Translucent Paint: Acrylic Glaze vs. Acrylic Wash

If glazing and translucent paint feel confusing, you’re not alone. Understanding how paint behaves — opaque vs. translucent, pigment strength, and layering — is foundational to making confident color choices. I’m going to try to demystify a small part of it for you today by discussing acrylic glazes and washes.

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The Backstory

As you may know from my weekly newsletter, when Typepad disappeared, so did all 20 years of my blog. I migrated what I could, and I’ve been slowly updating particularly useful posts as I can. This week, I updated a 2020 blog post about how and why to create an acrylic glaze. And when I did, I realized that I had never shared this video I made in 2024 about the differences between a glaze and a wash, as well as how to make them. So, I figured I’d take the opportunity to share it now!

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Translucent Paints: Making Glazes and Washes from Garbage

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Some Takeaways:

• Leftover and nearly empty paint bottles don’t have to be thrown away. They can be repurposed into something genuinely useful in your studio practice.
• Consolidating supplies after a big project or class is an opportunity to rethink how materials are stored and used, not just a cleanup task.
• Decanting small, mostly empty bottles into larger ones reduces clutter and makes it easier to work with the materials you use most often.
• Small amounts of leftover paint can be transformed into glazes by adding fluid matte medium, creating a new, usable art supply instead of waste.
• A glaze is a transparent (or more accurately, translucent) application of paint that allows underlying layers to show through while shifting the color.
• Mixing paint with matte or gel medium maintains the integrity of acrylic paint, unlike thinning solely with water.
• Pre-mixing glazes and storing them in clearly labeled bottles saves time and encourages more frequent use during art-making.
• Visual labeling systems—like writing “glaze” on bottles or adding colored tape—make it easy to distinguish between paint, glaze, and wash at a glance.
• Glazes and washes may look similar at first, but they behave very differently once applied to a surface.
• Washes, made by adding water, soak into paper and create a watercolor-like effect with less surface texture.
• Glazes sit more on the surface, retain visible brushstrokes, and feel unmistakably like acrylic paint even when transparent.
• Using glazes is a powerful way to transform collage papers, prints, or painted surfaces without covering up existing imagery.
• A single piece of paper can yield many different results simply by changing the glaze color layered over it.
• Glazing works almost like adding a color filter, subtly shifting mood, depth, and cohesion while preserving what’s underneath.
• Keeping sample sheets of techniques like glazes and washes creates a valuable visual reference for future projects.
• Thoughtful material management can directly support creative exploration, making experimentation easier and more accessible.

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Glaze vs. Wash

Here’s a visual reminder of the difference between a glaze and a wash:

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Glaze vs. Wash at a Glance

I made a quick comparison chart for you. (This is the kind of thing I do all the time at My Art Practice to make learning easy for members!)

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Finally

As always, there’s no wrong or right way to make art. Just the way that feels good to you! If you want to use a wash instead of a glaze or vice versa, good for you! It’s all about getting the results you want.

Happy arting!