When and How to Use Fluid / Drying Retarder with Acrylic Paintings

Fluid or drying retarder is a medium used in acrylic paintings preventing the paint from drying out too soon. Anyone who has ever painted in acrylics will tell you that acrylics dry out very fast. This may be one of the reasons why aspiring artists dive into using this type of media. The retarder is a medium that helps the acrylics to work like oils, meaning, you can come back to the painting and it will still be wet. This allows the artist to make changes before going onto their next phase of their painting.

Retarder, like gesso, can cause issues with painting if too much of it is used while mixing with the acrylic paints. With this in mind, one should take the time to practice on a board or canvas pad before laying the groundwork for their painting. Fluid / drying retarder is best mixed in a jar or bowl with the paint it is to be mixed with. Trying to mix retarder on a palette can lead to more mayhem than expected.

Use a palette knife to mix the drying retarder with your acrylic paints. A mixture of one part retarder to two parts paint should be sufficient. Again, too much will run on an angled surface. Should you choose to go for a more opaque appearance, keep your work surface flat. Less retarder will be needed on hot pressed paper verses cold pressed.

Should you purchase a fluid retarder that darkens or lightens your colors, make sure you practice using it on a test area before you get too far along with your painting. Retarder keeps your painting from yellowing when used mixed with paints. You may find that different brands of what seems like the same retarder will give your paints a different appearance. Spend time practicing before you jump into your painting.

Retarder is not necessary when applying your overall wash before you begin painting. This would only add to the length of time it will take to dry out. When you have painting in areas that you feel are completed allow the drying retarder to completely dry before moving onto painting nearby. Over-dillution can seep out onto the area you just finished. Large areas that require a wash are best left without retarder. Washes turn out better with a clear gesso instead.

Liquitex drying retarder works very well with BASIC, Liquitex and Amsterdam (formerly Van Gough) acrylic paints. If you are going to use Winsor & Newton Retarder, use it with its own paints. They were chemically designed for each other. Matisse works well with just about any acrylic paints, but try not to use them with Winsor & Newton. Grumbacher acrylics work best with their own retarder as well, but also work well with Liquitex, Winsor & Newton and Matisse.