Acrylic Paintings

Famous Acrylic Paintings and Artists

Often associated with pop art, the acrylic painting technique owes a lot to Roy Lichenstein who paved the way with his famous paintings Hopeless (1963) and Big Little Painting (1965). Pop art initially used bright colors, often described as “flashy”, which were popular even at the start of the movement. Andy Warhol also obviously comes to mind, who enjoyed the wide variety and intense pigments that acrylic paint offers, especially for Flowers (1964) or even Marylin Diptych (1962). He was the first artist to associate other techniques with acrylic painting: sketching, oil painting, ink. David Hockney should also be mentioned for his masterpiece A Bigger Splash (1967).

Since the 1960s, artists have painted acrylic on canvas, especially for abstract works. Morris Louis was one of the first artists to use Magna paints, in his acrylic painting Alpha-Pi (1960) and Beta-Lambda (1961). Other artists like Barnett Newman, Kenneth Nolan and Larry Poons, who painted Sunnyside Switch (1963), all played an essential role for acrylic painting. Famous abstract expressionists used acrylic painting too, such as Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell and Helen Frankenthaler, as well surrealists such as Max Ernst and Joan Miro, with Character in Front of the Sun (1968).

The History of the Acrylic Technique

As early as the 1900s, a German chemist, Otto Rohm, identified components in order to create “acrylic” paint, designed for industrial use.

In the 1920s-1930s acrylic was used for the first time to paint murals. The famous Mexican mural artist David Siqueiros initiated a training programme on using acrylic for other artists, including Jackson Pollock.

The famous brand Magna seized the mineral market that had given rise to acrylic paint in the 1940s, but this technique still struggled to find its rightful place, as the great masters disregarded it, considering that only oil painting was a worthy technique. Scepticism was replaced by enthusiasm when non-toxic formulas were introduced in the 1960s, which also dried faster. 

It was at this time that artists discovered the myriad of effects these paints could offer in original acrylic painting. When mixed with water, this paint can be lightened to the transparency of watercolor, used pure, it looks like oil, offering raised texture and the possibility of scraping the surface of the canvas. Associated with other materials such as sand, fibres, etc., it is possible to play on the consistency, and is also extremely compatible with other media.

Acrylic painting techniques are still very popular among many artists, come and discover new contemporary acrylic paintings for sale created by our very own KAZoART artists.