Heard a woman at the Joann in Tulsa say she thins her acrylics with water, and now I'm worried about my own canvases | Arts And Crafts - Opinions Matter
Heard a woman at the Joann in Tulsa say she thins her acrylics with water, and now I'm worried about my own canvases
I was standing in the paint aisle at the Joann on 41st in Tulsa last weekend and overheard a woman tell her friend she just adds tap water to her acrylics when they get thick. I've been doing the same thing for about 3 years, but she said her paintings from 2022 are now flaking off the canvas in chunks and a gallery in Oklahoma City rejected her whole series because of it. Has anyone here had acrylic paint peel or crack after thinning it with water, or am I worrying about nothing?
The part about her 2022 paintings flaking off in chunks is what gets me. Once the binder gets watered down too far, the paint dries into a chalky film that just sits on top of the canvas instead of gripping it. Add in a cheap gesso or an unprimed surface and it peels like a sunburn. I've seen it happen most on canvases from those big craft packs, the ones that feel slick when you touch them. If your paint looks dull or dusty when it dries, that's the warning sign.