Enhance your Acrylic Layers with Glazing
If I had to give up every medium in my studio but one, I'd keep acrylic glazing medium. It is the most used medium in my art practice, and I don't mean that I use it once per painting. I use it in every painting, and generally in every layer, through all the stages of the work.
Most painters I meet were taught something different: that glazing medium is a finishing supply, something you brush on at the end to add a bit of glow. That is one use. It is a very very small slice of what this medium can do.
Truthfully: Glazing medium is in no way a supply that should be used on the final layer of your painting only. You’re missing out!
“Reverie”, Julie Prichard 2026- glazing medium used through out the painting process.
When you save it for the end, you miss everything it can do while the painting is still being built. Used early and often, it changes how color sits, how light moves through the layers, and how your surface develops. The final layer is just one of many places it belongs.
There are many effects I use it for, and they show up at every stage of a painting:
Soft, glowing color that seems to light up from within
Rich, deep shadows with real depth
Texture that pops instead of getting lost
Smooth transitions and layers that feel effortless
The same medium does all of this. What changes is how you use it, and that is a set of skills you can learn. And a skill set I can teach 😊 In my opinion, glazing is the single most adaptive set of skills you can bring to your own voice, without altering your style. Glazing works with your voice, not against it… That matters because so many technique lessons come with a hidden cost: they push you toward the instructor’s look. Glazing doesn't. Whether you work in bright, saturated color or soft neutrals, whether your painting is loose or detailed, the same skills apply. You keep your subjects, your palette, and your hand. Glazing just gives you more ways to make each layer work harder.
Don’t try these techniques with “Retarder”, Golden Glazing medium is required for these techniques. Find out why in the course.
The specific medium from Golden is the best one I've used. (To be clear, I am not a paid influencer for Golden. This is simply my honest preference after years of painting with it.)
I created my All About Glazing workshop to demonstrate and teach all of the uses for this medium. If you've only been using it one way, I think it will be eye-opening. You'll see how glazing fits into every stage of a painting, and you'll come away with techniques you can use right away, in your own voice.
All About Glazing is open now. Let’s paint!
