Open Articles in JP#19
I am so delighted with all the assistance we’ve received in putting together our last issue of Just Paint #19. It features 4 different artists’ sharing their point of view in working with the new OPEN ACRYLIC. It also has a wonderful article from our Technical Director, Jim Hayes who shares the developmental work required to make this product. In these times of Internet communication it is critical that we can begin to respond to much of the conjecture, rumors and mis-information about the new material It is very different in feel, consistency, working and surface properties from anything we’ve made before and it will take time for artists to react to the materials and to find their own sweet spot in which the paint will work (or not).Â
I believe that having the artists who have worked with the product respond to its properties; both its benefits and issues, will help speed up the learning process for other artists just starting to work with this paint. Check out the Newsletter http://www.goldenpaints.com/justpaint/JP19.pdf
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Comments
Comment from Mark
Time: September 26, 2008, 5:31 pm
Regina, thanks so much. We’ve been learning so much as artists have been giving us feedback on the product. This product has just been a lot of fun!
Comment from Mark Alan Thomas
Time: March 8, 2009, 4:19 am
Nice article. I love reading about how other artists work. Fascinating stuff.
I began painting in high school using oils, got reasonably adept with them, then during college I switched to acrylics, first Liquitex since they were ubiquitous and easy to find, then Finity because I liked the handling and because I had used Winsor Newton oils. For about 20 years I struggled to achieve with acrylics the same dexterity I’d had with oils, but never really got comfortable with them. Using acrylics was a constant struggle for me as I always seemed to be fighting to get them to do what I wanted them to do. Very recently I made the decision to go back to oils, and to that end I bought a big pile of Senneliers, but after a quick test with them I decided that the toxicity and the mess and the fumes were just too much for me, and I went back to my Finity acrylics. Then a funny thing happened. My local art store began stocking Stephen Quiller Acrylics, a brand I had never heard of, and because I quite liked the way the tubes had a sample dab of actual paint on the tube and also listed the complimentary color on the back, I went online to learn more about them. It was the resulting Google search that landed me on a page for Golden’s Open Acrylics, and within minutes of reading the description, I was at Dick Blick ordering the whole line. And I have to say that now, having done four paintings with the Open Acrylics, my life has changed. Whereas using traditional acrylics was for me always a frustrating battle just to get them to behave, the Open Acrylics have effortlessly allowed me to tap into my old oil painting dexterity, and I am finding that I am more adept than ever. I don’t have to struggle with them. I can just paint. It’s ironic too, because I had never tried Golden’s regular acrylics even though my art store has carried them — seemingly the whole color range and every variety of medium — for years. Oh, I have occasionally picked up a tube when the store ran out of a tube of Finity, but they were always just another brand, remarkable to my eye only for their stark, almost generic packaging. But now, with the Open Acrylics, I’m a total convert. They’re the only paints I use now.
Here’s a recent portrait I did using the Open Acrylics:
http://markalanthomas.zenfolio.com/img/v8/p412934097-5.jpg
If I had used traditional acrylics, the painting would have taken me two weeks, easy. With the Open Acrylics, I was done in four days! There was no struggle. Only pure painting bliss.
Thank you for this amazing innovation!
Two colors I’d like to see: Mars Violet and Pthalo Blue Red Shade.
Comment from Elayna Alexandra
Time: April 3, 2009, 12:01 pm
Why have you stopped the blog?
Comment from Mark
Time: April 3, 2009, 12:11 pm
Elayna, thanks for calling me out on this. I’ve succumbed to the worse sin in blogdom, which is not regularly performing. I look forward to getting back on the wagon. Thanks Mark
Comment from Betty Cropper
Time: July 3, 2009, 12:00 am
I enjoy using Golden Open Acrylics but I find that they dry faster now that I have the air conditioner on most of the time. Water keeps them open but it seems to reduce the opacity of the colors which is o.k. at times but there are times when I wish they would stay wet and still remain opaque. What medium can I use to keep the open Acrylics open and still stay opaque?
Thank you for your help.
Comment from Mark
Time: July 6, 2009, 9:38 am
Betty, water is not the best solution for the OPEN Acrylics. I’d recommend the OPEN Thinner for the most open time and the least dilution of color. The OPEN Gel or OPEN Polymer medium is my second choice. To maintain the best opacity, you’ll need to make sure you’ve selected the most opaque colors to begin with. That would be the Cads or Pyrrole colors and the Cobalt and Cerulean, Jenkins Green, Sap Green, Chrome Green and most of the natural earth colors. Hope this helps. Give a call to our Tech Support at 800 959 6543 if you need more suggestions. Best, Mark
Comment from Regina
Time: September 26, 2008, 9:09 am
I got both of the Open starter sets plus a few added color. I also got the thinner and some gloss medium.
For me, it was love at first brush stroke. I’ve only been working with artists’ acrylics for ~2 years. Having more experience with watercolors, the quick-drying acrylic has often frustrated me. However, acrylic has its own wonderful qualities that I want to use in my work. I just completed my first study using Open. What surprised me most was that I could paint in “the relaxed zone”. I didn’t have to stay on alert to tame errant edges. Thank you for persisting in formulating this product. I will be spreading the news to friends and my blog readers.