So when do you know it’s time to upgrade? I kept searching for this answer on Google but couldn’t find anything. There were lots of posts and articles about cheap versus expensive paint and why one is better than the other (hint: they always recommend expensive paint with a few exceptions). But what I wanted to know was WHEN to make the switch. Although just a beginner, I knew there would come a time when I wanted (or even needed) to upgrade my paint, but when to make the switch was unknown to me.
So I came up with a lot of different possibilities. Like, what if I make the switch once I’m a good artist? But when would I know I was a good artist? Or maybe I should upgrade when I finally begin painting on canvas. But why should I treat it any differently than paper? Or what about if I start selling my art? Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I ever would or even wanted to.
With no clear answer about when to make this important switch, I decided to just forget about it. I was a beginner after all and still making tons of mistakes. No one is buying my art. No one is even reading my blog. Cheap paints were enough for me. But the more time I spent watching skilled artists on YouTube the more I began to notice the kinds of paints they used. And their paint looked good. Their paint was smooth and vibrant and made their artwork really stand out. I wanted that. So I changed my mind and decided to give professional paint a try. I bought a few bottles of Golden Fluid acrylics to try and holy s$%^ were they expensive! And small! Together these 1 ounce bottles came out to roughly $35 (minus a few dollars for the HI-Chew candy I bought for my daughter).
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I will be trying out a few colors for the first time on my newest piece, previewed here. Crazy enough I’m nervous about using the paint. I use copious amounts of my cheap paint, and wash way too much of it down the drain, but using even a drop of the Golden feels scary. One day I’ll probably look back on this moment and laugh, but here in the moment I just don’t want to waste my money.
At any rate I finally get to try out professional paint and will find out if it’s worth the hype many artists give it.
Stay Tuned!
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