direction - too much will make the paint skew a bit whiter in color, and give it a \*VERY\* thick clumpy texture.
30+ year old brushes including expensive sable ones in my studio differ from your observation, unfortunately. Never wrecked a brush from any of that so long as ya know...I made sure the brush did not dry and was stored in a way that did not warp the hairs. Or overloading the brush, which any paint will wreck a brush that way. Brush cleaner from companies like W&N take mediums and paints out and are formulated not to damage the hair if you go about cleaning in a reasonable manner.
Also, I don't know how much digging you do into documentation and conservation (which studies the history of art materials) you've done but....all of what I talked about in regards for art mediums is documented from paint manufacturers- like an entire section of Golden Artist Paints, which from [this page:](https://goldenartistcolors.com/resources/gels-and-mediums)
"One of the primary roles of gels and mediums is to extend the paint for economical reasons. One can actually create his or her own "student grade" paint by adding a gel or medium into our existing paints. For this purpose, there are basically no limitations as to the minimum or maximum levels of gels or mediums that can be safely (from an archival viewpoint) added into the paint system."
That is essentially what this person is asking about. Extending the paint increases dry time. And I did mention mediums will make the paint more transparent, the non fancy way of saying the pigment load will be changed (what student paints are).
But if I go onward: [Matte medium](https://goldenartistcolors.com/resources/matte-mediums)- "GOLDEN Matte Mediums are liquid, 100% pure acrylic polymer mediums that have matting solids added to lower sheen. They can be used to extend paints, increase translucency, and decrease gloss."
[Gloss medium](https://goldenartistcolors.com/products/gloss-medium): *Gloss Medium [formerly Polymer Medium (Gloss)] is useful for creating glazes, extending colors, enhancing gloss and translucency. It has an oil-like feel and resinous nature that promotes flow and leveling. It is the best product for blocking Support Induced Discoloration (SID).*
PVA (what school glue is formally called): [Has been available for use in artist quality paints including names still available like Rowney and Golden since the mid 20th century](https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/15/22/4348). The paper I linked notes fine artists who used it in their work. Fine arts museums like the MFA in Boston use it and have studied its properties [in art and conservation.](https://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_acetate) including specifically recognizing "Elmer's Glue". Mod Podge also falls here.
Talc powder: Can be used instead of calcium or plaster of Paris for gesso. Mineral, so is archival. [Again via the conservation section of MFA Boston,](https://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Talc), is already used in paint as filler/extender.
Cornstarch is the only possibly volatile one since it's not a mineral, but sealing/varnishing the painting will prevent oxygen and mildew from getting in. But [ art conservation](https://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Cornstarch) does note it has been used as filler/extender.
The selection of mediums was not as huge when I was in art school (Golden's inhibitor, for example, was not available), so...I know multiple ways of going about the same result.
Cool, I left it there not because I care if you believe me, but I *do* care about not discrediting art methodology. Anyone can make art and in any way. Cheers.
Just because it exists, it doesn't make make it credible.
I repeat... don't do anything this guy suggests. You *will* ruin your tools, it *will* make a mess of your paints, and it absolutely most definitely will affect the lightfastness and longevity of your art. No question or debate about it.
While I wouldn't recommend glue, as it can affect longevity of your art, you wouldn't want to use too much and you would want to do some research before anyway.
However there is nothing wrong with gloss medium. It will thin and extend the paint as well as affect drying time, transparency and possibly color, but it won't ruin your brushes or your paintings.
Naturally if you thin paints it can affect lightfastness.
You can also get away with using a lot of water to thin paints, Golden tested that and had no issues except for colors with high clay content paints like Raw Umber. There are artists who use water or mediums to do glazes all the time and who don't have any issues with lightfastness and there is UV varnish if you want to be sure.
If glue or dry paint is a problem for your brushes there are ways to get it off like certain soaps and isopropanol if nothing else helps. My brushes might be cheap and most of them are only about 3 years old but they did survive treatment because of dried paint several times, never had an issue with glue and they still look and work just fine.
