There's a lot to learn when it comes to painting. Not just what you can do with the paint itself, but where it comes from, the meaning, etc.
Acrylic Paint
Acrylic paint was first created in 1934 by Leonard Bocour and Sam Golden, who were both chemists. The paint was made from a water-based emulson of synthetic polymer particles, and were used for cars and buildings instead of art. They were later experimenting with it in the 1940s and 50s and tried it with traditional art, and it became popular amongst artists since then. It became really popular in the 1970s.
Timothy Mulligan, Sunny Boats, 2020
Oil Paint
Oil paint has been around for ages. The oldest known oil painting dates back to 7th century AD, and the first purpose of oil paint was to paint statues and woodwork. It's canvas life began in Northern Europe, and when the Renaissance peaked, the use of oil paints became quite common. They created it by using the oil that was extracted from things like poppies in the 7th century.
Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci, from C2RMF retouched
Gouache
Gouache paint was first used in France around the 15th-18th century. It was first used to creat hightlights, volume and perspective on a canvas. Henri Matisse used gouache paint and created a new technique for the paint, cut-out gouaches. He openly used gouache without mixing it, and during modern day times, this isnt uncommon.
François Boucher, The Adoration of the Shepherds, c.1740-70. Draw Paint Academy.
Watercolor
To nobodys surprise, watercolor and gouache paint are very similar. It's just paint in a water-based solution, it's very opaque and translucent. It's been around since ancient times, and was discovered in caves of paleolithic Europe, and was quite common during the middle ages. A good example of watercolor being used back then was in the Durer Renaissance, when Hans Bol used it on a canvas. Since then, it's become very popular among modern artists.
Nadéra Benmansour, Place de Diaghilev, 2016. Art Blog.