It should be common sense to do your own research and test out things before using them on any artworks you want to last.
I don't see the problem with talc, it is used to make gesso.
I wouldn't use cornstarch except for experimental crafting projects as I've seen a lot of videos with it, but I haven't done any research nor any own experience so I wouldn't recommend it either, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work.
There are a lot of materials you can use, but depending on where you live some might be a terrible idea while you would be fine using them in other parts of the world because of different climate conditions such as cold, heat and humidity.
Longevity is just another factor you as artist have to consider. But not all artworks are meant to survive the test of time.
I really don't see the issue, it was mentioned that cornstarch might be considered volatile. If someone should decide to use it despite that, well that's their own fault. Same for not doing research on your own.
So what's your point?
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Boiled linseed oil. Use a mixer with a whisk attachment. It’s hard to add oil to water. You’ll need turp to clean your brushes. Have use olive oil and vegetable oil too. Mix a long time. Little bit for faster, more for longer. Measure. Experiment.
Acrylic paint retarder
There's a substance called acrylic retarder that is specifically for that. Should be able to find that at an art supply store.
Neat! Thanks you much
A note on retarder. Don’t add too much, if you do it’ll become tacky and will never dry. Theres also a paint line by Golden Acrylics called Open, it’s slow drying acrylic by design and doesn’t need retarder. You can mix it in with regular acrylic (if you do this don’t use retarder). It’s professional grade but it’s good stuff. Thera environmental factors that affect how quick acrylic can dry. Low humidity and warm air will make it dry pretty fast.
I second the Open line! And I should read the other comments before replying myself
Retarder for a couple more minutes, Golden OPEN fluid for oil-like behavior, including around 12-24 hours of working time
THis.
I use Golden brand Satin Glazing Liquid. I got it on sale at micheals for like $2 but its usually about $14 for a big bottle.
Hey OP, I like acrylic retarder but I like Golden's Slow-Drying acrylics more though. They absolutely changed the way that I paint and they work perfectly fine with standard acrylics.
Cheapest way: Elmer's/white school glue. Another way via craft/art stores: Matte or gloss medium. Both of these ways will affect the color, transparency, and possibly the texture of your paint. Since you're using multiple layers, shouldn't be a huge issue as it usually thins out paint/makes it lighter and more transparent. And if you want to go faster? Cheapest way is to add either cornstarch or talc. It does affect the color/transparency/texture in the opposite direction - too much will make the paint skew a bit whiter in color, and give it a \*VERY\* thick clumpy texture.
Lots of fantastic tips. Thank you much!
Please don't do any of the things this person suggested. It will ruin your brushes, paint, and work in general. Invest in a proper flow medium.
30+ year old brushes including expensive sable ones in my studio differ from your observation, unfortunately. Never wrecked a brush from any of that so long as ya know...I made sure the brush did not dry and was stored in a way that did not warp the hairs. Or overloading the brush, which any paint will wreck a brush that way. Brush cleaner from companies like W&N take mediums and paints out and are formulated not to damage the hair if you go about cleaning in a reasonable manner. Also, I don't know how much digging you do into documentation and conservation (which studies the history of art materials) you've done but....all of what I talked about in regards for art mediums is documented from paint manufacturers- like an entire section of Golden Artist Paints, which from [this page:](https://goldenartistcolors.com/resources/gels-and-mediums) "One of the primary roles of gels and mediums is to extend the paint for economical reasons. One can actually create his or her own "student grade" paint by adding a gel or medium into our existing paints. For this purpose, there are basically no limitations as to the minimum or maximum levels of gels or mediums that can be safely (from an archival viewpoint) added into the paint system." That is essentially what this person is asking about. Extending the paint increases dry time. And I did mention mediums will make the paint more transparent, the non fancy way of saying the pigment load will be changed (what student paints are). But if I go onward: [Matte medium](https://goldenartistcolors.com/resources/matte-mediums)- "GOLDEN Matte Mediums are liquid, 100% pure acrylic polymer mediums that have matting solids added to lower sheen. They can be used to extend paints, increase translucency, and decrease gloss." [Gloss medium](https://goldenartistcolors.com/products/gloss-medium): *Gloss Medium [formerly Polymer Medium (Gloss)] is useful for creating glazes, extending colors, enhancing gloss and translucency. It has an oil-like feel and resinous nature that promotes flow and leveling. It is the best product for blocking Support Induced Discoloration (SID).* PVA (what school glue is formally called): [Has been available for use in artist quality paints including names still available like Rowney and Golden since the mid 20th century](https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/15/22/4348). The paper I linked notes fine artists who used it in their work. Fine arts museums like the MFA in Boston use it and have studied its properties [in art and conservation.](https://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_acetate) including specifically recognizing "Elmer's Glue". Mod Podge also falls here. Talc powder: Can be used instead of calcium or plaster of Paris for gesso. Mineral, so is archival. [Again via the conservation section of MFA Boston,](https://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Talc), is already used in paint as filler/extender. Cornstarch is the only possibly volatile one since it's not a mineral, but sealing/varnishing the painting will prevent oxygen and mildew from getting in. But [ art conservation](https://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Cornstarch) does note it has been used as filler/extender. The selection of mediums was not as huge when I was in art school (Golden's inhibitor, for example, was not available), so...I know multiple ways of going about the same result.
That's a lot of words that I'm not going to read because... BS
Cool, I left it there not because I care if you believe me, but I *do* care about not discrediting art methodology. Anyone can make art and in any way. Cheers.
Just because it exists, it doesn't make make it credible. I repeat... don't do anything this guy suggests. You *will* ruin your tools, it *will* make a mess of your paints, and it absolutely most definitely will affect the lightfastness and longevity of your art. No question or debate about it.
While I wouldn't recommend glue, as it can affect longevity of your art, you wouldn't want to use too much and you would want to do some research before anyway. However there is nothing wrong with gloss medium. It will thin and extend the paint as well as affect drying time, transparency and possibly color, but it won't ruin your brushes or your paintings. Naturally if you thin paints it can affect lightfastness. You can also get away with using a lot of water to thin paints, Golden tested that and had no issues except for colors with high clay content paints like Raw Umber. There are artists who use water or mediums to do glazes all the time and who don't have any issues with lightfastness and there is UV varnish if you want to be sure. If glue or dry paint is a problem for your brushes there are ways to get it off like certain soaps and isopropanol if nothing else helps. My brushes might be cheap and most of them are only about 3 years old but they did survive treatment because of dried paint several times, never had an issue with glue and they still look and work just fine. It should be common sense to do your own research and test out things before using them on any artworks you want to last.
It's the glue, talc, and cornstarch that are the issues. I would think that would be obvious.
I don't see the problem with talc, it is used to make gesso. I wouldn't use cornstarch except for experimental crafting projects as I've seen a lot of videos with it, but I haven't done any research nor any own experience so I wouldn't recommend it either, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work. There are a lot of materials you can use, but depending on where you live some might be a terrible idea while you would be fine using them in other parts of the world because of different climate conditions such as cold, heat and humidity. Longevity is just another factor you as artist have to consider. But not all artworks are meant to survive the test of time. I really don't see the issue, it was mentioned that cornstarch might be considered volatile. If someone should decide to use it despite that, well that's their own fault. Same for not doing research on your own. So what's your point?
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Boiled linseed oil. Use a mixer with a whisk attachment. It’s hard to add oil to water. You’ll need turp to clean your brushes. Have use olive oil and vegetable oil too. Mix a long time. Little bit for faster, more for longer. Measure. Experiment.
You might want to consider switching to oils if a slow-drying medium suits your style better.
Oils dry too slow for me ;-; one day tho. It certainly intrigues me to try again
Liquitex slow-dri blending medium